Master of Arts in Theology & Culture (MATC)
Theological formation for leaders who serve, heal, and create.
The Master of Arts in Theology & Culture (MATC) is designed for those who feel called to the intersectional work of healing, justice, creativity, and leadership. If you are an artist, activist, ministry leader, or seeker at a vocational crossroads, this two-year, low-residency graduate program offers a path of theological formation that is rooted in your story and context.
Here, theology is not just studied, it鈥檚 lived. You鈥檒l engage deeply with scripture, tradition, and culture through a curriculum that weaves together theological reflection, psychological insight, and embodied spiritual practice. Alongside an eclectic cohort of fellow learners, you鈥檒l explore the pressing questions of our time: What does it mean to be human? Where is God at work in our world? How do we participate in that work with wisdom, compassion, and courage?
"Our calling is to face the beauty and brokenness of our own stories as we move toward reconciliation and restoration in the stories of others."
Dan Allender
Concentrations
Whether you pursue a specialization in The Arts, Community Development, or Ministry, your learning will be shaped by a guiding vision: transformation through relationship, reflection, and rootedness in context.
You’ll Apply Directly into Your Specialization When You Apply for the MATC Degree
The MATC: Arts specialization is for artists, makers, and imaginative leaders who feel called to create not just art鈥攂ut transformation. Designed for creatives who hold together both introspection and cultural impact, this two-year theology graduate program equips artists to become cultural prophets: those who speak truth to power, tend to collective wounds and offer glimpses of God through beauty.
If your art is rooted in sacred questions, if you feel a call to make meaning out of pain, or if you dream of a more just and loving world鈥攖his program offers space to explore, deepen, and embody that call. Learn more about this program
The MATC: Community Development Specialization is designed for people who feel called to be present in the places they鈥檝e been planted鈥攑eople who believe in change that emerges from the ground up, not the top down. This program is for organizers, pastors, nonprofit leaders, and engaged neighbors who want to deepen their impact through the integration of theology, justice, and relational practice.
Over two years, you鈥檒l learn to discern the movement of God in a particular place and participate in that movement by cultivating beauty, equity, and collective healing in your community. Learn more about this program.
The MATC: Ministry specialization is for those called to shape the future of faith in bold, imaginative, yet deeply grounded ways. Designed for pastors, spiritual leaders, lay ministers, and seekers of all kinds, this two-year program invites you to live into your calling with courage鈥攇uiding communities toward healing, justice, and flourishing.
At a time when traditional models of church are unraveling and new expressions of faith are emerging, this specialization helps you listen for what is being born. You鈥檒l explore contextual and formational approaches to ministry that respond to the real needs of people and places鈥攚ith theology that is rooted, embodied, and always relational. Learn more about this program.
Curriculum
The MATC curriculum brings theology into sustained dialogue with culture, history, and lived experience while grounding your learning in real-world practice. Across the program, you will build a shared interdisciplinary foundation, then deepen your specialization through applied fieldwork (the MATC Apprenticeship) and integrative capstone work that connects study, vocation, and context.
Year One: Common Curriculum Foundations
In your first year, the Common Curriculum (link) invites you into shared formation alongside future therapists, pastors, artists, and change makers. This year builds an interdisciplinary foundation that brings theology into conversation with psychology, scripture, and lived experience while cultivating deep listening and integrative thinking.
Key areas of study:
- Interdisciplinary inquiry (theology and psychology in dialogue)
- Deep listening and emotional intelligence
- Biblical traditions and theological formation
- Contextual and embodied learning in your own place and story
- Integrative writing and synthesis (human flourishing, text, soul, culture)
Sample Courses:
- IDS 501 Intersections: Interdisciplinary Inquiry & Psychological Frameworks
- IDS 504 Critical Reading Lab
- IDS 520 Listening Lab (Part I)
- IDS 502 Intersections: Biblical Traditions & Theological Formations
- IDS 505 Contextual Learning Lab
- IDS 521 Listening Lab (Part II)
- IDS 503 Intersections: Textual Integrations
Year Two: Apprenticeship, Specialization, and Capstone Integration
In your second year, your learning deepens through the MATC Apprenticeship, a contextual fieldwork experience that turns your vocation and community into a classroom. This year also culminates in a Capstone Integrative Portfolio, bringing together your passions, theological insights, and vocational commitments into a coherent body of work.
Fieldwork (MATC Apprenticeship):
- 60鈥�80 hours of faculty-approved and supervised, community-based learning
- Self-selected placement in a human/community service, ministry, or artistic organization
- A learning contract with an on-site supervisor (goals, competencies, dates, and hours)
Courses associated with Apprenticeship:
- TCE 533 Theories of Change
- TCE 534/5/6 Practices of Change
Capstone (Integrative Portfolio):
Under the guidance of a faculty mentor, you synthesize your 天美视频 learning as you articulate your understanding of text, soul, and culture in relation to your post-graduation vocation.
