Application & Matriculation
RBS has a non-discriminatory admissions policy as to race, sex or handicap for all degree programs not related to the ordained offices of the church. The seminary is convinced that the Bible prohibits women from teaching or exercising authority over men in the church. Therefore, only men will be admitted to the seminary as candidates in programs such as the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) or Bachelor of Divinity (B.Div.) degrees that prepare the student for the office of teaching elder or church planter (whether domestic or foreign, i.e., missionary).
Nevertheless, the Scriptures do encourage women to grow in their knowledge of biblical truth (Acts 2:41-42; 1 Tim. 2:11), and the New Testament provides examples of women receiving instruction from the Lord Jesus and from his apostles (Luke 10:38-42; John 4; Acts 2:41-42). Moreover, while the Bible prohibits women from teaching or exercising authority over men in the church, it does not prohibit them from sharing the faith (Luke 2:36-38; John 4:28-29, 39; Matt. 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-11; John 20:1-2; Heb. 5:12), instructing children or fellow women (Acts 16:1; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15; Titus 2:3-4), or even sharing biblical truth with men in a non-formal, auxiliary, and subordinate fashion (Acts 18:26). Accordingly, women as well as men may be admitted to the seminary in programs such as the Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) or Diploma of Theological Studies (D.T.S.) that are not specifically designed to train men for the office of teaching elder or church planter.
Admissions Requirements for Marrow Program
Normally, only men or women who are eighteen years of age, who are members in good standing of an evangelical church, and who have the commendation of their pastor(s) shall be eligible to enroll into the Marrow of Theology Program.
Admissions Requirements for Divinity Program
RBS usually advises the student to complete the Marrow program first. Once that program is completed, the credits can be transferred into the Divinity program. Only men who are at least twenty-one years of age, hold a Bachelor’s Degree, are members in good standing in an evangelical church, and are recognized ministerial aspirants or already engaged in Christian ministry shall be eligible to enroll in the Divinity program. RBS reserves the right to waive any or all of these requirements if doing so is deemed appropriate. Each applicant will be considered and assessed on an individual basis. Possible reasons for waiving these entrance requirements include the following:
1) The applicant is in the process of obtaining a Bachelor’s degree.
2) The applicant has completed at least five years of full-time Christian ministry experience or has educational experience equivalent to 128 credit hours of undergraduate training.
3) The applicant’s current age, family needs, and/or vocational responsibilities make it difficult or impossible to obtain a Bachelor’s degree. In such cases, the student may be allowed to enroll in the seminary and will be awarded the Diploma of Theological Studies (D.T.S.) and/or Bachelor of Divinity (B.Div.) degree upon completion of the program(s). Students graduating with the Bachelor of Divinity degree may later request to exchange that degree for a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree after completing at least five years of full-time Christian ministry.
4) The applicant is enrolling into the Marrow of Theology program for the Diploma of Theological Studies.
Those accepted into the seminary without a Bachelor’s degree or with a previous GPA below 3.00 will be placed on academic probation. Those on academic probation must maintain a cumulative grade average of at least 3.00 for the first ten credit hours of coursework in order to demonstrate that they have the necessary discipline and academic ability to handle the work. The seminary may drop the student from the program if he fails to maintain a 3.00 GPA after the first 10 credit-hours of coursework.
Applicants whose native language is not English may be required to take the TOEFL and TWE. The required scores are as follows: TOEFL – 570 (computer-based test – 230), TWE – 4.5. You may make arrangements to take the TOEFL and TWE by contacting: Educational Testing Service, www.toefl.org, 1-800-GO-TOEFL, Box 953, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. Official scores should be sent directly to RBS.
After receiving your application, the seminary dean will contact you and set up a time for a phone interview. After your interview, the seminary dean will contact your pastor to confirm his approval of your enrollment and his willingness to serve as your mentor-proctor. The dean will notify you when your application for enrollment is approved. Once your application is approved, you should immediately send the semester enrollment fee to the seminary. Your enrollment in the seminary will not officially go into effect until your enrollment fee is received.