The FTE Guide to Theological Education: Chapter 4

For each degree program, your school will have a core curriculum – a set of courses and credits that are required in order to graduate with that degree. Review the core curriculum carefully and make sure that you will be able to take courses that correspond to your interests.

Faculty are the chief stewards of the education a school offers. They have designed the curriculum and they are the ones who deliver it. As a whole, they will constitute the core of your theological education, so it is important to make yourself aware of the faculty at the schools you are considering. If you are able to visit a prospective school, ask to meet with one or more faculty in subject areas that are of greatest interest to you.

Your theological education will not be limited to the classroom. At some point in your degree program, you will serve in an internship or similar placement for direct, hands-on ministry experience. Pay attention to the type of field education opportunities offered and the number of field education credits required. This will tell you something about the areas of ministry a school emphasizes or prioritizes.

Questions to ask:

• What degrees does the school offer?
• What concentrations and areas of specialization does the school offer?
• What kind of flexibility is there within the core curriculum?
• Is the curriculum focused on traditional content or on contemporary interests?
• Are there flexible format options – online, extension sites, summer schedules?

Questions to ask:

• How many faculty does the school have? Are they full-time, part-time, adjunct?
• What fields and specialties are represented in the faculty?
• What fields and specialties are underrepresented or missing entirely?
• What denominations or faith traditions are represented in the faculty?
• How accessible are faculty to students? Do they keep office hours for student conferences? Do they serve as student advisors?
• Are there particular professors that you want to study with?

Questions to ask:

• What are the requirements for field education?
• Is field education focused primarily on congregational settings or are there community ministry options?
• Do students choose their own placements or are they assigned?
• Who supervises students in their field education experience?
• How is reflection incorporated into field education?

While your core curriculum and field education requirements will absorb the majority of your credit hours and time, you may be able to supplement or customize your theological education with other curricular opportunities. The school may also offer programs or services that help students build their resumes or find employment following graduation.

Keep in mind, however, that taking advantage of these opportunities will require that you plan ahead and consider your options carefully.

As you explore schools, you are interested chiefly in what you may gain and experience as a student. Your intention, though, is to graduate and apply what you learn in a profession or vocation, so it is important to give some attention to what students at a prospective school experience on the other side of graduation.

Questions to ask:

• Are there enhanced programs like study abroad or honors program?
• Does the school offer a certificate in a particular subject area within the degree?
• Does the school offer services in career counseling, ministry placement or vocational discernment?
• Is the school part of a consortium?
• What courses are available at other schools?
• Will courses taken at other schools satisfy core curriculum requirements?

Questions to ask:

• What is the percentage of students who complete their degree program?
• How long does it take students to finish?
• How many graduates obtain positions related to their degree and vocational intent?
• What is the average debt load for graduating students?
• What kind of jobs do most of the school’s graduates take?
• How long does it take a graduate to find a position?

The size of a school determines such attributes as average class size and access to faculty but it also has a significant influence on the quality of community life in the school. In a small school, you may know every student, professor and staff member by name. In a large school, you may find yourself in a class with students you have never seen before but you will also find numerous student groups convened around common interests, shared identities or other affinities.

A small school will not necessarily offer a better experience of community life than a large school and vice versa, but you should pay attention to the way in which size determines the community life of a school.

We discussed earlier the distinction between university-based and independent theology schools and how this influences a school’s identity and purpose. In a similar way, a school’s location and context colors its community life.

Location and context are broad categories. They include everything from the region of the country, the city or town and even the particular neighborhood where a school is located. Each of these contextual factors shapes a school’s community life. They determine who is present in the school, the kind of ministries a school emphasizes and the social concerns that shape conversations. A seminary in a border region of the southwestern U.S. may focus on the impact of Latino immigration on Christian ministry while a school in the rural Midwest may be concerned with ministry in small towns hit hard by economic decline.

Social concerns and areas of ministry are not the only aspects that are influenced by a school’s location but these examples illustrate how you might interpret the significance of the location and context of schools you are considering.

Community life is fundamentally about personal interaction but the campus and facilities provide the frame in which these interactions happen. As a frame, the campus and facilities create space for some interactions to happen and limit the likelihood of other interactions. For example, a dining hall or a cafeteria offers a place for students to gather informally over meals and conversations and serves as a hub for community life. If a school does not have a dining facility, students may linger to talk in the hallway after class instead but those conversations are different than the ones that take place over meals. As you explore schools, pay attention to how physical attributes of the campus encourage or impede aspects of community life.

