Online Seminaries and Bible Colleges

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by dcb188, Dec 11, 2011.

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  1. dcb188

    dcb188 Member

    Anyone have any recommendation re MA and/or certificate programs, all online?
     
  2. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I always recommend Veritas Evangelical Seminary They are fairly inexpensive and they are led by Dr. Norman Geisler, who is one of the great minds in the evangelical world today. They are currently unaccredited but are in the application process and expect to be TRACS accredited within the next 4 or 5 years. With Geisler at the helm, I doubt there will be much trouble. It might be one of those great deals where you sign up and pay for an unaccredited degree and then get your degree about the time that the accreditation is complete and the price goes up. Here's a link to the online program: Online Courses - External Studies

    Don't confuse them with other schools that use the name Veritas, some of which are degree mills.
     
  3. dcb188

    dcb188 Member

    Thanks for even answering this, as I thought I might be directed to do a search....I've done a lot of searches but although that helps tremendously, it doesn't cover all the other info newer members might have who have joined this site since the dates of some of those older threads---so thank you, much appreciated.......and yes, indeed, Dr Geisler is one of the best---he authored several textbooks used in seminaries.....
     
  4. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    What do you want/need the degree for? Are you interested in entering ministry work of some kind, or is it more for personal growth? Are you interested in full time or part time programs? What is your budget? (Ex, maximum of $___ per year or total) Do you have any particular interests or topics you'd like to focus your study on (ex, systematic theology, languages, apologetics, preaching, etc) I have some ideas but giving a bit more info would help us give better recommendations.

    Veritas might be a fine school, but accreditation (even through TRACS) usually takes several years so you may be done your degree before they achieve it, in which case you'd have an unaccredited degree.

    (As an aside, and I say this as someone who has benefited from Dr Geisler's writings over the years, he seems to be (IMHO) making some poor decisions in recent years. First there was the Ergun Caner defense incident, and now he's for some reason decided to single out Mike Licona ...)

    Anyways, dcb188, if you reply I'll try to make some suggestions, and hopefully others will too.
     
  5. dcb188

    dcb188 Member

    Personal growth, part time or full time, unknown as of yet, all online---systematic theology.
    As far as finances, something moderate, not really expensive. Not 700.00 per course (that excludes a few schools)

    Looking at London School of Theology. Also, Colorado Theological Seminary, Golden State School of Theology and others
    I was just trying to look up a couple in South Africa besides Cape Town and Univ of South Africa but forgot the name of the others around the Johannesburg area.
    The Colo Theological Sem and London School of Theology are very reasonably priced, tuition-wise.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 11, 2011
  6. Psydoc

    Psydoc New Member



    My I repeat what many others have said many times: Why on earth would you obtain an unaccredited degree? You can attend Veritas and pay $265.00 per credit hour and end up with an unaccredited degree, OR you can attend Liberty University and pay $285.00 and have a degree that is accredited by a regional accrediting body. No reason to spend money on a non-accredited degree - and, before you spend time and money on a non-RA degree make sure that your life circumstances do not change; an RA will always open doors and that is not true for an NA degree. Good luck on your whatever you choose to do.
     
  7. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    Agree 100% with Psydoc. If you feel like you need to be enrolled in a school to keep you focused and keep you from slacking off, just ask your pastor or someone else to keep you accountable.

    If you really want a super cheap unaccredited degree, try Nations University. They're unaccredited but basically free (only those in the USA pay a tiny yearly fee of $100 or something) and they are generally well thought of. (Relative to other unaccredited schools that is, no one would pretend that a Nations degree is the same as getting a degree from a RA or NA school.) It may worth a try ... I'd recommend it before trying other unaccredited schools if you must go that way, at least you wouldn't be losing much money!
    NationsUniversity - Tuition-free Online Christian Education - NationsUniversity

    All that said, here are a few relatively inexpensive accredited options to consider:

    Liberty University (already mentioned by Psydoc above) is RA, well known, fully distance, and cheap (compared to many other RA schools)
    Online Education and Distance Learning Degrees | Liberty University Online

    Anderson University offers their Master of Ministry degree online for a decent price, the site is a bit vague re their on-campus requirement (it sounds like if you prove to them you can't go to the campus you can do the whole thing online) ... they are RA:
    Anderson University - School of Christian Ministry

    Luther Rice University is NA (by TRACS) and offers several relatively inexpensive programs, fully distance:
    Luther Rice Seminary / University / Online Seminary / Theological Seminary

    Southern Evangelical Seminary is also TRACS accredited and has a bunch of online programs especially in apologetics (this is Geisler's former seminary before he left amicably or was forcibly removed, dunno which it was):
    Home of Southern Evangelical Seminary

    Again, echoing Psydoc's advice above, make sure you understand the difference between regional accreditation (RA) and national accreditation (NA) before making your choice. You may not care *right now* about having an accredited degree, but if you change your mind later and want a job that demands it after earning an unaccredited degree, you probably won't be happy about having to redo most or all of that school work over again. Better to keep your options open if possible.
     
