This is an example. Please note that the most current and official curriculum information is found in our Course Catalog. Explore the different areas of emphasis within the M.A. in History of Christianity program (below) to view the complete curriculum and list of courses.
Core Courses (24 Credits)—The core courses are all shared with the new M.A. in Theology curriculum.
- BITH 533 Exploring the Old Testament (4 credits)
- BITH 555 Exploring the New Testament (4 credits)
- BITH 565 Christian Theology (4 credits)
- BITH 578 Global Church History (4 credits)
- BITH 657 Historical Theology: Patristic and Medieval
- BITH 658 Historical Theology: Reformation and Modern
Concentrations/Areas of Emphasis (20 credits)—Students would still have the ability to specialize in one of three areas of emphasis: Early Christianity, The Reformation, and Modern Christianity. Students would be required to take at least one BITH 677 course in their areas of emphasis.
- BITH 683 Historiography (This will now be a 4-credit course.)
- BITH 581 Reformation
- BITH 677 Topics in History of Christianity
- BITH 677 or 679 Seminary in Historical theology
- BITH Elective
Capstone Elements (0 credits)
- BITH 692 Comprehensive Examination
Early Christianity
The Early Christianity emphasis focuses on the History of Christianity from the post-Apostolic era to the Byzantine period and the rise of Islam (that is, roughly from the second century into the eighth). The program works in close cooperation with The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies and has built on the strength of Wheaton College’s faculty in the field of Patristics and historical theology, including the development of doctrine and research on the social, religious, and material cultures within which early Christianity rose. The Wheaton M.A. in History of Christianity is also set apart because of the unique opportunities to engage in research in primary documents through The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies and in field-archaeology through excavation in Tel Shimron, Israel.
Reformation Christianity
The Reformation Christianity emphasis focuses on the History of Christianity from the late medieval period and Renaissance era through the post-Reformation period, which is roughly from the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries. Core courses and advanced seminars in Reformation history and theology provide students with a solid foundation in the period, which will enable them to advance in their own independent research. Students will benefit from archival resources at Wheaton, particularly Reformation-era Bibles, in order to better understand the cultural, material, and literary history of the Reformation period. Visits to the Art Institute of Chicago are an added benefit for students wishing to view its first-rate collection of medieval and Reformation art and artifacts. Those who pursue this concentration are interested in exploring the rise of modernity in the story of Reformation Christianity.
Modern Christianity
The Modern Christianity emphasis focuses on the History of Christianity from the post-Reformation era to the present (that is, roughly from the seventeenth century into the twenty-first century). In recent decades the program has built on its traditional strengths in American and British church history to embrace the burgeoning field of World Christianity with its emphasis on modern Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Unique primary source manuscripts housed at the Billy Graham Center Archives, the Wade Center, and the Wheaton College Archives make the Wheaton College Graduate School a particularly rich place to study the Modern History of Christianity at an advanced level.
