Academic Resources

Orientation

Please call the GPPM office to schedule your orientation meeting with administrative staff (1-408-554-4831). 

Before your orientation meeting, review the GPPM website as well as the academic calendar and student handbook (below).  Since we will be using Zoom video-conferencing for the orientation session, you'll also want to review the section below on "Using Zoom"—even if you're taking all your classes on the home campus.  That section explains how to download the free software and configure your computer, tablet or phone to use it.  If you run into any trouble with that in advance of your orientation session, call the GPPM office prior to your appointment and we'll help you to resolve it (1-408-554-4831). 

Academic Calendar

The GPPM Academic Calendar lists all of the deadlines for registration, bill payment, adding and dropping courses, capstone portfolio or practicum submissions, and petitions to graduate. Please review this before your orientation session as well.

As a condition of enrollment, SCU requires students to have a health insurance plan, both to protect against unexpected high medical costs and to provide access to quality care.

2024/2025 Student Health Insurance

Graduate students who DO NOT complete the online waiver by September 21 will be charged the annual health insurance premium to their student account.  The charge will be due September 21.

• Waivers received between August 25-September 21 will have the health insurance charge reversed from their account within 3-5 business days, without penalty.
• Waivers received after the September 21 and before the Graduate FINAL waiver submission deadline of September 25, will receive the health insurance charge reversed within 3-5 business days, but incur a $100 non-refundable late fee.     

Spiritual Director

The program strongly encourages you to seek out a trained spiritual director or spiritual companion during your coursework. Critical theological study inevitably raises questions that might challenge the current formulations that shape your faith, and a trained spiritual director can help you navigate these challenges in a way that deepens your faith. Please contact the GPPM Office for Spiritual Direction resources in your area. 

We also offer suggestions for finding a spiritual director in the “Spiritual Direction & Spirituality Resources” section below.

GPPM Student Bulletin

The Graduate Student Bulletin 2024-2025 contains all of the policies and procedures for every step of your journey with us, from admission to coursework to graduation. The link above takes you to the current bulletin, with a tagged table of contents so that you can easily find the section you're looking for. For your convenience the GPPM Student Bulletin 2020-2021 is also available.GPPM Student Bulletin 2020-2021

Getting Started

The digital ACCESS credential is available to all enrolled Santa Clara University students, and current faculty and staff. The convenience of your ACCESS Card is now available on your iPhone, Apple Watch or Android phone. The digital credential provides access to university buildings, and payment at participating campus venues, dining, vending and laundry machines, and off campus merchants. Your digital ACCESS credential can be used wherever your physical ACCESS card is accepted. Please note, faculty and staff MAY need a physical card if they require access to specific locks on campus. All new students will be issued a digital (mobile) credential.

Please note: do not use Transact eAccounts' "Card Management" section unless you want to suspend your credential. Mobile credentials can only be set up using the instructions in the “How to Upload Your Credential” link.

eCampus

While you're a student, you will access your course schedule, grades, and student profile through eCampus.

When you are first accepted into the Graduate Program, you will receive an email from SCU (to the preferred email address you used on your application to the GPPM).  This email will provide a computer-generated password for eCampus. If you do not see it check your spam folder, and if it's not there, go to Academic Technologies' Get Connected page to troubleshoot access.  Once you've logged in, use that Get Connected page to learn how to use eCampus to navigate your courses, check your financial aid, and access grades. Here is the Quick Reference Guide they provide on that page.

Bursar

For instructions as to how to pay your tuition and student fees, please go to the Bursar Office's Onestop website. Tuition and fees are all due on the 21st of the month in the month before classes begin (Aug 21 for Fall 2022, December 21 for Winter 2023, March 21 for Spring 2023, and May 21 for Summer 2023). After that deadline, a $100 late registration fee is assessed to enroll. You can continue to enroll through the Sunday that closes the first week of classes; an add/drop/swap fee for $50 per class will apply. For the precise deadlines, see the Academic Calendar. You can also see your financial account on eCampus.

