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Global Studies Partnership Details

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the benefit of two master’s degrees?
Global Christian leadership demands excellent theology and unparalleled professionalism. Students in the Global Studies Partnership develop competence and confidence to engage strategic, apostolic, worldwide ministries that fulfill the Great Commission. The Global Studies Partnership is designed for the student who desires both a solid theological foundation and a professional skill set that can be used in an intercultural context within the United States or abroad.

What type of careers will I be qualified for after I graduate?
The Global Studies Partnership between Golden Gate Seminary and Union University is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with both a solid theological foundation and the professional skills required for careers in international service and intercultural ministry. The combination of the two degrees equips graduates for a broad range of careers in the fields of:

• Training. Coach professionals in cross-cultural communication and intercultural awareness

• Education. Work with international students or serve on a university faculty or staff

• International Business. Pursue international avenues in medicine, business, media, etc.

• Social Justice. Help refugees or immigrants in domestic and foreign arenas

• Non-Governmental Agencies. Work with religious or secular agencies to fight poverty, hunger, AIDS, or domestic violence toward women and promote peace among the majority world

• Politics. Work with U.S. embassies, the United Nations, or other peacekeeping operations

• Missions and Mobilization. Serve with the International Mission Board or other missions-sending agencies to fulfill the Great Commission around the globe

• Church Planting. Plant churches and minister in culturally diverse environments


How long does it take to complete the Global Studies Partnership?
The MAIS degree from Union University takes two years (four semesters) to complete. Students can, however, determine their own pace for completing their theology degree from Golden Gate Seminary. Most students are able to complete both master’s degrees in about three years.

Where do students actually attend the classes?
While Union University is located in Jackson, Tennessee, the entire Global Studies Partnership is completed at Golden Gate Seminary’s Northern California campus in Mill Valley, California. The Union University faculty travel to the Golden Gate campus twice per semester for each course. The long-distance teaching model, which is quite common in graduate degree programs, permits commuter students who do not live in the Bay area to pursue the MAIS degree by traveling to campus four weekends per semester.

Is the Global Studies Partnership available as an online degree program?
No. While you may complete a portion of your Golden Gate course work through online classes, the MAIS degree from Union University is offered only on Golden Gate’s Northern California campus. Students must attend all intensive weekend class sessions to complete the MAIS degree.

What is the summer field experience?
During the summer between the first and second year of the MAIS degree program, students participate in a unique field research experience. This intensive five-week research course gives students the opportunity to conduct qualitative field research in an intercultural environment. Through interviews an observations, students engage with people from all walks of life and learn about their unique culture. After the research on the field has concluded, students analyze their data and compile their findings into a comprehensive research paper and presentation which is presented to the academic community.

Program Structure

The MAIS degree is offered in a unique, non-traditional format. Students are enrolled in two MAIS courses each semester for four consecutive semesters. Each of these courses meet twice per semester for an intensive, three-day class meeting. In addition, students participate in a five-week field research course during the summer between the first and second year of the program.

The MAIS degree utilizes a cohort model, which means that a group of up to 20 students, known as a cohort, is enrolled in all nine of the MAIS core courses together. This group of students is committed to each other, to their field of study, and to a journey of learning and teaching together for the duration of the degree program.

In addition to meeting together for four intensive weekend class sessions each semester, each cohort also comes together for a weekly two-hour discussion group. During these discussion groups, students are given an open forum to discuss difficult and often controversial theological and intercultural issues. They are encouraged to think critically about collective and individual past experiences and current global challenges, processing abstract concepts and offering meaningful insights to the group.

MAIS Core Curriculum

The 27-hour core curriculum for the MAIS degree includes these nine 3-hour courses:

Intercultural Communication
An examination of intercultural communication strategies with a focus on self-awareness and developing effective communication strategies.

Organizational Systems of Society
A study of systems encountered across cultures. Emphasis is one the development of skills for the recognition and assessment of systems with a focus on developing strategies for successful interaction with these systems.

Language and Culture
A study of language development and its relationship to culture. Examines principles of language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and language teaching methodologies.

Field Research Methods
A course designed to provide students with conceptual tools and research skills in the area of comparative cultural studies. The hands-on approach helps students prepare to design and conduct their own field research in culturally diverse settings.

Field Experience
An intensive five-week summer course centered around conducting qualitative field research in an intercultural environment. This course requires additional expenses for airfare, room, board, and other program fees. Estimated cost is $4,000 and is subject to change.

Field Data Analysis and Strategic Planning
A course that builds on in-class and field research knowledge by guiding students through the process of field data analysis. Attention is given to both qualitative and quantitative analytical methods. Students participate in process-focused learning and writing workshops which culminate in the preparation of case-study reports and presentation of their field research.

Artistic and Intellectual Expressions of Culture
A course with an emphasis on how to develop learning skills to understand the lexicon, grammar, and semantics of other intellectual and artistic systems encountered across cultures.

