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Master of Arts in Ministry

If you’re wondering if there is a place for you at seminary even if you’re not feeling called to pastoral ministry, the answer is definitely “Yes!” The master of arts in ministry (MAM) degree is designed for students who are pursuing a call to the Ministry of Word and Service roster (deacons) or preparing for ministry in secular settings. The MAM is a practical, professional degree that incorporates both coursework and fieldwork and allows you to concentrate your studies on a particular ministry discipline or passion.

Whether you’re a distance learner or living on or near campus, your MAM degree enables you to be a public church leader who will engage your community through public witness and social transformation. This theological degree equips graduates for various ministries in daily life and leadership positions within congregations and communities, across rural, suburban and urban contexts, both nationally and internationally.

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LSTC MDiv Program Advantages

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Leading Lutheran urban seminary

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Residential and distance learning

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Generous financial support

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Dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusivity & justice

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Accredited by ATS and HLC

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Graduates serve a global community

Areas of Study Concentration

MDiv, MA and MAM students may seek expertise that goes beyond the core curriculum and allows students to gain confidence and discipline in a designated scholarly area. LSTC’s long-held strengths and commitments in the areas of biblical studies, urban ministry, interfaith studies, religion and science, culture-specific, and environmental ministry have led faculty members to create emphases in these areas. MDiv, MA and MAM candidates may develop an area of concentration in any discipline represented by the LSTC faculty.


From our students

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“What a blessing it is to put theory and theology into practice, to put into action one’s love of God and love of neighbor, to be a public church. This experience has prepared me for professional ministry. It’s given me what I need to move forward in the process of becoming a board-certified chaplain.”

– Lora Salley (2020, MAM; hospital chaplain)

From our faculty

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“Letting students see what gets you excited and why you think a topic is really cool is important… Somebody showed me Luther is fascinating, for instance…. His ideas are totally revolutionary and literally changed the world. I don’t know of another figure with that level of impact.”

– Candace Kohli, assistant professor of Lutheran Systematic Theology and Global Lutheranism

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History of LSTC

The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) was formed Sept. 4, 1962, when four seminaries consolidated: Augustana Theological Seminary, Grand View Seminary, Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary and Suomi Theological Seminary. Central Lutheran Theological Seminary joined the merger prior to LSTC dedicating its Hyde Park campus on Oct. 22, 1967. In 1983, 10 members of the faculty of Christ Seminary-Seminex, St. Louis, Mo. (1974), relocated to LSTC and the two schools merged in 1987 just prior to the 1988 formation of the ELCA. LSTC’s prior locations, mergers and history are a reminder that we have always been a seminary that moves and changes, leaning into a future with confidence in its possibilities and promise.

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