I am interested in pursuing a D.Min. degree from Liberty. I have talked to a lot of people and most say that they deem Liberty to be a joke. Some even say that if they saw an applicant with an LU degree they wouldn’t even interview them. I find this attitude to be extremely ignorant and I told them so, but I digress. My question is, do you think that if I plan on using this degree to become a hospital chaplain that it would carry more weight than if I were to try to use it in the secular world or do you think that those hiring for religious positions would still find the degree to be an issue. Just FYI, this degree is NOT necessary for my employment, it would just give me extra hours in biblical counseling that I would like to have, plus give me a doctorate which would increase my income ability above what I could get with just my M.Div.
If the people you’ve spoken to are the people who have the hiring power for the jobs you are interested in, I’d believe them. If they are just people you happen to know, I’d do more investigating.
Liberty U is a school that people feel very strongly about - either positively or negatively. The school has firm positions and they live them out. If you are applying for a job with someone who feels similarly, that will be a plus. However there are significant numbers of people who disagree with much of what Liberty espouses, so the degree would be a negative to them.
If your beliefs align with Liberty, then it may be the best choice for you. If not, I would look for somewhere less polarizing to do your advanced religious studies.
Where to get your D Min can be very denomination-specific. If the hospital settings where you want to work are affiliated with denominations that normally hire LU graduates, then LU is a good choice. If they are affiliated with other denominations, or have no denominational affiliation, then LU may be a not so good choice.
Surely LU is not the only institution that offers the coursework you are interested in. Have you compared other programs? Why do you prefer LU over those other programs? And yup, this is exaclty what I’d be saying to a student asking about any other D Min program. Where you study needs to match where you want to work.
The other option that I have is Global University. They are regionally accredited and Pentecostal. I am more conservative on the theological side so I agree with what both schools teach. Global does not offer a chaplaincy or counseling like Liberty does. Global is much cheaper though so there is that. I do not have a particular hospital in mind. My spouse and I are able to move to wherever we get a job so I am not too concerned about the denomination of the hospital. Do you think I should switch it and go to Global instead? Save the money, not have the stigma of the university’s name?
I prefer Liberty because the cost is what I can afford that is the biggest reason. I don’t want to pay more than $15,000 for the degree. Also, Liberty has the specialization I want, it is 100% online so I won’t have to relocate and quit my job and they will accept my MDiv. I have a nationally accredited MDiv, not ATS or regional. That is another thing that holds me back…
Does a DMin Make any difference in your hireability? If not, you could just pick up the classes that interest you to strengthen your background without adding on another degree. Can you look around for a chaplaincy internship now with just the MDiv that you have?
People have specific feelings about Liberty University. It’s not just because of the conservative values (although that, of course, has a lot to do with it). Liberty’s has adopted some practices that make people question its quality. For example, typically college presidents are career faculty with a history of research and scholarship, as well as experience both in teaching at and being in the administration of similar/peer institutions; typically, they are selected because of their prominence in the field after a search of many months. Jerry Falwell, Jr., has his position because he is the son of the original founder of the university. This kind of succession doesn’t tend to inspire confidence in people.
Some of the people who say they might not interview someone with an LU degree may say that because they doubt the quality of the education that someone could receive at a school where common standards of academia are not held. LU has also been open about some of their stances towards certain issues that may make employers worried that students share those stances (I’m not talking about religion or conservative values; I’m talking about things like Liberty’s official anti-LGBT policy, which may make employers with non-discrimination and EEO policies wary).
I think the type of religious employment you’re looking for would matter. Hospital chaplains, for example, are required to be respectful of all faiths and serve people with many kinds of religious and faith traditions and backgrounds. Rightly or wrongly, a person who hires hospital chaplains could potentially see LU on your resume and make some assumptions about your stance/attitude towards people from different faith traditions than yours.
In addition to that…based on your own admission, it seems that some aspects of your previous degree (it being nationally accredited instead of regionally, for example) are holding you back. Why would you add another degree that has some skepticism/dubiousness attached to it? I think expecting to pay only $15,000 for a professional doctoral degree is a bit unrealistic; with super low cost expectations, you may find that the quality/reputation of the programs at that level will also be questionable.
Duke’s Divinity School has a low-residency/hybrid D.Min that only requires you to come to campus five times during the two years: https://divinity.duke.edu/academics/dmin
Emory’s Candler School of Theology also has a low-residency D.Min program that only requires four campus stays: http://candler.emory.edu/academics/degrees/dmin/index.html
Biola, Abilene Christian, and Southern Methodist have similar setups. There are also several seminaries that offer a D.Min this way.
I would also verify your assertion that a D.Min would increase your income. Particularly if you have no experience as a hospital chaplain, and/or if your degree is from a not-so-reputable school, you may find that your earning potential actually doesn’t increase that much. My understanding is that an M.Div is actually a terminal degree in terms of practicing as a chaplain.
First off, Juillet, WOW!
Thank you for actually posting a reply that actually helps me see things from a different point of view. This is exactly what I was trying to get. Thank you so much.
Second, no, a D.Min. is not required, I was just thinking it might look good, get me a few more points toward being hired if it was a tie between me and someone without a doctorate, and allow me to get the extra classes I would like to take.
Third, I would love to go to Duke or any of the others but they require an ATS accredited MDiv degree. I got my bachelors degree from ACU and Abilene is where I am originally from so I would love it if I could go there. The other problem with that though is the tuition is more than I can afford. I won’t take out student loans and cannot afford to pay their per hour tuition rate.
My daughter is also interested in becoming a hospital chaplain. Although she did apply to a school in her denomination, she chose the non-sectarian one for the reasons @juillet stated. She wants to serve people of other faiths, as well as her own.