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Mission and Ministry

BECOME A GRADUATE RESIDENT MINISTER

Graduate Resident Ministers (GRMs) live in first-year residence halls and collaborate with Residence Life and Mission & Ministry staff to develop opportunities for students to grow holistically through social gatherings, retreats, service, social justice work, liturgies and shared reflection.

Graduate Resident Ministry is a part-time, residential ministry position that fulfills the supervised ministry practicum requirements of the MA in Ministry and Theology or the Certificate in Pastoral Ministry within the Department of Theology and Religious Studies.

 

PROGRAM INFORMATION
 

General Requirements:

  • If admitted into the Master's program in Theology, GRMs must enroll in the MA in Ministry and Theology degree program and maintain good academic standing
  • If admitted into a graduate program in another department, you must enroll in the Certificate in Pastoral Ministry within the Theology Department
  • Live in a first-year residence hall
  • Devote 20 hours per week to ministerial roles over two academic years
  • Participate in Mission & Ministry staff meetings, practicum, program supervision and supervision with the Counseling Center
  • Work collaboratively with Residence Life staff and attend area and building meetings as needed

Ministerial Requirements:

  • Engage in an ongoing process of discernment of your gifts and vocation with the support of the Mission & Ministry staff and peers
  • Advise a Service and Justice (Alternative Break) Experience during three out of four semesters of the program
  • Plan and implement First Year Escape Retreats with undergrad leaders and the Campus Minister for Retreats
  • Work with residence hall staff to foster community within the residence halls, possibly by creating and facilitating a weekly sharing group
  • Encourage students to accompany you to Mission & Ministry events and programs as appropriate
  • Support University-wide liturgies and other large Mission & Ministry events as needed
  • With the help of the program director, seek out a ministerial placement within the Office for Mission & Ministry to develop further your ministerial skills and discern your vocational path

Eligible candidates for the Graduate Resident Ministry Program will have the following:

  • An undergraduate degree (3.0 minimum GPA) with at least 15 credits in Theology, Philosophy and/or another discipline in the Humanities
  • A minimum of one year of post-undergraduate work or service experience (strongly preferred, but not required)
  • Admission into a graduate degree program at Villanova. Preference is given to applications to the MA in Ministry and Theology Program; applicants to other graduate programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will be considered on an individual basis
  • A proficiency in articulating their desire to grow in a ministerial identity
  • The desire and competency to live as a minister in an undergraduate residence hall and to work with first-year students
  • Active participation in a faith tradition and/or spirituality

Note: Our program is best suited to support and prepare professional ministry graduate students who identify as Catholic. However, students who belong to other Christian churches or faith traditions are most welcome to apply if they believe that our program will advance them on their vocational path. Some flexibility in course requirements in the Theology program can be expected for non-Catholic students.

Please reach out with questions or concerns if you wonder whether our program will be right for you.

We provide personal, spiritual and professional support for our GRMs within and outside of Mission & Ministry. These include:

Villanova University provides the following to each GRM:

  • Full tuition remission for all coursework (48 graduate credits) in fulfillment of the MA in Ministry and Theology 
  • Room and board for a total of four (fall and spring) semesters
  • Room for one or two summer semesters for GRMs who elect to take courses during the summer before year one or between years one and two; taking at least one summer course is strongly encouraged to lighten the academic load during the final semesters
  • An annual stipend of approximately $12,500 to cover the cost of books and living expenses. The total value of the tuition, room and board, and stipend portions of the GRM program for two years is over $90,000

Note: For GRMs in a degree other than theology, the GRM program will only cover tuition for a maximum of 48 graduate credits, 24 of which must be in fulfillment of the Certificate in Pastoral Ministry.

One hundred percent of our graduates have found employment in ministry or enrollment in further graduate study within six months of graduation.

Ministers who have graduated from our program are employed in a wide range of positions, including:

  • Campus ministry at a college or university
  • High school teaching and/or ministry
  • Hospital chaplaincy or CPE program
  • Parish ministry
  • Coordination or administration within a postgrad volunteer program
  • Other not-for-profit organizations (religiously affiliated and secular)

Other possible pathways include:

  • Youth director/pastor
  • Prostestant, Ecumenical or Interfaith Chaplain in educational or healthcare institution

The supervised ministry practicum required for both the MA in ministry and Theology an the Certificate in Pastoral Ministry can be pursued along two tracks:

  1. The first track consists of the Graduate Resident Ministry Program involding on-campus residential ministry. It is reserved for students offered GRM positions. GRMs also devote some of their 20 hours/week of ministry to a specialized ministry placement each semester.
  2. The second track consists of a supervised ministry field placement, which does not require living on campus. Ministry students who will not be GRMs can receive a nonresidential ministerial placement within Mission & Ministry or be given a placement at a ministry site outside of Villanova to fulfill the practicum component.

Supervised practicum placements on campus can include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Interfaith and Ecumenical Outreach
  • Hispanic Outreach
  • Retreats
  • Peer Ministry
  • Local Service and Immersions
  • Pastoral Music
  • Liturgy
  • Sports and Spirituality
  • Peace and Justice Education
  • Campus Partnership with Catholic Relief Services
  • Health Promotion

The field placement supervisors in the Center for Residential Ministry (CRM) will help students establish their practicum placements.