Portfolio signature pieces:
- Artifact Library
- Annotated Bibliography
- Final Project
Want to see what鈥檚 being offered right now? View the current Program & Course Catalog .
Program Format
The MATC is offered in a Low-Residency (online) format, designed for students who want to remain rooted in their own contexts while joining a shared learning community. You will complete weekly online coursework and come to campus two times for intensive, retreat-style residencies that deepen formation, instruction, and connection.
This program is offered in a Low-Residency (online) format that pairs weekly online learning with retreat-style, in-person residencies for formation, community, and embodied practice.
How the Low-Residency format works
Weekly, interactive online coursework
You鈥檒l participate in weekly online classes designed to keep learning relational and dialogical, engaging theology in conversation with culture, history, and lived experience.
Retreat-style residencies (required)
MATC students attend two on-campus, retreat-style residencies during the program (in addition to IP Symposium/Graduation Weekend). These gatherings offer intensive instruction, formation practices, and community building with peers and faculty.
When residencies happen
Residencies are listed on the Academic Calendar and generally occur twice per year (often September and January).
Immersive travel residency (for some cohorts)
Students who began Fall 2021 are required to attend an immersive travel residency once during the program (typically offered in the spring).
Why Low-Residency
This model allows you to remain rooted in your own community and vocational context while being formed within a sustained learning community that supports integration, discernment, and long-term sustainability.
Admissions
Our application processes are thoughtful, relational, and accessible. We look forward to getting to know more of your story and vocational direction while also offering you a robust experience of our mission, ethos, training, and community.
Applying to 天美视频 is a structured process designed to help us get to know you as a whole person, not just your academic record. Here鈥檚 what to expect:
1) Submit your application materials
Your graduate application includes two essays, a curriculum vitae (CV), and two reference letters. Create your application portal to access submission details and upload materials.
Application fee: $50
2) Order your official transcripts
Request official transcripts from any post-secondary institution where you completed coursework or earned a degree. We accept electronic and paper submissions. For questions about GPA or accreditation requirements, refer to our Graduate Admissions Policies.
3) Participate in an online group interview
After your application is submitted, you will be invited to register for a group interview via Zoom.
4) Admissions decision
Candidates are selected based on readiness for rigorous academic work, vocational direction, life experience, emotional and relational intelligence, and resonance with 天美视频鈥檚 mission and ethos. Decisions are made in community by the Admissions Review Committee.
Have questions?
Our Enrollment team would love to come alongside you as you discern your next steps. or reach us at admissions@theseattleschool.edu.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition and financial aid are often the first questions students bring as they begin discerning the MATC. We aim to make costs as clear and accessible as possible, with transparent per-credit tuition, an overview of typical fees, and guidance on scholarships and financial aid options that can support your course of study.
- Tuition is charged per credit, per term.
- MATC total credits: 39
- Estimated total tuition (tuition only): $29,679
- Students may use personal resources, scholarships, financial aid, and/or employer or veteran benefits.
Tuition (per credit)
| Type | Cost |
| Tuition (per credit) | $761 |
| Audit (per credit) | $330 |
| Community Audit (per credit) | $325 |
Community audit credits are available to the public and to alumni.
Program tuition total (tuition only)
| Program | Total Credits | Total Tuition |
| Master of Arts in Theology & Culture | 39 | $29,679 |
Total tuition depends on the number of credits you take each term.
Academic fees (in addition to tuition)
When considering costs, keep academic fees in mind. We work to keep these low. See a full table of fees in the Academic Catalog.
| Fee | Cost |
| Practical Training Lab Fee | $210 |
| Student Services & Lifecycle Gathering Fee | $120 |
| Registration & Information Technology Fee | $210 |
| Alumni Association Fee | $150 |
| Graduation Fee | $185 |
Estimated cost of attendance (typical full-time year)
These figures are estimates based on full-time enrollment (22 credits per academic year). Your actual costs will vary based on credit load, housing, and personal expenses.
