Ways to Complete

Below you will find information about a variety of approaches available to you for completing your degree in Missions and Intercultural Studies.

• Residential M.A. Program
  
  Students can begin the residential program in the fall or spring semester. Full-time student status (12 hours) is necessary to be eligible for financial aid except during the final semester of study. By taking a full-time load, the M.A. can be completed in 3 semesters with 4 credits earned in summer intensive courses or 2 semesters of 14 credits. Students in the residential program are able to select from 4 emphases to focus their studies on a particular area (church leadership, church planting, community development, and Mission in Biblical and Theological Perspective).

The department hosts a welcome social every semester to give the faculty and returning students the opportunity to meet incoming students. There is also a commissioning service conducted every semester to send out those students who are graduating and journeying to their chosen field of service. For more information, contact Intercultural Studies

• Accelerated M.A. Program
  
  Wheaton College undergraduate students can earn a B.A. and M.A. in five years by taking graduate credit courses in the Intercultural Studies Department during their senior year. An application should be submitted to the Graduate Admissions Office prior to earning 90 undergraduate credit hours. After acceptance, students will be able to register for graduate level courses after completing 90 undergraduate credit hours. Up to eight hours of graduate credit may be taken each semester. The student will be given a graduate adviser, but will retain the undergraduate adviser and be classified as an undergraduate until the bachelor’s degree is earned. Earning a graduate degree by this method can have a financial advantage. Courses taken toward this accelerated master’s degree program cannot also be counted toward the student’s bachelor’s degree requirements. For more information, email Intercultural Studies.
  
  
• M.A. Program for People in the Marketplace (MPPM)
  
  This special M.A. program Intercultural Studies, also known as GradLink, is specifically designed for people unable to come to campus for a full program of residential study. It combines Distributed Learning courses (12 hours) with intensive courses and/or traditional residential course work (24-28 hours). Normal Evangelism, Missions, or Intercultural Studies degree requirements apply, though exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Coordinator (see Academic Guideline 2 below). Intensive classes relevant to the major will also be offered each January and during the summer session.
  
  Academic guidelines for the program are:
  
  1. Regular Graduate School admission requirements apply.
  2. Up to 12 hours of electives may be taken from other departments.
  3. The degree must be completed within seven years.
  4. The total number of transfer credits and/or distance learning credits cannot exceed 16 hours.
  Additionally, the number of transfer credit hours cannot exceed 25% of the total hours applied to the program.
  5. A comprehensive exam is required at the completion of the program.
  
  The following courses are available through the Distributed Learning Office:
  
  BITH 546 Romans (from the English text) (4 hours)
  BITH 638 Old Testament Theology (4 hours)
  BITH 648 New Testament Theology (4 hours)
  INTR 536 Theology of Development in World Perspective (2 hours)
  INTR 565 Folk Religions (2 hours)
  INTR 567 Spiritual Conflict (2 hours)

For more information, contact the Graduate Admissions Office or the Grad Link Coordinator for Missions & Intercultural Studies.

• Furlough/Home Assignment
  
  Furloughing missionaries can complete the program in one calendar year, though the scheduling is tight. Some opt for finishing the program over the course of two separate furloughs. Contact Intercultural Studies with any questions you may have.
  
  
• ELIC Cooperative Program
  
  Through a cooperative arrangement between English Language Institute/China (ELIC) and Wheaton College, students who are accepted by both ELIC and Wheaton will have the tuition for their MA in Intercultural Studies or MA in Intercultural Studies & TESOL paid by ELIC. Intensive Classes are conducted every summer for 3 or 4 weeks in Wheaton and every winter for 2 weeks in Chiang Mai, Thailand. All new teachers with ELIC receive pre-field training that is conducted by Wheaton College faculty. This training can be taken for 6 hours of credit that count toward the 40 credits for the MA degree. The remaining 34 credits are earned through 3 winter sessions in Thailand and 3 summer sessions at Wheaton College. Advance work (reading, research, projects) is required for all intensive courses. It is necessary to apply to BOTH Wheaton College and ELIC because the application processes are distinct from each other. Acceptance by one does not guarantee acceptance by the other. For more information, contact the ELIC Program Administrator.
  
  For more information about ELIC, please click here.

  FAQs about the ELIC program
  
  What are the admissions requirements for this program?
  
  Normal Graduate School admissions requirements are applicable for the ELIC program since participants in this program are degree candidates.
  
  When should I apply to Wheaton?
  
  Priority deadline for admission for the 2009-2010 academic year is March 15, 2009. If you are already applying to ELIC, you may request an application from your program counselor at ELIC. The final deadline for applications is October 15 and notification will be given no later than November 1 for beginning classes in January 2010. Please contact the ELIC Program Administrator at Wheaton for the exact deadlines. Because of the limitations on enrollment, applications will be reviewed in pools rather than on a rolling basis.
  
  How many students are accepted into this program?
  
  Every year, Wheaton accepts a maximum of 25 students into this cooperative program.
  
  Do I need to take the GRE?
  
  Yes. Everyone applying to the Wheaton Graduate School must take the GRE or the MAT. Applicants completing the computer version of the GRE can self report their scores to Wheaton to expedite the application process. Please keep in mind that the GRE is offered on a limited basis in China and the MAT is only offered in North America so it would be best to complete the GRE or MAT prior to leaving the US to begin teaching for ELIC.
  The minimum GRE scores required by Wheaton are
  
  Verbal: 550
  Quantitative: 550
  Analytical Writing: 3.5
  
  What about non-tuition expenses—who pays for those?
  
  ELIC incorporates incidental expenses (travel to and from campus, housing, meals, and books) into the support profile for people involved in an MA program. You can decline this method and pay for these expenses yourself, but most people choose to raise support to cover these costs.
  
  How many core courses are there and how many electives?
  
  Both MA degrees are 40 credits. For the Intercultural Studies MA, there are 20 hours of required courses with non-core courses filling the remaining 20 hours. For the Intercultural Studies & TESOL MA, there are 32 hours of required courses and 8 hours of non-core classes.
  
  For a sample schedule for Intercultural Studies or for TESOL contact the ELIC Program Administrator.
  
  Do I get to choose my electives from all the courses offered?
  
  Due to the nature of the program, Wheaton does its best to offer electives that are suitable and practical for people living and working in Asia. This means that not all of the electives listed in the catalog are available to students in the ELIC program.
  
  Will I need to write a thesis?
  
  Most students in the Intercultural Studies Department do not write a thesis. Rather, they are required to take comprehensive exams, which cover the core courses in the curriculum. Due to the extensive amount of work that is involved in putting together a thesis, it does not fit well with the ELIC program. If there is a specific area you would like to research further, it is possible to pursue this through an independent study. This type of arrangement can be negotiated with the appropriate faculty member.