Prospective Students
Study
Sophia Theological Seminary offers a single degree: a three-year Master of Divinity. The year-round academic calendar runs from June to May, and students are accepted into year cohorts of 12-15 students. The curriculum of Sophia Theological Seminary is built around two primary concepts: (1) complete integration, across discipline and across notions of “academic” and “applied” and (2) seminars sustained around a single “theme” for the semester.
The curriculum is organized around a series of weekly seminars, balanced between classroom hours and independent/guided research, and students move sequentially through the seminars as a year cohort. Seminars are fully integrated in content across the disciplines of theological education: biblical studies, theology/ethics, church history, missiology, and applied disciplines, such as homiletics and pastoral theology/care. Seminars are facilitated in a team-taught environment amongst faculty members across disciplines with the participation of ministers and other community faith leaders, particularly those from the Seminary’s Covenant Partners.
Funding Structures
Sophia Theological Seminary is supported, in a number of ways, by the work of Sophia Farms, the first of those ways being financially. All members of Sophia Theological Seminary contribute their labor to the work of the Farm. Students do not fund tuition and housing costs in the usual way; instead, they “fund” their tuition and housing by working ten hours a week in Farm-related activities. These activities cover a range of needed jobs, from cultivating the land to transporting produce to nurturing relationships with vendors. The Farm Steward supervises the work on the Farm, including the labor of the Sophia community.
In a placement with an STS Covenant Partner, each student serves as a paid member of staff with a church or other organization for the duration of their three years of Seminary. STS aids in securing a placement, while students and Covenant Partners together forge a covenant that will guide their relationship during the time the student is working in the community.
Applying to STS
STS is planning to welcome its first entering class in June 2022. In preparation for that date, we are excitedly anticipating the time when we will begin to accept applications from prospective students. When that time arrives, full information will be available on the webpage. Interested individuals should also continue to check the website for future opportunities to hear and see more about Sophia.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a student, please complete the form below. We will keep you updated as the Sophia community continues to develop and take shape.
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