Registration

Each quarter a registration period is held to allow all GPPM students to enroll in classes. Students are assigned appointment times in the eCampus system during the designated initial registration period. Appointment times are assigned based on the number of units a student has accumulated plus current enrollment. Students may register for classes any time after their appointment day and time, but not before until the add/drop/swap period closes on the Sunday that closes the first week of classes. Just keep in mind that if you haven't enrolled by the 21st in the month before classes, a $100 late registration fee will be assessed, and during the add/drop/swap period a $50 fee per class is also added. So it pays to plan ahead! The precise deadlines are available in the Academic Calendar.

Prior to registering for classes, new students are encouraged to clear any holds as soon as possible related to missing transcripts or any of the admissions criteria identified at the time of admission.

Gmail

Once you've matriculated at Santa Clara University (that is, once you're accepted for study here), you will receive an email account that you will have for life. The domain is @scu.edu, but the system is provided by Gmail. Here is a Learning Gmail Guide to help you get up and running.

All of your communication from the University, the Graduate Program, and your professors through the learning management portal, Camino, will be to this scu.edu account, so you will need to get in the habit of checking it weekly if not daily. An easy way to do this is if you have set up your smartphone or desktop email client to import scu.edu emails automatically. On your smartphone, you can set your default view to "all inboxes" rather than just your personal email, so that the scu emails automatically feed into your inbox. Our Information Technology folks have prepared a How To page to help you configure your desktop email client and phone for scu email.

Google Suite/Google Apps

In addition to Gmail, you have access to the entire suite of Google products through your SCU login, including contacts, calendar, groups, drive, docs, slides, sheets, websites, YouTube, and more. All of these apps are available when you log in to your SCU email account: just click on the nine-dot grid in the upper right corner to pop up a window with the apps. SCU's IT staff have prepared a page that guides you through getting started with several of these apps.

Google Drive

One of those apps is Google Drive. You can use this to store documents in the cloud so that they're accessible from any device. The Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries uses this drive to create a folder for you that is shared with you, program staff. Your Google Drive folder has a course and advising checklist that you can fill in to track your progress toward the degree.  It also has a folder for your capstone portfolio or practicum. When you finish a class, scan or upload your final project or paper with the professor's comments to the capstone folder. As you approach the end of your program, use the checklist in the relevant folder as a guide for your integrative project. The checklist outlines the necessary steps and deadlines, and links to resources, to help you complete the capstone component.

SCU Apps

Santa Clara has several apps you can download to your iPhone or Android device to access services on campus. The image to the right shows a few of them. Left to right, top to bottom, they are: Mobile SCU - events, news, dining, courses, study space reservations, SCU App/Guidebook - campus maps and guides SCU Login - access all your SCU accounts quickly Bookstore - preorder books so they're ready to pick up when you come to campus Zoom - attend your hybrid weeknight classes from your phone (though we recommend a laptop or desktop so you can type) SCU Food - dining services on campus SC Front Row - tickets for all our campus sporting events eAccounts - pay your fees and tuition, add money to your Access card Tapingo - order food from any of the campus vendors Download these as you would any other app, from the Apple or Android app store.

Technology Resources

Information Services at Santa Clara provides online guidance for all your hardware and software needs and issues. The image to the right is the array of tiles you'll find on their website, and each takes you to set-up and troubleshooting guidance. Here are direct links to the ones you might need most often: Computing Support Technology Training Quick Start-Students Gmail eCampus G Suite Camino (Canvas LMS) Logins/Accounts Single Sign-On Help Print/File Sharing Campus Network Registering a Device Campus Wireless Mobile Devices LC Technology Spaces (LC+learning commons) Software Hardware Personal and Student Discounts Web Resources ZOOM Web Conferencing

Courses

Curriculum

Students in the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries earn a Master of Arts degree. The degree requirements consist of sixty quarter units which are made up of fifteen four-unit classes. Seven of the fifteen courses are required foundational courses. If you are enrolled in a ministry emphasis, 4-5 of your remaining eight courses will be required emphasis courses, and 3-4 classes will be free electives. If you are not enrolled in an emphasis, all eight courses beyond the foundational courses will be free electives.

