Louisville, Ky., December 14, 2001 —For the second time, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary has conferred degrees during mid-academic year. With the approval of the faculty council and Board of Trustees, three December graduates will begin searching for professional placement and ministerial calls. Prior to the year 2000, Seminary students who had completed degree requirements mid-academic year were not granted degrees until the end of the academic year, and a May graduation date was reflected in their records.

Of the December 2001 graduates, two are women. Two received the Master of Divinity degree and one received the Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy degree.

Heather Fuller (Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy) Ms. Fuller, a United Methodist, graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., before enrolling at LPTS. She plans to move to Chicago where she will pursue a clinical fellowship in a hospital to gain the necessary hours toward licensure.

Brian Womack Miles (Master of Divinity) Mr. Miles, a Presbyterian from Roanoke, Va., earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from Roanoke College before enrolling in the Master of Divinity program at LPTS. He hopes to minister in a hospital setting.

Jerry Alexander (Master of Divinity) Ms. Alexander is a United Methodist who worked for the Texas Department of Corrections as a dental hygienist for nine years before enrolling at LPTS. She is waiting for church assignment from her denominational district superintendent, which will take place at the next annual conference.

The Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy program is one of four accredited, seminary-based programs in the United States, composed of courses in theology and Biblical studies, training in marriage and family therapy, at least 500 hours of client contact and 100 hours of supervision. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC), which last year ranked the Seminary’s program as one of the top in the nation.

The move to grant degrees in December was made primarily to allow recipients of the Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy degree to begin their work toward licensure. Previously, graduates in this program had to wait until the degree was granted in May, and any counseling hours accumulated during the five-month waiting period could not be applied toward licensure requirements. In the state of Kentucky, 1,000 postgraduate client hours are required for licensure.

The Master of Divinity program combines education in three academic areas—Biblical studies; theology, history, and ethics; and practical theology—with four semesters of required field education in churches and agencies in the Louisville area and some contiguous. Most who earn the M.Div. degree are seeking ordination.

Master of Divinity degree graduates also benefit from the new procedures. For candidates in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a December graduation date helps speed up the process toward finding a call to a congregation, provided the additional requirement of ordination exams has been met.

Nearly 150 years old, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary has been a leader in innovative theological curriculum, such as offering its five-credit Scripture I course as a weekend option and requiring field placements for all students. For more than a century it has provided a depth of education that prepares men and women for a lifetime ministry in the Church.

Distinguished in academic fields vital to training church leadership, the Louisville Seminary faculty consists of 22 professors with credentials from some of the world’s leading theological institutions and universities, including Duke, Emory, Harvard, Oxford, Princeton, University of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt and Yale. These nationally recognized scholars teach classes in the Bible, Reformed theology, homiletics, pastoral skills and biblical languages, as well as specialized topics in ethics, marriage and family therapy, contemporary theology and other subjects important to today’s church and society.

Contact the Office of Registrar if you have questions regarding the above graduates and the Office of Admissions for information about the Seminary’s degree programs and requirements, e-mail: admissions@lpts.edu or call toll-free 1 800 264-1839.