Master of Divinity

==Contemporary usage==
The Master of Divinity has replaced the [[Bachelor of Divinity]] in most United States seminaries as the [[first professional degree]], since the former title implied in the American academic system that it was on a par with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] or other basic [[undergraduate education]] even though a [[bachelor's degree]] previously was and remains a prerequisite for entrance into graduate divinity programs. The Commission on Accrediting of the [[Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada]] accredits most Christian schools in North America and approves the degree programs they offer, including the MDiv.

The MDiv is a significantly more extensive program than most taught (as opposed to research-based) [[master's degrees]]. In the United States, the degree typically consists of approximately 90 [[semester]] hours, as opposed to the 30 to 48 semester hours typical of most master's degrees, or the approximately 60 semester hours typical of mental health counseling or entry-level social work master's degrees. Ordination in most [[Mainline Protestant|mainline Protestant denominations]] and the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] thus requires seven or eight years of education past high school: the first four in undergraduate studies leading to a bachelor's degree (which may or may not be in a related field) and then three or four years of seminary or divinity school education leading to the MDiv.

The MDiv stands in contrast to the [[Master of Arts]] (MA) in theology and [[Master of Theological Studies]] (MTS), the usual academic degrees in the subject (which tend not to include "pastoral" or "practical" courses), and the [[Bachelor of Sacred Theology]] (STB), [[Licentiate in Sacred Theology]] (STL), [[Master of Theology]] (MTh/ThM), [[Master of Sacred Theology]] (STM), and [[Master of Religion]] (MRel), which are also academic degrees. Schools with [[Pontifical faculties]] in North America often award both the MDiv and STB at the same time after a three-year period of graduate studies.