Accreditation Requirements
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary generally accepts all credits earned at institutions accredited by applicable accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
- Regional Accrediting agencies:
- Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc., Commission on Institutions of Higher Learning (NEASC-CIHE)
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC)
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges, and Universities (WASC-SCUC)
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community Colleges, and Junior Colleges (WASC-ACCJC)
- Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE)
- Association of Theological Schools (ATS). Search a list of ATS member schools.
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
- Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS)
Non-Accredited Institutions: Credits from institutions not accredited by one of the agencies mentioned above will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
SBTS reserves the right to deny transfer credit if the course content is found to be not in keeping with the academic integrity and/or biblical principles of the institution.
Transfer Credit Requirements
Transfer Credit must be:
- from a recognized accreditation agency (see “Accreditation” above)
- appropriate for Southern Seminary’s curriculum and academic content
- grade of a “C-“ or higher
- completed within 10 years of transfer
Transfer Credit Restrictions
Maximum Transfer Hours
Students may transfer up to 3/4 of their credits towards their Bachelor or Associates degree program. 1/4 of the Boyce degree MUST BE completed at Boyce College.
- Bachelor’s degrees maximum transfer ranges from 87-90 hours based on the total credit hours required for the degree. The majority of the degrees are 129 hours with 87 hours being the maximum transfer hours allowed.
- Associate’s degrees maximum transfer is 45 credit hours.
- Certificates do not accept transfer credit. Exceptions may be requested from the program coordinator.
- No more than 50% of the major studies hours for the Business Administration and Communications programs will be transferred (27 and 21 respectively.)
Non-Transferrable Courses
- MS105: Personal Evangelism
- MS101: Introduction to Missiology
These courses will not be accepted for transfer credit from schools other than SBC seminaries. Request for an exception to this policy can be made by emailing the Transfer Credit Office who will seek approval of your request with the Dean of the Billy Graham School.
Pass/Fail Courses
SBTS does not grant transfer credit for courses that received a grade of pass/fail.
Non-Degree/Undecided Students
Transfer Credit is not applied to Non-Degree seeking students or Undecided students. Once a student claims a degree, the transfer credit will be applied.