Last updated October 14th, 2024
Academic Programs
Academic Calendar
| Master of Theological Studies | Doctorate of Theology & Certificate Programs | Application & Registration | January 15 – August 15 | Open Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Fall Term | September 1 – December 15 | September 1 – December 15 |
| Spring Term | January 15 – May 15 | January 15 – May 15 |
| Summer Term | May 15 – August 25 | May 15 – August 25 |
Agora University offices are closed during the following holidays: Martin Luther, King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Eastern Orthodox Holy Week, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Week, and the final two weeks of December through January 7th of every year.
Graduate Study Guidelines
Any distance learning program is predicted on the principle of highly motivated students making use of its structure to enhance their knowledge in a particular area or their more responsible performance of a particular function. Without motivation, a distance learning program is a joyless drudge.
However, it is the experience of the staff of Agora University that the greatest barrier to successful completion of the program is not a lack of motivation or a lack or skill, but in the simple task of organizing time and using it effectively to complete the requirements for the course. Unlike other similar Eastern Christian programs, Agora University offers a complete program, developmentally arranged, and assumes the desire and ability of the student to complete the courses on time and in sequence.
If you have no time to do the required reading and write the required research papers, then you should not take the program. If, on the other hand, you have the time and ability, the program can give you a fairly complete view of Eastern Christian life and thought, i.e. relative to academic study.
The rules to succeed in our programs include taking the following into consideration:
- Regularity is essential. No student should assume that the best way to get all of the work done is in spurts or at the deadline of submitting papers. The program is divided into three terms per year, each comprised of four months. The assumption is that the students will be doing their readings and preparations required for each course over that extended period of time.
- Select a specific and, usually quiet, place to do your reading and studying. Make certain that the rest of the family knows that the place – and you – are off limits for a specified number of hours each week.
- Each student is encouraged to abide by the reading schedule, making allowance for predictable interruptions of a significant nature – Christmas, Easter, Great Lent, major family events, job changes, etc.
- Read through several pages of the materials for each course at the beginning of each term. Time yourself on a per page or per ten-page basis. This enables you to avoid the “panic” when you see that a particular work is taking too long. You will know ahead of time how much time to allocate to getting a particular book done and so set aside enough time.
- Estimate the number of hours per week necessary of reading for one or all three of the courses (if you prepare them simultaneously). Again, set the hours aside each week on a particular day and particular time, and do not vary from that unless there is a good and exceptional reason. That is, for instance you will work for three, three-hour time slots per week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The only rule here is that you estimate the time needed to complete the work and set it aside ahead of time.
- Each of the lecturers has been requested to work up detailed course outlines, including reading lists, supplementary reading lists, and research questions. Do not get caught up in secondary questions, footnotes, or tangential materials. Read over the research questions, as well as the objectives, before you begin reading to get an idea of what the instructor is looking for and what he/she thinks is important in the field.
