Thread: Reformed Seminaries offering the ThM Degree

I know RTS Orlando offers a ThM degree. What other reformed seminaries off this degree?

Seth, I was once advised to avoid the Th.M. program at RTS Orlando (at the time it was considered to be a "dying program"). That may have changed in the last couple of years, though.

Westminster Theological Seminary

Here is a list of the ATS accredited schools that offer a ThM or STM (master of sacred theology)

PRTS, Covenant, Erskine, and Gordon-Conwell all offer the Th.M.

https://www.covenantseminary.edu/lea...teroftheology/

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

Bear in mind that some (not all) require you to have an M.Div or equivalent. Westminster requires that you have had Greek and Hebrew at least at the equivalent of their M.Div or M.A.R. Others can chime in on requirements from other schools.

Whitefield Theo. Sem.

Originally Posted by sastark

I know RTS Orlando offers a ThM degree. What other reformed seminaries off this degree?

Hi Seth,

This question really deserves two answers. First, lots of Reformed seminaries exist that offer the Th.M. However, I’d encourage you to look at those that are regionally and ATS accredited, both for utility and quality assurance. If you go to the trouble of seeking a Th.M., make it count! R. Scott Clark had a recent 3-part article on why this is important which I thought was quite valuable. Of those schools, the ones I generally recommend to Reformed friends are: Westminster Seminary California, Covenant Theological Seminary, Westminster Theological Seminary, Reformed Theological Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (interdenominational, but many Reformed profs). None are perfect, and probably each could be criticised for something if one wanted to look hard enough.

The second and perhaps more important part of the answer relates to specialisation. A Th.M. is not just another year of classes after the M.Div. The program should be training you within a specific area, and developing your research skills with a substantial thesis. Even a generally great school might not have strengths in a particular area. For early church history, I chose the Th.M. at GCTS, but if I had been seeking to specialise in systematic theology, it would likely have been WSC. You get the idea.

May God bless your studies!

Originally Posted by David G

Originally Posted by sastark

I know RTS Orlando offers a ThM degree. What other reformed seminaries off this degree?

Hi Seth,

This question really deserves two answers. First, lots of Reformed seminaries exist that offer the Th.M. However, I’d encourage you to look at those that are regionally and ATS accredited, both for utility and quality assurance. If you go to the trouble of seeking a Th.M., make it count! R. Scott Clark had a recent 3-part article on why this is important which I thought was quite valuable. Of those schools, the ones I generally recommend to Reformed friends are: Westminster Seminary California, Covenant Theological Seminary, Westminster Theological Seminary, Reformed Theological Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (interdenominational, but many Reformed profs). None are perfect, and probably each could be criticised for something if one wanted to look hard enough.

The second and perhaps more important part of the answer relates to specialisation. A Th.M. is not just another year of classes after the M.Div. The program should be training you within a specific area, and developing your research skills with a substantial thesis. Even a generally great school might not have strengths in a particular area. For early church history, I chose the Th.M. at GCTS, but if I had been seeking to specialise in systematic theology, it would likely have been WSC. You get the idea.

May God bless your studies!

Seth,
Although David brings up a good point, that one should ensure the utility and quality of a Th.M. program, that is NOT necessarily done via seeking ATS. To be ATS certified, a seminary is required to have a lot of other "things" in line that have nothing to do with ensuring a good education. To receive accreditation, it is extremely expensive to a seminary, and many good seminaries do not necessarily desire to pay those fees merely to have the U.S. department of Education "recognize" them through accreditation. Not only are their substantial fees that the school must pay, but they must also abide by whatever standard that the accrediting agency sets (in other words, the seminary can't be run exactly however they want it to be run). Some seminaries actually believe this would be a violation of their freedoms to administer the seminary how they desire, so they refuse to become regionally accredited. Tell me, if they have refused accreditation based on their belief, how does that then make them somehow less qualified to train men in the ministry than a Federally(unbeliever)-approved school?


Consider these seminaries (along with the ones others have mentioned) for the Th.M.
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary)
Whitefield Theological Seminary (Whitefield Theological Seminary - Home)
Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (PRTS)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but not only do these seminaries uphold a standard that is as good as, if not exceeding, the academic standard which regionally accredited schools hold, but they all also offer respectable Th.M. degrees.

If you're seeking approval from men, then ONLY seek ATS schools (understand me here, I am NOT saying that if you seek an ATS school that you are seeking approval from men, I am saying that if by chance you're looking for approval from men, then only seek ATS). If you're just seeking to get a solid, reformed, respectable, conservative, presbyterian-minded Th.M. then ANY of the schools that have been mentioned so far in this thread are good, including the highly respected non-accredited schools such as the ones I mentioned (my list is not exhaustive). I hope this helps. But please, don't think that a good, theological education comes by having an "ATS approved" stamp on it.

I still think ATS is a valuable thing to look for, and here’s why. While I think the utility issue is valid in this world we live in, let’s talk instead about the quality under the ATS label providing the utility. I took courses at six different seminaries (1 unaccredited, 1 regional only, and 4 RA/ATS) for my M.Div. and Th.M. When I talked about such things with administrators and professors (having in my previous career been a trainer for a law enforcement agency under a somewhat similar certification process from the State), they groused about the fees and requirements of accreditation visits, but attributed significant improvements in quality to the process and said it was definitely worthwhile. As an end user, I saw a qualitative difference that definitely favored the ATS-accredited schools.

ATS accredits everyone from Harvard Divinity School to WSC on the doctrinal continuum, so evidently they don’t exclude confessionally Reformed schools. Why don’t you ask Puritanboard member Scott Clark what doctrinal distinctives Westminster California had to give up in order to obtain ATS accreditation? If you haven’t read his article at Education True and False (Part 3) Heidelblog, it’s worth checking out.

Seth,

Also, the area you want to focus on will determine where you should apply. For example, if apologetics is what you want to focus on, then Westminster Theological Seminary should be numero uno on your list. If you want historical theology then Calvin Theological Seminary or Gordon Conwell should top your list (Please no comments on the reformedness or non reformedness of Calvin Theo Sem. I'm just trying to illustrate my point). Another thing to consider is depending on what you want to study, a reformed seminary may not be the best option available.

It seems that seminaries such as Puritan Reformed, Greenville Presbyterian, Whitefield, RITS, etc. are becoming more and more well-regarded as time goes on. I would say they prepare Reformed pastors as well as the ATS-accredited Reformed seminaries, if not better.