Under Meadville Lombard's current educational model, students matriculating in the Master of Divinity degree program before or in the Fall of 2008 will be expected to complete a Ministerial Internship of no less than six months in order to graduate. Nine months (a full academic year) of full-time immersion in the supervised practice of ministry is recommended (though two-year, half-time arrangements can be made to meet this requirement). This internship is currently required by Meadville Lombard and the UUA Ministerial Fellowship Committee.

A Unitarian Universalist congregation is the usual site for UU students* preparing for ministry. Internships cannot take place in a student's home congregation. Students preparing for community ministry should have a significant parish component to their internships, but if they choose, they may add part-time internship placements in an institution or agency whose work is related to their future ministries. It is sometimes possible to arrange a joint parish/community ministry internship. Generally residential students complete their internship requirement during their third year. This allows them time to integrate what they have learned with the course work of their final year; it also gives them the freedom to begin the search process before graduation.

Because there are a few internships in the Chicago area paying the UUA recommended internship compensation (no less than $1200/month), most residential students will need to consider internships outside of Chicago. Planning for internship begins at the end of the first academic year for residential students. Applications are due at internship sites by December of the second academic year. MRP students typically begin internship in the last year of the degree program. The Director of Contextual Ministry works with students to research sites and assists them through the application process.

*Students who are not preparing for ministry in the Unitarian Universalist tradition will need to be sure to understand the internship/practicum requirements of the fellowshipping/credentialing body in their tradition.