International Professional Realities and Opportunities
An introduction to the professional intercultural environment designed to help students develop an awareness and understanding of the skills needed to develop a professional platform for employment in other cultures.

Capstone Seminar
An integration of interdisciplinary principles, themes, and concepts learned in the study of intercultural interaction and understanding which culminates in the preparation and presentation of an independent writing project.

Professional Component Track

MAIS student must complete 12 hours of Golden Gate course work from a limited selection of courses that have been pre-approved by the MAIS Program Coordinator. The following courses may also count as credit toward their theological degree from Golden Gate Seminary:

I1211 Introduction to Missions (3 hours)
This course is an introduction to Missiology that seeks to develop in the student a creative understanding of missions as practiced in an international context. Emphasis will be given on helping students understand their own future ministry and how it can relate to global missions.

L1211 Christian Theology I (3 hours)
An introduction to Christian Theology focusing on its nature, task, method, and application followed by a survey of the doctrines of Revelation, the Triune God, Creation, Humanity, and Sin.

L1212 Christian Theology II (3 hours)
An introduction of Christian Theology surveying the doctrines of Christ, Salvation, the Spirit, the Church, and Eschatology including an additional focus on the ethical implications of Christian thought and practice.

P1512 Introduction to Pastoral Counseling (3 hours)
This course helps students to understand the nature of pastoral counseling while learning the practice of pastoral counseling at a beginning level. Students are introduced to pastoral counseling values, goals, and processes while engaged in the classroom practice of counseling. Cognitive and behavioral approaches in agreement with Scriptural principles are applied in the multi-cultural learning process.

P2351 Introduction to Church Planting (2-3 hours)
An intensive study of the essential aspects of church planting. Major attention is given to theology, methodologies, and models of new church starts, with emphasis on continuing growth.

I1112 Cultural Anthropology (2 hours)
An introduction to cultural anthropology with special emphasis given to the frameworks needed by the global professional in first experiences internationally. Students will make a study of significant people groups in an attempt to better understand other cultures.

E1312 Ministry Leadership (3 hours)
An introduction to basic leadership principles and methods. Unique aspects of biblical leadership related to the church and denomination will be explored. Current resources and techniques are examined.

I1121 Global Cultures: Worldview Presuppositions (3 hours)
An exploration of the ancient rituals, traditions, and modern ideas which form the lives of two-thirds of the world’s peoples. The professional will become familiar with and equipped to interface with the assumptions, belief systems, and the cultural ways of the world’s religions that have produced profoundly different societies around the planet.

I2121 Roman Catholicism: The Latin American Experience (3 hours)
An examination of Roman Catholicism within the context of Latin America. Special attention is given to Catholicism’s historical significance and its influence as a major shaper of the contemporary Latin American culture.

I2123 Hindu Worldview and Culture (2-3 hours)
A course dealing with the origin and the historic and contemporary significance of Hinduism. It will focus on the religious beliefs and practices and best methods of transformational engagement to the Hindu person internationally and nationally.

I2129 Islamic Worldview and Culture (2-3 hours)
A course dealing with the origin and the historic and contemporary significance of Islam that focuses on the teachings of the Qur’an, religious beliefs and practices, and the best methods of transformational engagement to the Muslim person nationally and internationally.

I2130 Chinese Worldview and Culture (2-3 hours)
A course dealing with the origin and historic and contemporary significance of Chinese culture. It will focus on Chinese religious beliefs and practices and the best methods of transformational engagement to the Chinese nationally and internationally.

I1131 The City: Habitat for Humanity (3 hours)
An introduction to urbanization and urban life-ways that orients the student to the global urban world with a historical, regional, and worldview perspective, integrating interdisciplinary materials from history, theology, and the social sciences. The unique roles of the kingdom professional are explored. An all-day guided urban experience is integral to the course.


Please note: Not all professional component courses may be offered during each academic year. Alternate courses may be substituted as professional component credit with prior written approval from the MAIS Program Coordinator.

Application Process

The Global Studies Partnership requires application and admission to both Union University and Golden Gate Seminary. Each institution has its own admissions requirements. Applicants should submit the following to each institution:

Union University
• A completed application form
• A $25 non-refundable application fee
• Official transcript(s) showing completion of baccalaureate degree and all course work previously attempted
• Official transcript(s) indicating a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale of all undergraduate and post-baccalaureate course work
• An official Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score
• Three references, one of which must be a former professor


Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary
• A completed application form
• A $35 non-refundable application fee
• Two passport photographs
• Official transcript(s) showing completion of baccalaureate degree and all course work previously attempted
• Official transcript(s) from all colleges, graduate schools, and seminaries attended
• A two-page typed essay on your spiritual pilgrimage
• Church Endorsement Form
• Three references, one of which must be a former professor, a supervisor, and a former minister

Learn more about Golden Gate's admissions requirements