The religion major at Seaver College offers students core courses fundamental to understanding the Christian faith. Students also may choose to specialize in one of the following areas: scripture, Church history, Christian thought, and practical theology.
Our religion major prepares students for ministries in religious bodies, service, voluntary organizations, and graduate studies in religion. The religion degree program also pairs nicely with other Seaver undergraduate degrees in preparation for graduate work in the social sciences, business, law, public affairs, and ethics.
From the beginning of the University in 1937, the B.A. in Religion has been the cornerstone of Pepperdine’s commitment to prepare ministers and other church leaders. In 1944 Pepperdine became the first college affiliated with Churches of Christ to offer graduate study in Religion. To the M.A. degree that was initiated at that time and has continued down to the present, an M.S. was added in 1988. In 1989 the M.Div. program was launched. With some modifications these three graduate degree programs remain intact today: the M.Div., a three-year professional degree analogous to the seminary degree required for ordination in most denominations; the M.S., a less comprehensive professional degree that can be completed in about half the time as the M.Div. and does not require the Biblical languages; and the M.A., which offers more specialized training in a particular area of Religious studies and requires a thesis. In 2004 the Seaver Religion Division launched a joint J.D./M.Div. program in conjunction with the Pepperdine School of Law. This program allows students to complete both degrees in five years instead of the six years normally required to complete the two degrees independently. In 2008 the Division launched a joint program with the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine School of Law that enables students to earn both an M.S. in ministry and a Certificate in Dispute Resolution with only four more units than the traditional M.S. requires.
The most significant curricular change in the undergraduate offerings since the opening of the Malibu campus was implemented 1988-89, when the Division replaced the requirement of two four-unit GE courses (one on the Bible and a Religion “Seminar”) with three required courses of three units each (REL 101 – History and Religion of Israel, REL 102 – History and Religion of Early Christianity, and REL 301 – Religion and Culture [the latter was changed to “Christianity and Culture” in 2002]). Requirements for the Religion major and minors have also undergone periodic adjustments, but these have been less drastic.
Quality Assurance: Each degree program should employ sufficient faculty such that there is a capacity to design and deliver the curriculum (CFR 2.5). Curriculum design and implementation should involve evaluation, improvement, and promotion of student learning and success (CFR 2.5). Thus, faculty are responsible to exercise effective academic leadership on a consistent basis to ensure that the program's quality and educational purposes are upheld (CFR 2.6). Student support and co-curricular programs and services of sufficient nature, scope, and capacity go hand-in-hand with the degree programs for promoting students' academic, personal, and professional development (CFR 2.13). - WSCUC 2023 Handbook, Standard 2