North Park University and the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education

The unique partnership between North Park University and the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education (SCUPE) brings to the forefront an innovative program of graduate study. The partnership fulfills a mission of commitment to learning that has implications beyond the completion of the degree. Our shared vision is to create a supportive learning community of committed professionals from diverse backgrounds who share a passion for social, economic, and environmental justice and a desire to advance in the vocational skills of an inclusive and holistic community development.

The Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education SCUPE is a not-for-profit, interdenominational organization that develops leaders and provides consultation and educational resources for individuals, educational institutions, churches, and agencies that seek to enhance the spiritual, social, and physical quality of life for those who live in the city.

Cities are places of concentration; concentrations of people, buildings, institutions, needs, issues, challenges, and opportunities. Chicago is one such city. It provides a dynamic context for the study of theology, humanity, and ministry. Understanding economics, politics, social issues, powers and principalities, and the dynamics of urban neighborhoods is integral to effective urban ministry.

SCUPE provides educational opportunities that are both experiential and theoretical. Internships enable students to become meaningfully engaged in the life of city neighborhoods. Through accredited programs of study, they acquire the knowledge of dynamics, issues, and systems necessary to understand and work effectively in the urban environment.

Founded in 1976, this program has provided an urban study's curriculum and internship for more than 15 graduate educational institutions. The concept of a master's degree program in the field of community development was the joint dream of David G. Horner, president of North Park University, and David Frenchak, president of SCUPE.