You may focus your electives in a particular area related to your work or ministry; if you would like to do this, we recommend discussing this with your faculty advisor or staff so that you can plan your program effectively.

Graduate Certificate courses are offered in addition to the Master of Arts curriculum. There are six courses required for the Graduate Certificate in Restorative Justice and Chaplaincy. Students seeking a Graduate Certificate take courses alongside those seeking the Master of Arts degree. The five required courses for the Certificate in Restorative Justice and Chaplaincy are PMIN 201: Theological Foundations for Ministry, RJUS 220: Introduction to Restorative Justice, RJUS 221: Chaplaincy, RJUS 222: Trauma and Healing in a Broken World, RJUS 223: Introduction to the Criminal Justice System or RJUS 227: Integrative Chaplaincy, and RJUS 224: Intercultural and Interreligious Competencies.

In addition to coursework, each student compiles a summative assessment of their learning at the conclusion of their program, either as part of a capstone portfolio or as part of a ministry practicum (an option for students in the emphases). You will find details on these assignments below. The capstone portfolio or practicum is required in order to graduate.

Course Formats

Classes are delivered in three modes in the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries:

• Face-to-face (traditional) classes are offered at Santa Clara University. Students meet once a week in the evening for ten weeks in an assigned classroom.
• Hybrid or blended classes combine three full Saturdays (9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch) at a central site with seven 2-hour synchronous video-conference sessions in which all students and the professor participate.
• Synchronous video conferencing is available for an entire course in the online degree program.
• Mixed-Mode classes are offered at all of the course delivery sites wherein some students will attend class in an assigned classroom space and others will attend online via video-conferencing.

Camino

Camino is our local name for a ”learning management system“ or LMS published by Canvas. Learning management systems offer online course "sites" that can house course materials (syllabi, readings, videos, sound files), host interactions between students and with the professor (chats, conferences, messaging, wikis, blogs, collaborations), field assignments and facilitate the professor's evaluation and grading of student work. It's a robust complement to your class time that might be new to you, depending on when you were last in school.

We encourage professors to use Camino in their GPPM classes, though you will likely experience some variety throughout your coursework.

Here is additional assistance is available from the Canvas Student Guide.

Zoom is a free video-conferencing application that allows us not only to hold class together from separate locations, screen-share and break into small groups, but also to have a private conversation with your professor or mentor or set up meetings with other students.  The GPPM uses Zoom to conduct the seven two-hour class sessions between the six-hour, in-person Saturdays in hybrid courses, but you are also welcome to use it to initiate meetings with your colleagues, professors, faculty mentor, or program staff.

Buying Books

On-campus Students

The Campus Bookstore orders all the textbooks and course readers required and recommended for classes on the SCU campus. You can plug in your course information at their portal to see what books are required for your class (in fact, a link to that page should pop up when you finishing registering for your class(es) on eCampus). You can even order your books online, and they will be ready for you at the register at the time you come to campus. Details about this process, and information about textbook rental and buy-back, are available on the Student Textbooks page.

You can create a login at the Bookstore site to have access to your order history and single-click order in the future.

We ask professors to supply the ISBNs of all required texts on their syllabus in advance, so that you can buy your books from Amazon, ABE Books, or your favorite vendor and get the best possible price. The Campus Bookstore has a price-matching policy if you can show a lower price on an exact match (that is, new for new, used for used, same edition).

Students at Diocesan Sites

We require faculty to include ISBN numbers on their syllabi so that you can buy the correct books from Amazon, ABE Books, or your favorite vendor and get the best possible price.

At the conclusion of your coursework, you will complete either a Capstone Portfolio or a Ministry Practicum. The practicum is only an option for students in a ministry emphasis who matriculated in Fall 2019 or later. Please contact program staff when you are ready to begin your Capstone Portfolio preparation. Several group preparation sessions are scheduled each academic year to help you to prepare for the process of creating your Capstone. 

The guidelines below outline some of the main points.

