Thoughts on Part-Time MDiv Programs?

[J Turtle]

For financial and professional reasons (I'm interested in social justice-oriented ministry and already work in social justice advocacy at a think tank), I'm interested in doing a part-time MDiv. I work remotely, so location isn't an issue. I'm pursuing UCC ordination. I had questions about a few programs - and I'd welcome suggestions of others! 

1.) I've been attempting to estimate the costs of Union's part-time program because I already live in NYC - but even high cost aside, it seems like it would be challenging if not impossible to graduate in 4 years. Does anyone have any insights there? 

2.) Lancaster's weekend program seems like a very affordable and feasible option - but I'd never heard of them until I checked the UCC seminary list. Does anyone have a sense of whether the lack of prestige would make it challenging to find a ministry position down the road?

3.) Finally, does anyone have experience with Vanderbilt's part-time program? Or their program in general? It seems like they may actually be a rare institution that gives part-time merit scholarships. 

[xypathos]

As I'm sure you've encountered, the biggest issue here is going to be cost but that's subjective for everyone.

Part-Time is defined differently at each institution so that's something you'll need to find out. Some schools set anything less than 12 as part-time, for other's it's 9, etc. Your standard M.Div is 72 credits long so 12 credits a semester, giving you 3 years. If you don't take summer courses and/or transfer credits in, any less than 18 credits (9 a semester), and you can't graduate in 4 years. You probably already know all of this but just in case!

1. Union's Mdiv is 78 credits so somewhere you need to squeeze in two extra courses. Some institutions give credit for CPE summer/semester-long courses - anywhere from 3-6. I don't know Union's policy on CPE for academic credit. That said, at 9 credits a semester you wouldn't be able to graduate in four years, without summer courses and/or transferring in something.

2. Lancaster use to be a much more well known UCC seminary but has since become more of a regional school. My father went to Lancaster for his M.Div and loved it but this was back in the late 70s before I was born. We use to take family vacations to Lancaster because he missed the area so much. He's since passed away but I still go and visit myself.

3. I went to Vanderbilt and knew quite a few part-time students there. They all fell into broad categories of working in IT, medical doctors, or entertainment professionals (a lot of singers!) that were pursuing this passion part-time because their main job was too financially profitable to walk away from. Nashville is expensive and it's getting more so every year, very few VDS students can afford to live in Nashville proper so they commute in.