By Gary D. Myers, NOBTS director of communications
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) and Louisiana College (LC) recently signed an articulation agreement designed to help God-called men and women save time and money as they prepare for ministry.
The agreement, signed by NOBTS president Jamie Dew and LC president Rick Brewer, paves the way for Christian studies majors from LC to apply a portion of their undergraduate coursework to the Accelerated Master of Divinity program at NOBTS (Accelerated M.Div.). The program reduces educational redundancy and the time it takes to complete the M.Div. by leveraging the quality biblical studies and ministry instruction students receive at LC. Students who are approved for this advanced standing can complete the M.Div. degree at NOBTS faster than students who are not eligible for the program.
According to Dew, the main goal of the agreement is to advance the gospel by helping God-called men and women complete their ministry preparation in a timely manner.
“With an eye towards advancing Christ’s Kingdom, it is absolutely vital that we provide efficient avenues for our students to receive theological preparation,” Dew said. “As such, we are excited about our partnership with Louisiana College that enables students to expedite their education by qualifying for advanced standing in the M.Div. program at NOBTS.”
“Collaboration is a vital strategy to help place qualified ministers in the work of God’s kingdom in a timely manner. We appreciate the vision of Dr. Dew and his cooperation in such an endeavor,” Louisiana College President Rick
Brewer said. “We both see this as a win-win for each institution. But more than that, this is also win-win for God-called students and our spiritually needy world that urgently needs to see and hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Qualifying students can receive advanced standing for up to 25 percent of the M.Div. degree. This allows Accelerated M.Div. students to enter NOBTS with a significant number of hours toward the 84-hour standard M.Div. Since students are not charged advanced M.Div. credits, they are able to save thousands of dollars while completing a degree.
In preparation for the agreement, the two schools worked together to identify courses at LC which were comparable or equivalent to NOBTS courses. NOBTS then matched the qualifying courses with courses in the NOBTS M.Div. program.
LC students and graduates must meet additional requirements to qualify for the Accelerated M.Div. Potential Accelerated M.Div. students must apply to NOBTS and meet all the admissions requirements for the school. Students must have earned a “B” or higher in a qualifying undergraduate course to receive credit toward a master’s course. In addition, the credits can only be applied to the Accelerated M.Div. program within five years of a student’s baccalaureate graduation.
For more information and a complete list of qualifying courses, visit www.nobts.edu/acceleratedmdiv.