Preparing for your Capstone Portfolio during Coursework

If you plan to complete the Capstone Portfolio, we recommend that you gather copies of your final projects/papers for all your classes—the copies your professor marked—and upload those to your Google Drive Capstone Portfolio folder. You can do this at the end of each quarter, and narrow your selection to six papers when you complete the assignment, or you can upload them all at once. This is easy if the professor used Camino for assignments; in the "Courses & Camino" section above we show you how to download marked papers from Camino.

If your professor returned your papers in hard copy rather than electronic form, you will need to scan them into digital pdf files before uploading them on your computer and then to your Google Drive folder. If you have access to a good professional copy machine, like the ones in the SCU library, it will have a scanner button as well as a print button, and you can press it, enter your email address manually, put your paper on the feed tray, and press the print button; it will scan directly to your email.

Writing the Capstone Essay

When you near completion of the program, you will write an 8-10-page, double-spaced integrative essay reflecting on what you have learned in your coursework and how this prepares you for ministry. The specific questions to focus your reflection are:

• How did I come to understand each of the five learning goals through the chosen projects and the program in general?
• How did mastering these learning goals and objectives strengthen my ability to minister? 

For the Capstone essay, you will reflect not on the learning objectives per se, but on the broader learning goals of the program, of which there are five. Your mentor and program staff are looking for evidence that you have mastered these five goals, so your essay should reflect on your intellectual and practical growth towards that mastery.  You will select six discrete courses and associated papers/projects to serve as evidence of your learning, uploading those to your Capstone Portfolio folder on Google Drive and identifying them on the Capstone checklist (please link the titles to the papers, as the video illustrates).  Three of the courses should be foundational courses. For emphasis students, two of the remaining three courses will be from their emphasis. The five learning goals provide a simple outline for your presentation; no subtitles are needed in your paper.

Your Google Drive folder has a subfolder for your Capstone Portfolio. In it, you will find a Capstone checklist, which has specific guidelines and links to additional resources, along with the rubric that will be used to score your paper. 

All Capstone Portfolios are due by May 1 of the academic year you plan to graduate.

Practicum

The option of doing a ministry practicum is new for students who enrolled in the Latina/o Ministry, Restorative Justice and Chaplaincy, or Youth and Young Adult Ministries emphases during or after Fall 2019. Program faculty are currently developing the directions and evaluation criteria for the project and will post them here in the 2022–2023 academic year.

International students interested in exploring the Practicum option should plan to meet with an international student advisor in the Global Engagement Office to discuss whether the project parameters require you to receive Curricular Practical Training (CPT) advising.

University Library

The University Library and Learning Commons is one of the greatest companions you'll have during coursework.  With its books and journals, databases and research resources, printing and scanning equipment, study spaces and staff ready to assist with your research and with technology issues and equipment, it's a tremendous support for those of you taking classes on the home campus.

But even those of you off-site can take advantage of much that the library has to offer. With your Access Card and SCU login, you can access the database for journal articles and also order any books or articles you need (they can be sent to the nearest library participating in our LINK+ system).  And for tech issues, you can always go directly to the Technology support page and start an online chat.

In the videos below, we give you a short "virtual tour" of the library, show you how to use the electronic databases to find books and articles, walk you through the process of finding physical books and journals in the library (yes, they still exist!), as well as ordering titles we don't have, and show you how to print and scan documents (scanning is free).

Printing & Scanning Materials in the Library

On-campus students can take advantage of the SmartPrint system to configure one black-and-white printer and one color printer on campus to print from their laptops.  The Library has a page that walks you through the process, from downloading the necessary app onto your laptop to configuring it for printing.

When you're on campus, you can also use the stationary computers in the library and computer labs to print to public printers nearby.  This is called Guest Printing, and directions for it are available from the link.  Alas, the name doesn't imply that printing is free, as you only have a courtesy allotment of $2 before you need to supplement your SmartPrint account with funds.

