Summer 2025 Academic Update

Fall 2026 Updates to Academic Programs

• Introduction

  • Union Presbyterian Seminary is excited to share important updates that mark a bold and faithful step into the future of theological education with a visioning process that began in 2022.

    Rooted in a 213-year legacy of forming people for ministry in service to Jesus Christ, Union Presbyterian Seminary (UPSem) is guided by a new Strategic Plan (2024–2029) that affirms our unwavering commitment to academic excellence, spiritual formation, prophetic leadership, and accessibility. Read the Strategic Plan here.

    As part of this vision, we are pleased to announce significant changes to our degree programs, beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year:

    These changes reflect our history of adapting to meet the current needs of the Church and the world for centuries, and the profound belief in theological education that is both contextually grounded and future-focused. We are leaning into a Spirit-led vision that will prepare leaders for the church and world for years to come

• A New Curriculum for a Changing World

  • The faculty has unanimously approved bold new curricula for the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts in Christian Education (M.A.C.E.), and Master of Arts in Public Theology (M.A.P.T.) degrees—the first major overhaul in several decades. These changes will equip students for gospel-inspired leadership and transformative change in a complex, rapidly shifting world. Courses will build core competencies as graduates will…

    • Demonstrate biblical, theological, and ministry proficiency, fluency, and literacy

    • Communicate the stories of the Christian tradition in conversation with their own and others’ stories

    • Evaluate information and contexts critically

    • Develop a theological framework for constructively responding to moral dilemmas and conflicts

    • Embody creative, innovative, and adaptive leadership

    • Integrate identity, knowledge, and praxis

    • Navigate power, understand intersectional oppression, and respond with communal care

    • Develop a strong sense of self-in-relationship and community

    Students in these programs will complete a significant number of courses together in a common core curriculum to strengthen their preparation for future ministries and ground them in connection to one another in all the degree programs.

• A Unified Academic Calendar: One Seminary on Two Campuses

  • The faculty approved one academic calendar for the Charlotte and Richmond campuses, further enabling students to fully access UPSem’s excellent courses and programs, wherever they are located. This new calendar will improve the stewardship of faculty time and energy through greater efficiency in course delivery and less redundancy in course offerings.  This aligned calendar is a first since the approval and launch of the Charlotte campus 25 years ago.

• Hybrid Learning Comes to Richmond

  • Starting in the 2026-2027 academic year, three of our core degree programs—the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts in Christian Education (M.A.C.E.), and Master of Theology (Th.M.)—will shift to a hybrid format on the Richmond campus. This new model is responding to a deep desire for rigorous theological education that is accessible to an increasing number of prospective students who are juggling multiple commitments and/or who live outside the central Virginia area. Our new hybrid format will allow students to engage meaningfully with our outstanding faculty and belong to a vibrant learning community, while balancing life and ministry wherever they are.

Questions

• Why make this change now?

  • Initial hybrid conversations began in the 2009-2014 strategic plan, and a 2021 task force on the possibility of hybrid programs began to understand the urgent need for increased access to UPSem’s educational programs. This change has been under consideration for several years. It is not a reactive cost-saving measure, but a Spirit-led, mission-driven evolution to make high-quality theological education more accessible. This is an exciting move to reach more people called to pastoral leadership and meet them where they currently are in life. Removing barriers to theological education is part of our Reformed witness. When we say ‘all are called,’ we mean it.

• How were these decisions made?  

  • The faculty engaged in a thorough process of curriculum revision over the past year and also approved the new calendar. In the case of the hybrid and online learning modalities, there were many conversations with multiple constituencies, including a task force with faculty, staff, trustee, and student representation, which engaged faculty, staff, and students more broadly.

• Will these curricular changes impact current students?

  • The changes described above will NOT affect students graduating in 2025 or 2026. For students graduating in 2027, this change may affect how they fulfill degree requirements.  We are committed to providing as smooth a transition as possible for all our students.

• How will this impact international students?

  • UPSem values the global reach of its programs and its international students. We anticipate continuing to welcome international students to live on our Richmond campus, where they will be able to access courses across our campuses.

• Will any of UPSem’s degree programs be fully online?

  • In addition to the Master of Arts in Christian Education (M.A.C.E.), which is already fully online, Union Presbyterian Seminary will offer the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) entirely online beginning in the 2026–2027 academic year. The D.Min. has traditionally drawn students who travel long distances for on-campus sessions, travel that can be difficult for those balancing ministry and family responsibilities. Moving the program fully online broadens access for this practitioner-oriented degree. Faculty are also revising the D.Min. curriculum during the 2025–2026 academic year to align with current ministry contexts and learning innovations. To meet the D.Min. Faculty, click here. 

• How will you build community and ensure spiritual formation in a hybrid format?

