Theological education is the birthright of all the baptized.

The certificate of theological studies is designed for students who wish to pursue graduate theological education without earning a degree. The certificate of theological studies program is shaped in consultation with the student’s advisor to meet the needs of the individual. It requires full-time study in residence over one or two semesters. Students in this program take part in the worship life of the seminary by attending at least one chapel service on each weekday, including the principal Eucharist on Wednesday.

A certificate of theological studies (C.T.S.) student who has successfully completed all prescribed work for the one or two semesters of enrollment and has completed all non-credit program requirements is eligible for the award of the certificate of theological studies.

Non-credit Graduation Requirements
  • Safeguarding God's People Workshop
  • Safeguarding God's Children Workshop
  • Cultural Diversity Workshop

 

General Application Requirements

  • Applicants should have a mature Christian faith, a history of active participation in a church community, and have begun a disciplined spiritual life.

  • Applicants should have a clear sense of vocation, lay or ordained, and a clear sense of how the degree program will support that vocation.

  • A completed application is required. 

  • Applicants to all degrees should normally hold a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university.

  • Official transcripts of degree granting undergraduate and post-secondary academic work from each institution attended are required.

  • Applicants should have the intellectual ability and academic background to engage the curriculum in a satisfactory way and to fulfill successfully the requirements of the degree to which the student is applying. Applicants may be required to submit additional writing samples.

  • An applicant whose first language is not English is required to complete the TOEFL or IELTS. Students who are not U.S. citizens or do not have legal permanent residency in the United States are required to have or acquire a valid U.S. visa.

  • Two letters of recommendation, one from a person who can attest to the applicant's academic acumen, normally a professor or college faculty member, and one from a church official or member of the clergy.

  • An official interview is required of all applicants.

2024-2025 Tuition and Fees for Academic Year Degree Programs

Tuition: $19,000*
Activity Fees: $280
Meals: $350
Total: $19,630

*A person taking 12-credit hours or more per semester is considered a full-time student and will be charged full tuition and fees.

$100 Enrollment Fee is paid when the applicant accepts admission. 

University rental housing rates for seminarians range from approximately $600–$2,000 per month depending on unit's size, age, condition, and amenities.

The student must provide a copy of his or her health insurance card to the coordinator of academic affairs at registration.

Seminary student spouses may audit one course each semester, for no fee, at the School of Theology with permission of the instructor. They may also, with the approval of the dean, take one course each semester for credit at the School of Theology for a fee of $50.  Additional courses for audit or credit may be taken for the full appropriate tuition.

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Live Together In Unity

Commitment to Diversity

What does it mean to be the University of the South? The answer to that question changes from one generation to the next and from one individual to the next. Being “of the South” means that we are both the beneficiaries and the critics of a rich tradition. While we are deeply invested in this region, we also engage with other communities, locally and globally. Diversity and variety—of the South and of the world—inform and underpin our institution, and all our community’s citizens must confront this question on some level.

Read Our Commitment to Diversity
Inclusive Language Policy

Language matters. It shapes our sense of reality and is therefore crucial for our understanding of God and others. Through language we forge and maintain our relationships with God and one another.

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The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation

The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation at the University of the South is a six-year initiative investigating the university’s historical entanglements with slavery and slavery’s legacies. Our Project’s name memorializes the late Professor of History, Houston Bryan Roberson, who was the first tenured African American faculty member at Sewanee and the first to make African American history and culture the focus of their teaching and scholarship.

About the Project