Direct educational costs
| Direct Costs | Fall | Winter | Spring | Total |
| Tuition | $6,088 | $6,088 | $4,566 | $16,742 |
| Fees | $540 | $540 | $540 | $1,620 |
| Books & Supplies | $550 | $550 | $500 | $1,600 |
Indirect costs (living expenses)
| Indirect Costs | Fall | Winter | Spring | Total |
| Room & Board* | $8,400 | $8,400 | $8,400 | $25,200 |
| Personal | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 | $4,500 |
| Transportation | $600 | $600 | $600 | $1,800 |
Low-Residency travel (estimated)
| Low-Residency Costs | Total |
| Estimated travel costs | $6,500 |
*Derived from Washington Financial Aid Association and Seattle Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Note: One line in your source content references $742 per credit for calculations, but the tuition table lists $761 per credit. For clarity, this section uses $761. If the lower figure is the updated rate, swap it here so the page stays consistent.
Financial aid and scholarships
Financial aid and scholarship support are available to help make your education more accessible.
Step 1: Complete the FAFSA
- School code: G34664
Step 2: Complete loan requirements (if applicable)
- Master Promissory Note
- Entrance Loan Counseling
Step 3: Review your award and plan payments
Once enrolled, you can use Populi to:
- View and accept your financial aid award
- Track disbursements across trimesters
- Set up a payment plan if needed
Additional support options may include
- 天美视频 scholarships
- Work study
- AmeriCorps and external scholarships
- Fee waivers
- VA education benefits (if eligible)
After graduation, repayment pathways may include options such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness for those who qualify.
Career Outcomes and Alumni Stories
MATC graduates carry their formation into a wide range of vocations where theology meets the realities of culture and community life. These career pathways and alumni stories offer a glimpse of how the program shapes both the work our graduates do and the people they are becoming as they serve, create, and lead.
The MATC is designed for those called to the intersectional work of healing, justice, creativity, and leadership. Graduates often remain rooted in their communities while bringing theological formation into public life through art, ministry, nonprofit work, community development, education, advocacy, and other forms of cultural leadership.
Because the MATC includes a supervised Apprenticeship (60鈥�80 hours) in a community based setting, students commonly build experience and relationships in the very contexts where they hope to serve after graduation.
Alumni serve in settings such as:
- Churches and ministry organizations (pastoral and program leadership)
- Nonprofit and community organizations (program leadership, administration, community development)
- Arts and creative vocations (artists, writers, public scholarship, creative community leadership)
- Education and formation focused roles (teaching, mentoring, spiritual formation work)
- Advocacy and justice oriented work (local and global engagement, relief and development, community care)听
Alumni Stories
Jay Briggs, MATC 鈥�14
Formation that sustains creative leadership and public-facing work.
Jay shares how MATC shaped his vocational path as an artist, educator, and nonprofit administrator. His story highlights the way 天美视频 holds rigorous academic work alongside interpersonal formation, helping graduates bring theology into the real complexities of culture and community.
A line that stays with him: 鈥淭he academics were top notch, but what really sets the school apart is the interpersonal work.鈥�
Mary DeJong, MATC 鈥�17
Theology rooted in place, practice, and the healing of the world.
Mary describes a vocation as an urban naturalist and ecotheologian, weaving together theology, ecology, and the spiritual practice of paying attention. Her story offers a compelling picture of integrative learning that becomes a public life of writing, speaking, and guiding others toward deeper connection with place.
A line that stays with her: 鈥溙烀朗悠� gave me the freedom and support to self-create a focus.鈥�
Distinctives of the 天美视频
The MATC is designed for those called to bring theology into the places where life is complex and change is needed. Rooted in your story and context, this program forms the whole person through integrative learning, relational community, and practices that help you engage culture with wisdom, courage, and hope.
Theology that is lived, not only studied
Here, theology is more than content to master. You will engage scripture, tradition, and culture in ways that are intellectually honest and emotionally resonant, weaving together theological reflection, psychological insight, and embodied spiritual practice.
Integrative learning at the intersection of theology, psychology, and culture
The MATC curriculum is built on sustained dialogue between disciplines, helping you ask better questions and develop a grounded theological imagination for the pressing realities of our time: What does it mean to be human? Where is God at work? How do we participate with compassion and courage?
A program model that forms the whole person
This two-year degree is offered in a low-residency format, balancing the flexibility of online learning with the depth of retreat-style, in-person gatherings. Weekly interactive coursework is paired with intensives designed to cultivate relational connection, embodied learning, and spiritual formation, while allowing you to remain rooted in your community and vocation.
Distinctives at a glance
- Integrative learning grounded in theology, psychology, and culture
- Contextual Apprenticeship that bridges study and vocation
- Capstone Integrative Portfolio that synthesizes your learning
- Retreat-style residencies that foster embodied formation
- A learning community committed to transforming relationships
“True collaborative change work happens at the intersection of beauty, justice, and community.”
Ron Ruthruff, DMin
Associate Professor of Theology & Culture Meet Our Core Faculty
