MA in Servant Leadership

Curriculum

MA in Servant Leadership Program: 32 credits

Core (Required) Courses: 14 credits
These core courses provide participants with an overview and grounding in the philosophy, theology, and practice of servant leadership. Elective courses, contracts, portfolios, and practicum allow participants to focus on areas relevant to their particular calling, interests, and needs.

RLST 601 Servant Leadership 3 credits
By examining the foundations of servant leadership in scripture, theology, and the experience of the people of God, participants may begin to identify and understand their own ways of leading and the gifts and skills that they bring to leadership for the common good so that they may set goals for developing them. The course should help participants answer these questions: What are the virtues of a servant leader? If I am to be a servant leader, what type of person would I need to be, and how would I need to act?

RLST 602 The Discipline of Theological Reflection 3 credits
A rich spiritual life is necessary for a person to lead from within. Therefore, this course will help participants practice essential methods of theological reflection pertinent to servant leadership: the study of scripture, the analysis of key documents, reflective writing, and discernment of case studies. Participants will also practice modes of prayer and meditation that may be continuing sources of renewal and lead to decisions and courses of action.

RLST 603 The Art of Leadership 3 credits
The Art of Leadership should help participants understand organizational cultures, the dynamics of power and change, and the aesthetics of leadership. In pursuit of the common good, the true, and the beautiful, the participants will have the opportunity to develop skills to lead effectively.

RLST 604 The Common Good 3 credits
This course is aimed at providing a framework to help participants make the hard moral decisions that face servant leaders if they are to promote the common good. This course will emphasize traditional ethical principles, contemporary ethical theory, and Catholic social teaching. Application will be made to leadership theory and practice and how these principles shape the common good, especially in our institutions and communities.

RLST 605 Colloquium 2 credits
As a culmination of their work, participants will prepare a paper that synthesizes their learning from courses, experience, practicum, and reflection during the program. They will present their findings at a seminar and facilitate a discussion around the presentation.

Elective Courses: 18 credits
Student are required to take nine credits of electives as coursework.  The other nine elective credits may be taken in four ways: through other elective courses, independent study contracts, portfolios, or transfer of credits from another graduate program.

This list of electives will undergo constant development and expansion, depending on identified needs of the participants in the program.

RLST 600 Orientation to Servant Leadership 1 credit
This course will orient participants to the goals, mission, and requirements of the Masters in Servant Leadership program and provide definitions and perspective about lay theology, spirituality, and servant leadership. Instructions and practice experiences will be given in writing skills, articulating personal and professional goals, composing contracts and portfolios, and constructing practicums. Participants will have a chance to interact with faculty members and begin forming a sense of community.

RLST 650 Building Community 3 credits
One of the key characteristics of servant-leaders is facility in building community while respecting and supporting the diverse gifts of individuals. This course will examine the dynamics of community, ways of nurturing community development, finding core values, healing divisions, and facilitating change in congregations and other organizations.

RLST 651 Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution 3 credits
This course will be an examination of nonviolence and movements for nonviolent social transformation as they are expressed in world religions. The life of Jesus of Nazareth, the work of Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dorothy Day, among others in the history of nonviolence, will be analyzed in exploring practical ways to peacefully resolve conflicts.

RLST 652 The Reflective Life 3 credits
Servant leaders lead from within. Our "within" is nourished by a rich life of meditation and prayer. Many modes of meditation and prayer offer ways of deepening our awareness of the sacred in all of life and of responding to that awareness. We will explore the many modes of meditation and prayer (centering, movement, eating, lectio divina, chanting, journaling, guided, labyrinth, icon, and so on).

RLST 653 Ritual & Celebration 3 credits
Rituals and celebrations form our core identities as we live and work within community. Servant-Leaders are asked to lead people in appropriate reflection, rituals and celebrations within each community they serve.  This course will explore meditation, prayer, and a discipline of self-reflection as well as help participants create and facilitate rituals that celebrate important moments in community and practice leading others in those celebrations.

RLST 654 Spiritual Development across the Life Span 3 credits
Servant leaders, if they are to be truly effective in helping others grow, need to keep growing spiritually themselves. By reading the stories of servant leaders and studying the dynamics of spiritual development we will explore ways in which people grow spiritually. How do we become more integrated, more whole, and more holy? What are the common obstacles to life-long growth and how have great souls learned to deal with these challenges?

RLST 575 Spirituality of Work 3 credits
Working can be a truly noble human activity. Work gives meaning to adult lives in how we are able to create, produce, and serve. Work has the power to nourish human dignity. This course will explore the meaning of work in the lives of leaders today and the people they serve. The spirituality of work will expressly address the Christian understanding of work as a vocation, a calling from God to do a specific task in the name of God.

RLST 655 Stewardship 3 credits

RLST 657 Prophetic Leadership 3 credits
The prophet is called and calls others to read the signs of the times.  Prophetic Leadership is genuinely involved in the social, economic, and political realities of the communities they serve.  This course will examine prophetic voices throughout history.  Participants will discern and discover their won prophetic voice in leadership and the courage of their own conviction.

RLST 786 Special Topics in Servant Leadership
Special topics courses of variable credit are developed depending on participant need and interest. RS786 may be repeated for credit. Some special topics courses have been: Mentoring & Leadership; and Empathy & Imagination.

RLST 656 Practicum 2 to 8 credits
The practicum offers participants the opportunity to apply the skills and learning from their course work. The nature of the practicum will depend on the participant’s interests, goals, and preparation. Participants will select and craft their practicum in close consultation with their adviser. This experience should lead the participants to create new programs, try new approaches to problems, or take a fresh look at challenging situations that confront them as servant leaders who are trying to draw others to foster the common good.