A lot of people prefer to scan materials to their email. Since you're not using paper or ink, this is free.  You'll need to use the copy machines, which are near the elevator bank on every floor. Tap the "scanner" button, select manual entry for your email entry, use the keyboard to type in your email address, and then scan your pages.  There are ways to scan oversize images and double-sided documents; if you need to do this, ask the library staff for help.

Lastly, you can even print from your smart phone or tablet.  The Mobile Printing link will explain how.

Study Rooms in the Library

Small private rooms for group study can be reserved online in advance.  When your time arrives, swipe your access card at the reader outside the room to get in.  The process and a link to the layout of rooms is available online and also from a flat-screen TV near the entrance to the library.

Style Guide

The GPPM Program has developed a Style Guide that explains how to lay out your papers, cite sources, and work with the three main word processing programs you might use: Microsoft Word, Apple's Pages, and Google Docs. The Style Guide also includes templates for single-spaced and double-spaced papers with all the margins and formatting built in, and you can download and use these for your classes.

The HUB Writing Center

The university staffs a writing center called the HUB during the academic year. Undergraduates with strong writing skills support other undergraduates and grad students with their writing. This can be done in person or remotely; see their website for details about hours, locations, and scheduling an appointment.

Theological Reflection

Theological reflection is a practice of creating dialogue between what is learned, what one does, and who one is. It is a skill you will practice frequently in your courses, using various models from the Christian tradition, and it is a skill you will demonstrate in the essays you write for your mid-program review and capstone essay.

Program faculty have developed some Guidelines for Theological Reflection for your use. You need to be logged in to your scu.edu gmail account to access the document.

Glossary of Theological Terms

In the year 2000, GPPM student and Dean of the Engineering School Terry Shoup designed a Glossary of Theological Terms for students like himself for whom theological vocabulary was a world unto itself.  He asked several faculty to record the pronunciation of the terms, and built a glossary with audio files and definitions. 

Theological Research

We've listed below some useful resources for your theological education, ministerial preparation and spiritual growth.  The categories (and you can use these links to navigate down the list) are:

• primers for theological and minsterial studies
• church sites, documents and spirituality apps
• online theology resources
• resources for Scripture study

Primers for Theological & Ministerial Studies

Cahalan, Kathleen.  Introducing the Practice of Ministry. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2010. Egan, Philip A. Philosophy and Catholic Theology: A Primer. Collegeville, Minnesota: Michael Glazier, 2009. Kavanagh, Aidan O.S.B.  On Liturgical Theology. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1984. Kim, Eunjoo Mary. Christian Preaching and Worship in Multicultural Contexts: A Practical Theological Approach. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2017. Kinast, Robert L. Making Faith-Sense. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1999. Reiser, William, S.J. Seeking God in All Things. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2004. Schussler Fiorenza, Francis and John Galvin. Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives, 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2011. Veeneman, Mary M. Introducing Theological Method: A Survey of Contemporary Theologians and Approaches.  Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017.

Church Sites & Documents

• The Holy See Vatican website; choose your language in the upper right corner. • Papal Documents An alphabetical listing of the Latin titles, with popes, dates, and types of documents, with links to the English translations. • Acta Apostolicae Sedis Published since 1909, this resource contains all the principal decrees, encyclical letters, decisions of Roman congregations, and notices of ecclesiastical appointments, in Latin. • Catechism of the Catholic Church Published in 1997. • The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops • Directory of US Bishops and Dioceses • Center for Research in the Apostolate (CARA) A national, non-profit, Georgetown University-affiliated research center that conducts social scientific studies about the Catholic Church, founded in 1964. • The Catholic News Archive A project of the Catholic Research Resources Alliance (CRRA), a non-profit alliance of archives and libraries collaborating in support of the mission to provide enduring global access to Catholic research resources. Apps     Vatican News – the latest information on Pope Francis I and the Holy See.

