Graduate Certificate in Formative Spirituality

The Formative Spirituality certificate program helps students develop a holistic and incarnational spirituality through the integration of both academic rigor and experiential learning. You’ll gain skills in spiritual direction, the spirituality of the arts, Ignatian exercises, discernment and more. The Formative Spirituality Program provides the skills and grounding to facilitate formative spirituality groups in churches and other community groups.
You can add a Graduate Certificate in Formative Spirituality to any of the degree programs we offer.

Here’s what it takes

The 12-credit Formative Spirituality certificate grounds you in the contemplative tradition while offering hands-on opportunities for practical application within parish ministry settings, agencies, and for individual practice. You will develop a holistic and incarnational spirituality through the integration of both academic rigor and experiential learning. At graduation, you will be prepared to form and facilitate formative spirituality groups in your church, agencies, or other communities.

The program is grounded in your personal experiences of God, which are fostered through a variety of teaching modalities as well as through individual and group spiritual direction. This multidisciplinary program explores the unique intersections between a spirituality of mind/body/spirit and the societal/cultural needs of individuals and community.

Formative Spirituality Program Curriculum Overview

Spiritual Direction

We highly recommend that anyone interested in the Formative Spirituality program receive individual spiritual direction on a monthly basis while they are in the program. (We can give you contact information for several local spiritual directors. The fee for spiritual direction is contracted privately between the student and their spiritual director and is the responsibility of the student.) Individual spiritual direction supports the on-going spiritual and psychological growth that is needed to be a facilitator of spiritual practices for others. It also helps students deal personally with issues raised in the process of training as they integrate them in light of God's love.