Knox College, Canada

The Master of Psychospiritual Studies program (formerly known as the Master of Pastoral Studies program), equips persons for leadership in helping professions.

Students are required to take seven faith foundation courses. In the general track, five of these are courses in Old Testament, New Testament, Theology, Ethics, and Christian History.

Students enrolled in the Jewish Focus take courses in Tanakh, Rabbinic Literature, Modern Jewish thought, Jewish spiritual practice, and Jewish History in place of the above Christian-oriented courses.

All students take a course on interfaith leadership and an additional faith formation course specific to the MPS program.

At Knox College, the following streams within the MPS program are offered:

• Spiritual Care Stream: The spiritual care stream prepares students for specialized ministry in a variety of settings, including in healthcare, educational, and spiritual care/chaplaincy settings. As a distinct field of study, this stream invites students to train in the specialized skills of psychospiritual care.
• Social Services Stream: This stream will be of interest to applicants seeking to take up ministries in religious and secular social service agencies and non-governmental agencies, particularly those attentive to providing direct service to disadvantaged populations and persons, to advocating for a more just society, and the building of the common good and prepares students to analyze the need social change and provides training for leadership in complex and rapidly changing social systems.

Both include courses in human development, counselling theories and skills, and integration of faith and practice, as well as an appropriate placement. Each also include courses specific to the vocation served by the focus: for Spiritual Care, courses in assessment and treatment; for Social Services, courses in social justice.

Students need to work with their faculty advisor to ensure they move efficiently through the program.

• An undergraduate degree or equivalent degree from a university, college, or Indigenous Institute recognized by the University of Toronto
• CGPA 2.7/4.0 or greater (70%; B-) for the entire degree
• A student without an undergraduate degree or demonstrated educational equivalent (reviewed and approved by TST) cannot be admitted to the SCP Cert.
• Meeting the admission requirements for the MPS does not automatically mean that the admission requirements for the SCP Cert. are met
• English-Language Proficiency
• Academic or professional reference and pastoral reference

NOTE: If your undergraduate degree was conferred by a post-secondary institution that uses a grading scale other than the 4.0 GPA scale, please review your transcripts to confirm CGPA equivalency before applying to Knox College.

Baccalaureate requirement
Applicants to a conjoint basic degree program must hold an appropriate baccalaureate degree with adequate standing (normally at least B- standing in their final year) from an institution approved by a Canadian provincial quality assurance agency, or accredited by a US agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, or demonstrated educational equivalent of a North American baccalaureate degree as judged by the Admissions and Procedures Committee, which may make reference to information provided by the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Toronto. In cases where an institution is not from an institution approved by a Canadian provincial quality assurance agency, or accredited by a US agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the TST member college must submit a transcript, brief information about the institution, including faculty and their academic credentials, and an accompanying letter indicating its desire to admit the student to the TST Registrar, who serves as Secretary to the A & P Committee, for consideration by the Committee. The college representative on BDC will present the case to the A & P Committee at its meeting. The A & P Committee has the authority to make decisions on non-standard credentials. In cases where precedents have been set by the Admissions and Procedures Committee, TST colleges may admit graduates from such institutions without submitting a request for consideration. A college may appeal the decision of the Admissions and Procedures Committee in respect of equivalent credentials to the Basic Degree Council.

The MPS program requires 20 semester-long courses. It is 2 academic years of full-time study.

Master of Psychospiritual Studies program learning outcomes:

1. Demonstrates knowledge at a basic level in various theological disciplines, in the Reformed or another tradition. [* the student may come from another tradition]
2. Demonstrates an appropriate spiritual and professional identity formation in relation to specialized practice.
3. Demonstrates knowledge and skills in spiritual care and therapy, grounded in appropriate theories, for professional practice and leadership in community and institutional settings.
4. Writes and speaks in English sufficiently well to engage in professional practice.

See Tuition/Financial Aid for helpful information on tuition estimates, bursaries, and scholarships.