  8. dcb188

    dcb188 Member

    psydoc and emmzee, thank you for the info and the links.

    In my case, I have completed four certificate programs since around 2004, and this next one, certificate or MA in theology or biblical studies, would be strictly for personal enrichment, personal knowledge. In this particular area, theology, my main concern would be whether the school and faculty are biblical and not whether they are accredited or not, whereas if I were pursuing some other subject it would be different, e.g. MBA or something I needed for my job or career advancement.

    There are so many seminaries and Bible schools, that I am just looking at all of them, eliminating this or that one because another one happens to look better, tuition-wise, etc and gradually narrowing it down.

    At the moment I'm already enrolled in London School of Theology, which is more than reasonable re tuition and fees, and is a good school. Their "Open Learning" department is what attracted me.

    http://www.lst.ac.uk/
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 12, 2011
  9. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Just because you disagree with the political moves of Geisler does not negate the value of the school. I happen to know a few of the professors there and I can personally attest to the fact that one will not find many better biblical programs anywhere. Also, the TRACS accreditation issue, if timed properly, would allow you to get your degree paying an unaccredited price and then finish your degree just as they become accredited.
     
  10. dcb188

    dcb188 Member

    I'm noticing tremendous variation in tuition fees when I compare all these schools and more----which is to be expected. Some of them are a thousand bucks a credit, or close to it. When I see another school with a 200.00 per credit cost, then the choice is not a difficult one.
    So in my case at least, cost is a big factor---same as most folks, I would imagine.
    Anyway, it is enjoyable looking at all these schools and comparing them. All that work should in itself earn me a few credits.
     
  11. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Yes, I like the $200 a credit deal too. My daughter has been attending Empire State College for the same price and I'm loving that.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 12, 2011
  12. dcb188

    dcb188 Member

    Interesting that a Google search will consistently NOT show certain schools.
    I wonder why that is.
    Since I've been doing these extensive online searches of schools of theology, seminaries, etc I never see any mention of some of the schools mentioned here tonight. So I've learned just as much here as I have in surfing the Internet looking for this or that distance learning seminary.
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Liberty University evidently would "pretend" this, since they'll consider Nations University credentials as qualifying one for higher study there.
     
  14. dcb188

    dcb188 Member

    I also looked at Liberty Home Bible Institute, which is a total of about $950.00 for the entire program, no admission procedure, no transcripts, just enroll online. But it looks like a decent biblical education. Of course, it is not an advanced degree but then again it doesn't pretend to be. I looked really long and hard at this several months ago.

    http://www.lhbionline.com/
     
  15. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    That would certainly be an inexpensive way to go. Do a bunch of classes at Nations and then transfer to Liberty to finish off with a RA degree. Not sure how many units Liberty will accept in transfer for undergrad though. They only accepted a maximum of 15 units for my doctorate at Liberty.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 12, 2011
  16. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    You have a point, especially if one wanted to move on to a terminal degree. However, there is a certain draw to studying with Geisler and some of the other amazing apologetics minds at this school. I hold a number of RA degrees and do not need any more after I finish my Liberty EdD, however, I am drawn to the idea of going to Veritas after I'm done at Liberty just because of the quality of thinking and study that is going on at Veritas. It all depends on why you want your degree.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 12, 2011
  17. AdjunctInstructor

    AdjunctInstructor New Member

    Absolutely. The choice should be quite easy to make both evangelical...one accredited...the other is not...almost same price. Liberty hands down.
     
  18. dcb188

    dcb188 Member

    psydoc hit the nail on the head when the statement was made "an RA will always open doors".
    The question is, what doors does the student want opened?

    If for personal enrichment, growth etc, then it makes no difference whether the school is accredited or unaccredited.

    If for an advanced degree, or for a job opportunity or promotion, then yes, accreditation makes a difference.
    And there is a lot to be said for the faculty of any particular school. I've seen lists of educational institutions of higher learning that rate the schools not only according to academic excellence but also by the expertise/credentials of the faculty members.
     
  19. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    Hey, I'm not knocking NU, I've recommended them before on these forums, and it's great that their degrees are recognized by a few accredited schools. But a degree from NU absolutely does not have equal utility with a degree from an RA or NA school. I know you're not suggesting that, but I just want to clarify for future forum visitors. A school accepting a degree from an unaccredited school is the exception to the rule, not the rule.
     
  20. dcb188

    dcb188 Member

    Going back to London School of Theology for a moment, I was surprised to read this on Google a little while ago. I had not known about the reputation of LST at all. This is quite an endorsement in itself. Makes me feel I made a good choice by enrolling.
    ======================================================================
    Academic reputation

    According to an independent church history study by Ian Randall, the influence of LST in the evangelical world is "extremely pervasive" and the college holds a "position as a touchstone for the finest in distinctly evangelical scholarship"[5] and "has been at the centre of theological education in Britain for over fifty years".[6] According to Randall's research, LST's "unique international links mean that it is superbly placed to be a meeting point of western and non-western thought"[7] and that the school "relates to the wider sphere of scholarship" beyond the evangelical world
    ====================================================================
     

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