M.A. in History of Christianity Curriculum

Early Christianity

The Early Christianity emphasis focuses on the History of Christianity from the post-Apostolic era to the Byzantine period and the rise of Islam (that is, roughly from the second century into the eighth). The program works in close cooperation with The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies and has built on the strength of Wheaton College’s faculty in the field of Patristics and historical theology, including the development of doctrine and research on the social, religious, and material cultures within which early Christianity rose. The Wheaton M.A. in History of Christianity is also set apart because of the unique opportunities to engage in research in primary documents through The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies and in field-archaeology through excavation in Tel Shimron, Israel.

Reformation Christianity

The Reformation Christianity emphasis focuses on the History of Christianity from the late medieval period and Renaissance era through the post-Reformation period, which is roughly from the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries. Core courses and advanced seminars in Reformation history and theology provide students with a solid foundation in the period, which will enable them to advance in their own independent research. Students will benefit from archival resources at Wheaton, particularly Reformation-era Bibles, in order to better understand the cultural, material, and literary history of the Reformation period. Visits to the Art Institute of Chicago are an added benefit for students wishing to view its first-rate collection of medieval and Reformation art and artifacts. Those who pursue this concentration are interested in exploring the rise of modernity in the story of Reformation Christianity. 

Modern Christianity

The Modern Christianity emphasis focuses on the History of Christianity from the post-Reformation era to the present (that is, roughly from the seventeenth century into the twenty-first century). In recent decades the program has built on its traditional strengths in American and British church history to embrace the burgeoning field of World Christianity with its emphasis on modern Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Unique primary source manuscripts housed at the Billy Graham Center Archives, the Wade Center, and the Wheaton College Archives make the Wheaton College Graduate School a particularly rich place to study the Modern History of Christianity at an advanced level.