What to do with gap year between ordination and graduation

[ChristoWitch87]

Hey all, so I am currently finishing my M.Div at a small (ATS accredited) denominational school in the Northeast. Because I had an MAR already, I was able to transfer a significant amount of course work and will finish in 3 semesters. The only hiccup is that my ordaining church tends to look for about two years of internship + CPE. Now, I may be able to get some of this waived for prior experience (seven years service in the army, part of it as a chaplain assistant, returning as a chaplain) but if not I am looking at a gap year between graduation and ordination. Since I will be interning (likely unpaid) during that time, and have the GI Bill, getting a one year follow on degree would actually be a financial help rather than a burden and I would like your thoughts on schools and programs that would have value for ministry as I don't intend to do a Ph.D.

Options I've found:

Boston University (STM in religious leadership)

Brite (Th.M in Pastoral Theology and Care)

Yale Divinity School (STM, their site encourages people preparing for chaplaincy and I earned my MAR here)

 

I am also willing to consider non divinity school programs that would be pertinent and can be completed in a year. Or I could save my GI Bill (2.5 vs 1.5 years left) and try to work on top of interning. Thoughts?  

[exegete]

I believe most ThM programs are fairly flexible, so there are probably many schools where you could tailor your studies toward ministry. Duke and Candler are two options that come to mind.

[Deep Fried Angst]

One thing to be wary of is that every program that advertises itself as a one-year program is not in fact a one-year program. Many find that the ThM's at some schools required 2-3 years even though they are marketed as single year degrees. For instance Duke requires 8 courses and a thesis or comprehensive exams. With many to all of the courses at the doctoral level, I cannot fathom completing the degree in two semesters as advertised. 

[neat]

The ThM at Princeton Seminary is definitely meant to be completed in a year. You are generally taking the same Master's level classes that the MDiv and MATS students are taking, although it does have a thesis component, from what I understand.