Note Well: The practicum will be completed through an independent study contract unless it is part of a portfolio. For instance, a practicum is a required element of clinical pastoral education programs, the Spiritual Direction Preparation Program, and programs preparing permanent deacons.

RLST 588 Independent Study Contracts
The MA in Servant Leadership seeks to meet the needs of adult learners. All students will participate in the core courses described above, and while some students’ program may include mostly elective course work taken through Viterbo University, other students may choose to construct a program consisting largely of contracts for individualized work or a mixture of elective courses and contracts. Contracts are composed in close coordination with the student’s adviser. In composing contracts, the central question should be: Will this contract for individualized work significantly contribute to my development as a servant leadership in the context in which I work/minister or wish to work or minister?

Credits for each contract are assigned on the basis of the amount and scope of the study required. Contracts may include: professional seminars and workshops, independent reading and research, courses at other institutions, or some combination of all of these.

Students will receive thorough instruction and practice in composing contracts during Orientation to Servant Leadership course.

All contracts must be composed of:

1. The goals and objectives of the contract
2. The means taken to meet the goals and objectives: in other words, what will be done during the contract and how many credits will be awarded if the contract is completed. Here students should list the sort and scope of work to be done, the qualifications of professionals with whom they will work. Included would be brochures and schedules of seminars or workshops, and so on.
3. A list of progress measures that the student and adviser will use to evaluate the student’s completion of the contract: for example, research papers, annotated bibliographies, articles written, certificates of completion, reflection papers, evaluated presentations, grades, and so on.
4. An integrating essay that highlights the major results of the contract and how the contract contributed to helping the student become a servant leader
5. An adviser evaluation.

All contracts are graded as Credit/No Credit.

RLST 593 Portfolio Credits
Credits may be awarded for significant, relevant, previous experiences that bear directly on being a servant leader in the workplace or ministry. The portfolio is an MA student’s self-prepared record of prior learning in the areas of professional training or personal and professional experiences.

While thorough instructions about preparing the portfolio-for-credit will be given during the Orientation to Servant Leadership course, all portfolios will be prepared in close consultation with an adviser. After portfolio(s) for credit have been prepared, the student will present the portfolio to two faculty members and his or her adviser for approval of credits. All portfolios for credit will then be submitted for final approval to the academic vice-president.

Here is an example of how two students might construct a portfolio-for-credit that contains some of the typical components of a portfolio.

Example 1: In the past year, before entering the MA program, a student designed and implemented a program of service learning among youth in a congregation. If they wished portfolio credit, their portfolio might include most if not all of these parts:

• A thorough outline and description of the youth program’s goals, implementation, and evaluation.
• A position paper describing why the program was significantly new and different from other programs.
• An explanation of how the work on this youth program fulfills the stated mission and objectives of the MA in Servant Leadership Program.
• The scope of the program vis-à-vis time requirements, numbers of people involved, and so on.
• Commentary by an observer or evaluator of the program.
• A summary integration paper reflecting on the experience.
• An article about the program that may be submitted to a newspaper.

Example 2: A participant in the Spiritual Direction Preparation Program at the Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse who wanted credit by portfolio for completion of the three-year training might include these parts to her or his portfolio:

• A thorough description of the three yearprogram, including brochures from the Center.
• A summary of the qualifications of allmembers of the staff and presenters.
• All the book reports, evaluations ofsupervisors, annual evaluations, documentation of having completed the verbatims, and the final certificate awarded by the Center.
• An evaluation by the staff supervisor.
• Documentation of attendance at monthlyspiritual direction.
• A summary integration paper reflecting onthe experience.
• Some creative article, presentation, orbrochure explaining spiritual direction.

Cooperating Programs

MA participants may wish to consider earning elective credits by portfolio through these excellent programs:

The Spiritual Direction Preparation Program at the Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse:
Those interested in preparing for the ministry of spiritual direction may wish to earn elective credits by portfolio by participating in this program. Contact:
Director
Spiritual Direction Preparation Program
Franciscan Spirituality Center
920 Market Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
(608) 791-5295

The Diocesan School of Biblical Studies:
Anyone who wishes a concentration in biblical studies may want to consider participating. The full program takes four years to complete, but portfolio credits may be earned for each year completed. For more information, contact:
Rev. Mark Pierce
Diocesan School of Biblical Studies
Roncalli Newman Center
1732 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
(608) 784-4994

Clinical Pastoral Education at Franciscan Skemp Healthcare:
Those seeking to prepare for ministry, especially in healthcare, may want to consider earning units through this program. Contact:
Franciscan Skemp Healthcare
Clinical Pastoral Education Programs
526 South 10th Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
(608) 791-9444 ext. 4836
(800) 362-5454 ext. 4836

Transfer Credits

Students may transfer up to nine credits into the MA program. Requests to transfer credits should be directed to the director of the MA in Servant Leadership program.

Determining Credits for Contracts, Portfolios, and the Practicum
Two standard criteria apply to determining credits:

The University grants one graduate credit when there are 15 contact or classroom hours and a minimum of two hours of outside, non-classroom, or non-contact work for each of the 15 contact hours: In other words 15 classroom hours + 30 non-classroom hours (reading, research, writing, etc.) = 45 hours = one graduate credit.

Thus, for two credits, 90 hours of work would be required. So, for example, if a participant wants to include two seminars of 10 hours each for a total of 20 hours into a two-credit contract, she or he would need to include at least an additional 70 hours of non-seminar work.

For the practicum, in which experience is the primary method of learning, 60 hours of work is needed to be granted one credit. So, to gain one credit for a practicum in pastoral ministry requires that the participant work 60 hours in supervised ministry.