The Practicum (or Field-Based Course) is intended to deepen students’ awareness of spiritual practices across ecumenical or interfaith lines, equipping them to discern faithful forms of sharing and adapting practices between those different traditions while honoring their differences.
The Practicum is an intensive engagement in the programmed activity of one or more traditions not one’s own. Contact hours and placement of the Practicum are negotiated with the Coordinator of the Certificate, depending on the nature and intensity of the activity
proposed.
The Field-based Course is a one semester course that is delivered at one or more sites involving practical engagement, or a course in which a field site is substantially engaged as part of the course.
The elements of this requirement for the Certificate are the:
- The student meets with the Coordinator of the Certificate of Studies for one hour, either in-person or virtually, to gain approval of the Practicum or Course and discuss desired learning outcomes. If the proposal is a Practicum, 2-3 readings will be assigned to ensure the student’s basic familiarity with the tradition in which the Practicum will occur.
- The Practicum or Field Based Course.
- A concluding meeting with the Coordinator the Certificate. Prior to this meeting, students will submit an 8-10 page reflection on learnings. In the case where an assignment in the Field-based course satisfies this expectation, the Course assignment may be submitted to the Coordinator.
The Practicum or Field-based Course is a Pass-Fail element of the Certificate for Spirituality, regardless of whether a course is letter-graded.
Field-based courses may be drawn from any of the schools of the Washington Theological Consortium. Practica may be developed from substantial activities offered by, for example, a local mosque, dharma center, meditation center, church, synagogue, gurdwara, yoga community, or retreat center; or from an organization such as the Rumi Center, or Interfaith Conference of Metro Washington.
For more information contact the Coordinator of the Certificate in Spirituality Studies, Professor James W. Farwell, Virginia Theological Seminary, at [email protected]
For details on other aspects of the certificate, click here.