Online Theology Resources

• Christian Classics Ethereal Library Classic Christian writings in electronic format. • Creeds and Confessions Online texts of various Christian creeds and confessions. The creeds used most often in the Catholic Church are the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. • The Tertullian Project Offers information on the ancient Christian Latin writer Tertullian (c.155 or 160–after 220 A.D.) and his works. Describes manuscripts and includes a bibliography and a glossary of terms, as well as a brief biographical sketch. • Augustine of Hippo Essays on Augustine and his work, commentaries, research materials and the Internet seminar. Provides links to sites relating to St. Augustine; includes some primary texts in English translation. Maintained by J. J. O'Donnell at Georgetown University. • Aquinas Translation Project The Aquinas Translation Project is a web-based project which seeks to provide scholars, religious and any interested individuals with translations of St. Thomas Aquinas's works not readily available in English. Maintained by Stephen Loughlin at DeSales University in Pennsylvania. • Corpus Thomisticum Includes: a full edition of the complete works of St. Thomas; a bibliography covering all the studies on Aquinas and his doctrine; an index of the main tools of Thomistic research; and a digital edition of the main manuscripts of Aquinas' works. Maintained by the Fundación Tomás de Aquino in Pamplona, Spain. • Theological Perspectives of the Reformation Provides information about the various movements of the Reformation. Includes texts, translations of texts, chronologies, comparative tables, images, hymns and more. • Wabash Center Resources Blogs, podcasts, webinars and other resources on teaching theology and religious studies, from the Indiana center focusing on teaching and learning in theology and religion. • Internet Theology Resources: Systematic Theology Various resources related to systematic theology.

Resources for Scripture Study

Bibles Senior, Donald et al., eds. The Catholic Study Bible (NABRE), 3d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. Online at the USCCB. Miller, Robert J. The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholar’s Version, 4th rev. ed. Salem, Oregon: Polebridge Press, 2010. (includes apocryphal as well as canonical gospels) Tools Aland, Kurt. Synopsis of the Four Gospels, 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010. An online synopsis can be found at The Five Gospel Parallels. Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1990. Freedman, David Noel, ed. Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Kohlenberger, John. The New American Bible Revised Edition Concise Concordance, rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Commentary Series: Hermeneia, Sacra Pagina, Yale Anchor Bible, Bible Software Accordance - Bible study software with built-in Bibles, search capabilities, resources, and markup options. The best option for Mac OS. Logos Bible Software - Bible study software with built-in Bibles, search capabilities, resources, and markup options. The best option for Windows OS. Primers Brown, Raymond E., SS. An Introduction to the New Testament, Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1997. (n.b. There is an abridged version of the original 924 page book, edited by Marion Soards, published by the same press in 2016). Harrington, Daniel J., SJ. How Do Catholics Read the Bible?, The Come and See Series. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. Schneiders, Sandra M., IHM. The Revelatory Text: Interpreting the New Testament as Sacred Scripture. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1999. Apps     Catholic NAB – the NABRE.     neuBible – nicely designed and easy to navigate; only has the NAS and NIV versions.     Olive Tree Bible Apps – choose your translation, from Harper Collins Christian Publishing.     Bible Gateway – a tool for reading and researching scripture.     Biblical Pronunciation – a great resource for lectors.

As you approach the conclusion of your program of study, there are a few steps to take outside of classes and your capstone to be sure that you graduate:

• Submit your Petition to Graduate Spring 2023 form to the GPPM Office, Kenna Hall 323, or email it to pastoralministries@scu.edu by the following deadlines (if you do not graduate in the month indicated you must file a new petition):
  • Friday, September 30 for Fall 2022 graduation
  • Friday, January 13 for Winter 2023 graduation
  • Friday, February 24 for Spring 2023 graduation
  • Friday, June 30 for September 2023 graduation
• Submit your Permission to Participate in Spring Commencement 2023 form to the GPPM Office, Kenna Hall 323, or FAX it to (408) 554-7830, or email it to Lynne Lukenbill (llukenbill@scu.edu), by the above deadlines
• Once you have submitted your forms you will hear from the Commencement Office with pertinent information that you will need to prepare for your Commencement Exercises. 
• Please plan to attend our spring graduation celebration, just before the Friday evening ceremony in June; you'll receive an email invitation in May