Students Can Earn Up to One Year Off Seminary in New Advanced Standing Program

Dallas Theological Seminary has revamped its Advanced Standing program to allow those with prior Bible training to put more of their credits toward a seminary degree.

Prospective students with a degree or certificate of completion from an approved undergraduate institution (most ABHE and many CCCU schools) or parachurch program (such as YoungLife, Cru, or Kanakuk) can use qualifying credits toward up to 25% off a seminary degree, earning them up to one year off a Master of Theology or a semester or more off a Master of Arts degree.

"I love the new Advanced Standing program at DTS because it allows me to get into ministry more quickly and with lower cost," said one of the first students accepted into the program. A Bible college graduate writes, "My undergraduate degree gave me a good overview of the Bible, so I appreciate how DTS's new accelerated courses take me deeper without making me repeat the same ideas."

Depending on the kind of credit a student has, he or she may qualify for one of several kinds of Advanced Standing:

• Dallas Campus Accelerated program – students coming to the Dallas campus who qualify based on a degree or training program and an assessment can earn up to 25% off their degree (30 hours off a ThM or 16 off an MA) by taking special accelerated courses in place of the traditional DTS core curriculum.
• Distanced/Online program – distance education students who cannot take the accelerated courses offered in Dallas can still earn up to 15 hours off a ThM or 9 off an MA, plus additional credits on a course-by-course basis.
• Course-by-course reduction – students who have not been through formal Bible training through an undergraduate or parachurch program can take objective exams to qualify for credit.
• Substitution of Credit Hours – students may also request to replace certain core Bible and theology courses with more advanced courses.

Dr. Mark Bailey, president of DTS says, "God brings many different kinds of students to DTS with a variety of backgrounds, experience, and prior training. We designed the new Advanced Standing program with these students in mind so that we can offer customized training that takes into account their previous biblical education, unique situations, and gifts."

DTS's academic dean, Dr. Mark Yarbrough adds, "We all know the cost of higher education is skyrocketing, and we want our students to come out of seminary debt-free and ready to serve. Advanced Standing ensures our students don't have to pay twice for courses they've already taken."

If you would like more information, head to DTS's Advanced Standing page.