DESCRIPTION: Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is a program offered under the auspices of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) that provides "experience-based theological education which combines the practice of pastoral care with qualified supervision and peer group reflection and which is grounded in person-centered approach to religious ministry." This 400-hour course may be taken in three options: (1) ten weeks full-time (FE509); (2) twenty weeks half-time (FE510); or (3) thirty weeks part-time (FE511), usually in hospital settings, but also in prisons and congregations.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will (1) have a clearer sense of pastoral identity; (2) be better able to function in a pastoral role; (3) grow in their moral and spiritual integrity as followers of Jesus Christ; (4) be better able to engage in theological reflection in Christian ministry; (5) appreciate the importance of theological reflection in Christian ministry; (6) be more committed to the church.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: This course meets (a) the requirements of the Family Pastoral Care and Counseling (FPCC) concentration of the MDiv and (b) denominational requirements for CPE. It also provides a means for all students to increase their skills in ministry to the sick and bereaved. Particular attention is given to Christian self-understanding around issues of meaning, theodicy, death, and dying.

INFORMATION AND PROCEDURES: Participation in this course entails the following process:

1. Select a CPE site from the ACPE website (www.acpe.edu) or from the ACPE catalogue (see Field Education office).

2. Apply for CPE online through the regional website (www.cpepacificregion.com) or by contacting the desired CPE site for an application. This is usually done six to nine months prior to the start of the internship. Interview with the CPE supervisor at the desired site.

3. After acceptance, pay tuition to the CPE site.

4. Register at Fuller for the CPE course, a separate process from the application with the CPE site. No Fuller tuition is charged. Although for billing purposes, this is a zero-unit class, for the purposes of loan deferment, the ten-week internship is considered the equivalent of full-time enrollment (16 units); the twenty-week internship (extended) is considered the equivalent of half-time enrollment (8 units); and the thirty-week internship is considered less than half-time (4 units). Students receive eight units of Advanced Standing upon completion of the full internship.

5. Following acceptance by the CPE site and prior to Fuller registration, submit an Advanced Standing Request Form (available at www.fuller.edu/sot/fielded or from the Office of Field Education) and from the Office of Field Education) and schedule an enrollment interview with the Office of Field Education. If the internship is approved, the student will receive a Course Approval Notification that must be submitted to the Academic Advisor prior to registration.

6. During the internship, the student must complete all required site work--usually 400 hours over ten or twenty weeks.

7. By the third week of the term following completion of the internship, submit the site supervisor's evaluation to the Office of Field Education.

8. Interview with the Field Education Director in the quarter after the internship for feedback on the internship.