Doctor of Pastoral Music Course Information
*Indicates that courses with an asterisk (*) are taken with Doctor of Ministry students
1. VOCATION AND LEADERSHIP COURSES (9 term hours)
CM 9370 The Person and the Role of a Leader in Ministry*
An integrative approach that provides emotional and cultural competence assessment for personal and professional issues in ministry. Enables a clear sense of self in respect to emotional and cultural dynamics. Equips leaders with effective communication skills to enhance practices of ministry for organizational settings.
Three term hours. Required of all DPM students during their first June term. Three term hours.
CM 9380 Seminar in Practical Theology: Vocation, Leadership & Community*
Using a Practical Theology framework, this course explores the theological meanings and intersections between vocation, leadership and community. Particular emphasis is given to the relationship between gospel and vocation, leadership and practices of ministry, and community and the world. Three term hours. Required of all DPM students during their first June term. Three term hours.
CM 9379 Models of Leadership, Social Institutions, and Community Engagement*
Focuses on the characteristics and strategic planning of organizational leaders in churches and/or non-profit organizations who develop social and self-sustaining programs for congregations and communities. Three term hours
2. DPM CONCENTRATION COURSES (15 term hours)
CM 9301 Music and Arts in Missional Ministry
An exploration of the role of music and arts in connecting congregations to their communities. Drawing upon arts resources in the Metroplex and beyond, this course will facilitate conversations with missional church leaders and those in the emerging field of Community Music, offering strategies for building relationships beyond the walls of the church through the arts. This course correlates with CM 9379 Models of Leadership, Social Institutions, and Community Engagement*. Required of all DPM students. Three term hours.
CM 9323 Applied Studies in Church Music
A seminar focusing on the integration of a particular applied musical skill into the student’s liturgical context. Applied areas of instruction include choral conducting, organ, keyboards, canting (voice), guitar, composition, and other liturgical arts. Students will integrate their chosen applied area of study into a creative worship context and present this service to the class with a theological, liturgical, and contextual rationale. Taken in the student’s community in conjunction with a mutually approved mentor. Required of all DPM students. Three term hours.
CM 9373 Issues in Liturgical Theology and Practice
A critical examination of the complex juxtaposition of Christian ritual practices and theology, with attention paid to specific historical and contemporary praxis within cultures. Pathways to reform will be discussed. Required of all DPM students. Three term hours.
CM 9324 Issues in Pastoral Music
An in-depth study of church music genres with including score analysis, historical background, liturgical context, and theological and philosophical underpinnings. Required of all DPM students. Three term hours.
CM 9344 Music in Worship and Renewal
This course will focus on recent trends and resources on music and worship in order to gain a historical perspective and greater understanding of the nature and role of congregational song in worship and ways to improve congregational singing. Required of all DPM students. Three term hours.
3. ELECTIVE COURSES (3 term hours)
DM 9349 Vocation, Leadership and the Bible in Contexts
Examines the interpretations of selected biblical traditions that offer meanings of vocation, leadership roles and community character for contexts of ministry. Three term hours.
DM 9350 Ecclesiology, Community and Models of Leadership
An examination of the contemporary and theological foundations, strategies, and manifestations of Christian ecclesiologies and ministerial vocation and leadership. Attention will be given to models of ministerial leadership at church level as well as non-parish models of response to the social environment. Three term hours.
DM 9347 Contextual Analysis
An examination of the contexts and strategies appropriate for understanding the relationships between congregations and communities. Attention also will be given to broader national and global forces operating in specific settings. Explores and equips students with tools to analyze and interpret church/community structures and situations in light of the immediate context and regional and global trends. Three term hours.
CM 9369 Leadership and Vocation in Church and Community: A Theological/Historical Exploration
Considers themes and figures in the Christian tradition that provide students with the rich experiences of theological and ecclesial understandings of Christian vocation and leadership in context with the church and communities. Three term hours.
CM 9390 Directed Studies in Pastoral Music
A focused independent research project initiated by the student or the professor on a topic beneficial to the student's practicum or thesis. Three term hours.
4. PROJECT, PRACTICUM, AND THESIS (12 term hours)
The integrative project practicum and thesis combine research, a designed pastoral field experience, and a written thesis addressing both the nature and the creative practice of music ministry, and research that has the potential for application in other ministry contexts.
CM 9309 Integrative Seminar and Strategic Planning in Contexts of Change and Transitions*
This course offers the students a case study approach where theological knowledge, tools for leadership, and strategic planning for community are employed for contextual analysis in order to implement desirable goals, manage organizational complexities, and provide a vision coherent with a Christian vision. Required of all DPM students. Three term hours
CM 9696 Pastoral Music Practicum
The project practicum has two options depending on the student’s context. 1) The Applied Pastoral Music Practicum is a supervised experience in pastoral music ministry in a student’s congregation and community setting. 2) The Research Pastoral Music Practicum allows qualified students to engage more deeply in research on an approved topic. Taken during the student’s third year of the program. Required of all DPM students. Six term hours.
CM 9398 Doctor of Pastoral Music Thesis
Building upon the Applied or Research Pastoral Music Practicum, the written project thesis is a contribution to the understanding and practice of pastoral music ministry through the completion of a doctoral-level thesis. Required of all DPM students. Thee term hours.