Acceptance of Columbia Seminary Degrees

The acceptance of CES degrees has been quite good though not universal. We urge potential applicants to satisfy themselves that our programs will meet their needs, and we are happy to communicate directly with employers and others to assist in gaining acceptance of our degrees.

Note of clarification: Some of these letters below are from the late 1990's (before CES changed its name to Columbia Evangelical Seminary), and they may not be applicable today. A couple of the letters have been updated as recently as late 2004. Also, other schools not listed herein have accepted our credits.

Therefore, information on this page is not "set in stone." It only serves as a general guide as to what some schools have said in the past about CES credits.

All schools listed herein reserve the right to change their policy about how and what credits they will accept.

Credit Transfer Opportunities

Columbia Evangelical Seminary will accept credits from accredited colleges, and whenever possible, even technical courses may be transferred as "general electives" (undergraduate level). CES also accepts credits from good, non-accredited schools that rise to CES standards.

Students wishing to transfer CES credits to other schools are responsible to ascertain the acceptance of credit by the receiving institution. However, some schools have responded favorably (though not without some qualifications) to our request about the acceptability of our credits and degrees. Here is what a few of them have to say; they are listed here by permission from each school's representative. (All of the schools listed below are accredited by accrediting associations recognized by the federal government for federal financial aid purposes.)

Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY: "At the graduate level, we normally do not allow the transfer of credits from unaccredited graduate level institutions although this is evaluated on a case-by-case rather than a school-by-school basis." M. Robert Mulholland, Jr., Provost

Briercrest Schools, Caronport, Sask. Canada: "Admissions . . . is handled on an individual, case by case basis, and hence we recognize that each situation may be different. We would certainly like to extend the most positive review possible, and hence depending on overall background, we may be able to fully accept your students into our Master's degree program." Dwayne Uglem, Associate Dean of the Seminary.

Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary, Cincinnati, OH: "We would not guarantee either transfer of course work or recognition of degrees. We would, however, evaluate each case and course individually." Eleanor Daniel, Academic Dean of the Seminary and confirmed by James B. North, Interim Dean.

Eugene Bible College, Eugene, OR: "We would be willing on an individual basis to accept students who have taken credits at FTS [i.e., CES]. Our policy is to transfer up to 80 percent of credit taken at an unaccredited school, and depending on the student's performance and the courses taken at FTS [i.e., CES], we are prepared to follow that policy." Clayton E. Crymes, Dean of Academic Affairs

Johnson Bible College, Knoxville, TN: When we asked them if they would accept CES credits, they sent us a page from their catalog in which they said: "Students who wish to transfer credits from any other institutions must first validate their credits at JBC in one or both of the following methods: 1. Write examinations over designated course materials; 2. Enroll for a minimum of 12 semester credits and earn a minimum grade point average of 2.0 ("C"). Transfer work will be placed on the student's transcript at the end of the semester in which it is validated."

Luther Rice Seminary, Lithonia, GA: "Luther Rice Seminary does accept the work of Columbia Evangelical Seminary on a case by case basis for transfer or as the basis for entrance to a graduate program provided that the work is a "C" or above and is comparable to the requirements of Luther Rice Seminary." Bruce Kreutzer, Ph.D., Registrar.

Northwest Graduate School of the Ministry, Seattle, WA: ". . . the decision regarding transfer credits is made on a case-by-case basis. Once a student has been accepted into the school, transcripts containing graduate-level courses are examined. As long as the credits have not been used toward another degree and are equivalent to those offered by Northwest Graduate School, the credits can usually be transferred." Judi Melton, Registrar

Reformed Bible College, Grand Rapids, MI: "RBC will accept credits earned by students of FTS [i.e., CES] on a provisional basis, provided that the courses apply toward degree requirements at RBC. RBC requires a two-year residency for Bachelor degree students." Harold J. Bruxvoort, Dean for Academic Programs

Trinity International University (Evangelical Divinity School), Deerfield, IL: "Requests from individual students, who have studied at non-accredited schools, are handled on a case by case basis." W. Bingham Hunter Academic Dean