If a student is already engaged in professional ministry (whether full-time or part-time), CRM may allow that ministry to serve as the student's practicum placement if a qualified site supervisor can be identified.

CRM will work with the ministry student and ministry site to develop a clear agreement about the student's responsibilities and learning objectives.

Applications for admission into the Graduate Resident Ministry Program in the Fall 2025 will be accepted starting August 20, 2024. The priority application deadline is February 1, 2025. After February 1, applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits.

Applicants begin by completing the Graduate Liberal Arts and Sciences application and selecting either the MA in Ministry and Theology or the Certificate in Pastoral Ministry as their primary or secondary discipline of study.

Applicants must be accepted into a master's degree program at Villanova before being considered for the GRM Program. Once applicants are admitted into their academic degree program, they will automatically be entered into the review process for the GRM Program if interest for this program has been indicated in their application.

All application and admission information for the MA in Ministry and Theology (48 credits) and the Certificate in Pastoral Ministry (24 credits) can be found in the Graduate Programs in Theology.

If you are applying to Mission & Ministry’s GRM Program as an applicant to a degree program in another department, then you need to follow the application and admissions requirements for that department. You must also select the Certificate in Pastoral Ministry as a "secondary discipline" on the Graduate Liberal Arts and Sciences application.

All applicants to either the MA or Certificate programs in ministry will have a preliminary video interview on a rolling basis. Admission decisions will also be made on a rolling basis. Qualified applicants who have completed their application by the February 1 priority deadline will be invited to have a second, lengthier video interview for consideration for the GRM program (and other funding opportunities) by the end of February. Initial offers will be made in early March. Applications for funded positions will continue to be considered until all positions are filled.

THE SISTER CORA MARIE BILLINGS GRADUATE RESIDENT MINISTER

Sister Cora Marie Billings smiles at a graduation ceremony.
"When we as Villanovans live the motto ‘Truth, Unity, Love,’ we embrace and enhance the opportunities to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. This also allows us to celebrate the diversity and equity of the Body of Christ." - Sister Cora Marie Billings

In honor of the ongoing ministry of Sister Cora Marie Billings, RSM, '67 in and around Philadelphia and across the US, we seek a lay Black Catholic who wants to continue Sister Cora Marie’s vocation of extraordinary service to the Catholic Church and the People of God. 

This Graduate Resident Minister should exemplify Sister Cora Marie’s commitment to anti-racism within the Church, as well as her exceptional example of local and national lay leadership.

It is the hope of Sister Cora Marie, a Villanova alumna, that the person who fills this funded position will help advance the University's mission.

Note: This position has the same roles, responsibilities, compensation and application process as the other Graduate Resident Minister positions described above. To apply for the Sr. Cora Marie Billings position, speak to your interest and qualifications in your Pastoral Ministry Statement.

More About Sister Billings

Sister Cora Marie Billings is originally from Philadelphia and maintains deep ties to the area. A West Philadelphia Catholic Girls’ High School alumna, Sister Cora Marie earned a BA in 1967—and an honorary doctorate in 2019—from Villanova.

She was the first Black woman to enter the Sisters of Mercy’s Mid-Atlantic community, joining the religious order in 1956. She went on to hold positions at archdiocesan elementary and high schools, becoming one of the first African American sisters to teach in a Catholic secondary school in Philadelphia. 

She also helped to found (as did Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA), the National Black Sisters’ Conference in 1968.

After moving to Richmond in 1981, Sister Cora Marie was the first African American sister to work as a campus minister at Virginia State University. She also was the director of the diocese’s Office for Black Catholics for 25 years. 

Beginning in 1990, she served as the pastoral coordinator of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church for 14 years—the first Black woman in the country to lead a Catholic parish. For a time, she also supervised the lay leaders of parishes in the Diocese of Richmond. (Because of her work at St. Elizabeth, she was once a correct answer on Jeopardy!) She served as the deputy director for Virginia’s Human Rights Council from 2007 to 2010.  

Sister Cora Marie’s mother, Mrs. Ethel Lee Billings, was active in the Philadelphia chapter of the Federated Colored Catholics in the 1930s. Through that work, Mrs. Billings (then, Miss Lee) advocated for a young West Catholic graduate, James Richardson, who had been denied admission to La Salle University because of his race. Mr. Richardson eventually enrolled at Villanova and graduated in 1941.

Sister Cora Marie’s grandfather, John A. Lee Sr., was a graduate of Roman Catholic High School, where he played basketball. When other high schools in the Catholic League refused to play against Roman if John Lee remained on the team, his teammates agreed that if John Lee couldn’t play, they wouldn’t play—even if it meant forfeiting every game. The Catholic League relented and compelled the schools to play against Roman. 

Sister Cora Marie had two aunts who joined the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore.  

Program Director
John P. Edwards. PhD
(610) 519-3507

Associate Director for Peer Ministry
Meghan Dietzler
(610) 519-5178