  • We hear and honor the central role that in-person community has played in many alumni’s formation. We are not replacing formation with content delivery—we are adapting it with deep care. The first major revision in several decades, the curriculum takes seriously the formational needs of persons preparing to lead gospel-inspired transformative change in pursuit of a more just and compassionate world in the mid-21st century. Over the past thirty years, we have built a strong track record in building community and ensuring spiritual formation in a hybrid format, beginning with the hybrid M.A.C.E. program that began in the 1990s, and more recently with the hybrid M.Div. and M.A.C.E. programs on the Charlotte campus. Spiritual formation is still central—we’re just forming in more than one way. In this next season at UPSem, careful attention will be given to how students are formed for ministry, both in their current ecclesial contexts and through UPSem’s intentionally cultivated community of belonging, created to support their learning and formation. Integration of the curricular and extra-curricular dimensions of their experience will be a high priority. We will explore new ways to build community and foster spiritual formation in this age of technology, which will benefit students when they, as graduates, are called to build community and ensure spiritual formation in a new age.

• How will these changes impact students on the Charlotte campus?

  • All UPSem students will have significantly more access to all UPSem courses and faculty members, something students on both campuses have desired for a long time.

• How does this impact financial aid?

  • It will not impact financial aid. Students will keep the aid they have, and we will continue to be generous in awarding aid to incoming students. Cost of attendance should never be a barrier to a UPSem education

• What does this mean for the Richmond campus?  

  • The Richmond campus will be revitalized as a dynamic hub of learning and as a community of belonging for learners of all kinds, degree and non-degree. We will be utilizing some of the buildings on campus to house students when they come to campus for intensive in-person classes at various times in each term. There is no plan of any kind to close the Richmond campus. That would run counter to everything we are planning for. We are in the preliminary phase of relaunching a campaign to renovate Westminster Hall to become Blount Hall at Westminster, which, as has always been the plan, will serve as the home for the Leadership Institute, whose enhanced programming will serve pastoral leaders—lay and ordained—who are hungry for educational opportunities to support them in their ministries. The library will continue to be a resource for the entire UPSem community, with its physical and digital collections. Likewise, the dining hall will be a critically important site of community life for hybrid students and learners who come for in-person events hosted by the Leadership Institute and our four centers.

• How was the curriculum updated?

  • This is a new FAQ section, and this information was originally shared in the Glossary and Overview handout.

    • The Common Core and Basic Degree Program proposal was approved at the May faculty meeting.
    • The curriculum update was the result of a faculty-led curriculum review and revision process. Faculty approved the curriculum revision by consensus. Revisions of courses will follow.
    • No curricular decisions were made without full faculty oversight New Testament and Old Testament have not been reduced to one semester each in the MDiv. The common core requires 3 credits for OT and 3 credits for NT. MDiv students then complete advanced exegesis in OT and NT – 3 credits each.
    • MDiv students who elect the language track are required to complete 6 credits in Greek and 6 credits in Hebrew.

• What is the Alumni Portal?

  • This is a new FAQ section, and this information was originally shared in the Glossary and Overview handout.

    We want to stay in touch with you. This year, Union Presbyterian Seminary launched an online portal, a place where alumni and friends of UPSem can update their contact information, mailing preferences, and view giving history. We invite you to log in to the portal with this link.

    If you need assistance setting up your account, we’re a phone call away. Contact us at (804) 278-4320 or lbattle@upsem.edu

Glossary

• New curriculum

  • New curriculum designed and approved by faculty. Common core of required courses across all disciplines for multiple degree programs.

• F2F (Face-to-Face)

  • Traditional, fully in-person classroom learning.

• Hybrid Modality

  • A mix of face-to-face (F2F) and online components in course delivery. Hybrid may include synchronous and asynchronous elements. At UPSem, one third of most courses, including required courses, will be delivered in a F2F modality.

• Synchronous Learning

  • Real-time, scheduled online sessions — e.g., Zoom classes.

• Asynchronous Learning

  • Flexible, self-paced learning through platforms like Canvas; does not require being online at the same time as others.

• Implementation Team

  • A working group formed after the April 2025 decision to manage modality rollout.

• Modality

  • The format in which a course is delivered — e.g., face-to-face, hybrid, online (synchronous/asynchronous).

A Legacy of Courageous Change: Key Moments in Union’s History  

• 1812

  • 1812 – Founded as a bold experiment in theological education by the Synod of Virginia, Union was created to train ministers for a growing Presbyterian Church in the early republic.

• 1898

  • 1898 – Moved from Hampden-Sydney (Farmville) to Richmond, positioning the Seminary in an urban setting to better serve the church and expand its reach.

• 1997

  • 1997 – Federated with the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (PSCE), combining two historic institutions to integrate Christian education and theological scholarship in a single mission. 

• 2002

  • 2002– Established the Charlotte campus in partnership with Queens University, extending Union’s mission to new regions and offering theological education to working adults and second-career students. 

• 2012

  • 2012 – Charlotte campus relocated to Sharon Presbyterian Church, creating a stronger identity for the Seminary in the region and expanding access to theological formation.

• 2020

  • 2020– Welcomed Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (BTSR) into Union’s community by establishing the Baptist House of Studies, preserving a tradition of Baptist theological education in Richmond.

• 2023

  • 2023– Rev. Dr. Brian K. Blount retires as the first African American president of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seminary, leaving a legacy of prophetic leadership and academic excellence.

    2023 – Dr. Jacqueline E. Lapsley becomes the first woman president of Union, signaling a new era of faithful innovation and inclusive leadership.