Another key consideration is whether a school is residential or not. Some schools provide campus housing for their students. Most, though, have limited housing or none at all and students must make their own arrangements for off-campus housing. There are advantages and disadvantages in each case. When you visit a prospective school, be sure to see the housing options for yourself so that you have a clear understanding of the availability, condition and cost of your likely living arrangements.

A school’s technological capacity is a more important consideration now than it was for previous generations of students. From the library to the classroom to residence halls, it is common in higher education as a whole to have wireless Internet access, paperless registration and billing, online journals, electronic texts and classroom technologies with professors who know how to use them. Some theological schools will have very sophisticated information technology but others will not. You will want to go into your educational experience fully aware of the school’s technological capabilities so you can prepare appropriately.

Questions to ask:

• Is the campus separate and distinct or is it integrated into the surrounding neighborhood?
• Are the buildings stately and traditional or contemporary and practical?
• What are the classrooms and lecture halls like?
• Are the facilities in good condition or in disrepair?
• How sophisticated is the school’s information technology resources?
• Is it a commuter campus or a residential campus?
• Where do students live? Where do students eat?
• Transportation – will you need a car? Public transportation? Parking?

Ultimately, nothing will shape your experience of community life more than your fellow students. You will not simply study together. You will work, worship and socialize together. You will wrestle with difficult issues together in classroom discussions, field education reflection groups and impromptu conversations on the sidewalk. You will develop close relationships with some, perhaps even life-long friendships. With others, you will be challenged and even frustrated by their very different views on issues you both care deeply about. Who your classmates are, how they think and what they believe will have a significant impact on your experience.

For these reasons, it is important to notice the ways that you are both like and unlike the majority of the student body at a particular school. This is, in essence, the question of diversity.

When considering diversity, it is common to think first about the racial/ethnic makeup of an institution. In your search, you will note that schools vary greatly in this regard. While on the whole theological education is attracting a more diverse student body, many schools are not ethnically diverse. You may want to give careful thought to what is important to you on this point.

There are, however, many other markers by which one can measure the degree of diversity within a student body: gender, age, socio-economic background, educational experience, vocational interests, worship preference, theological convictions. As you consider whether you will fit within a particular community, make sure that you take into account more than one of these markers.

Your task, however, is not to choose a school where you are a perfect match to the average student profile. Rather, it is a matter of finding a place where the degree of comfort and the degree of challenge will contribute positively to your theological education.

Theological schools are not merely learning communities. They are worshiping communities, too. Most schools have a regular schedule of prayer and worship throughout the week and, while most do not require attendance, they do expect students to augment their classroom and field education experience with participation in the worship life of the school.

In a school with several denominations or traditions represented in the student body, you will find a corresponding diversity in campus worship. The style and substance vary from service to service and students may approach worship as a liturgical laboratory, experimenting with the range of possibilities in Christian worship. In schools that are defined primarily by one denomination or tradition, worship may adhere to a single style with an emphasis on instructing students in the theology and practice of worship in that tradition.

In recent years, some schools have given more attention to fostering habits of personal prayer, devotion or meditation among students – an area of interest often described as spiritual formation. In general, these opportunities are not included in the core curriculum or degree requirements. Instead, they are offered through elective courses, special events or small groups that convene around a particular interest or practice.

When you are not in class or working in your field education placement, you will probably be reading assignments or writing papers. Still, you may have more time available for extracurricular activities than you imagine. As you explore the community life of a school, be sure to take a look at the formal and informal ways that students socialize.

Questions to ask:

• Where do most of the students come from and why have they chosen this school?
• Which degree programs are most students enrolled in?
• Are most students full-time or part-time?
• Do most students share your theological perspective or is there a broad range?
• What is the average age of students? What is the age range?
• What is the racial-ethnic composition of the student body?

Questions to ask:

• Where and when does the school gather for prayer and worship?
• Do students play a role in planning and leading worship?
• Who preaches? Are faculty and staff involved in worship?
• Is the school focused on training students in a particular style and tradition of worship or are a variety of traditions represented?
• What spiritual disciplines does the school stress as critical for emerging leaders?
• Are opportunities for spiritual formation offered through a structured program or is it the responsibility of each individual student?
• How are students mentored? To whom do students turn in times of crisis and in times when they require guidance for vocational discernment?

Questions to ask:

• What student groups and organizations are on campus?
• What are the opportunities for student leadership within the school?
• Where do students gather?
• What is the social life like for students like you on and off campus?