# Where can I get a Church History/Patristics degree?



## Jash Comstock (Mar 30, 2012)

I'm looking for somewhere to study graduate church history or patristics. I know Gordon Conwell has one, but are there any others out there?


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## mjmacvey (Mar 30, 2012)

Jash Comstock said:


> I'm looking for somewhere to study graduate church history or patristics. I know Gordon Conwell has one, but are there any others out there?




Westminster Seminary California offers an M.A. in Historical Theology that might be of interest to you. Although the strengths of the faculty fall more in the Reformation/Post-Reformation/Modern periods, we have had students focus on Patristics. The degree requires a course in Ancient Church History, a Patristics Seminar, and some additional opportunities for directed/independent study in that area. Our students also write and defend a substantial thesis project in their particular area of interest. Several of our grads have gone on from this program to do Ph.D. work.

Dr. R. Scott Clark has posted some helpful information about the program here. You are welcome to contact me if you have any questions.


Here is an overview of the program:

INTRODUCTION TO THE MASTER OF ARTS, HISTORICAL THEOLOGY

The M.A. Historical Theology is designed to enable students to learn the history of Christian theology, to learn to teach the history of theology, and to learn how the history of theology has been written. This program will also provide students with the necessary skills for evaluating the various approaches to history (historiography).

M.A. Historical Theology students at Westminster Seminary California read representative theologians and primary texts from throughout the history of Christianity. We also give attention to the history of biblical exegesis and we do so while paying attention to the social context in which Christian theology has developed.

In the last semester of their program, students are given the opportunity to test their methodological theory and historical studies by writing an M.A. thesis.

Our graduates report that Westminster Seminary California's combination of seminars and lecture courses together with the M.A. thesis project has prepared them well for advanced study and for fulfilling other vocations.

In just a few years, our M.A. (Historical Theology) program has earned a reputation for producing graduates who are well prepared for further study and well prepared to fulfill other vocations. Of our 30 graduates, seven have been accepted into prestigious programs such as Oxford University, the University of St. Andrews, the University of Virginia, the University of Aberdeen, and the University of Arizona among others. Two of our graduates have won Fulbright Awards and another has been accepted into a highly rated law school. Still others have taken teaching positions or entered missions work. Two of our graduates have been appointed to tenure-track teaching positions at accredited colleges and seminaries and one is completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University.


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