Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Application Instructions

Read through the following application instructions completely before filling out the application form. For your convenience and to save time, you may now apply online. Simply go to Trinity’s Web address, www.tiu.edu/apply, and click on the TEDS link, or click here. The application fee may also be paid online.

1. Application Fee

Master’s-level applicants must submit a $25 nonrefundable application fee. Checks should be payable in $U.S. and drawn from a bank in the United States. For your convenience, fees may also be paid using Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. A $25 application fee is also required of all first-time Doctoral applicants (DMin or PhD). The master’s-level application fee is waived for graduates of Trinity International University’s various undergraduate programs and those who have already paid an application fee at the master’s level to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School or Trinity Graduate School (Deerfield, Davie, Santa Ana, or any of our listed extension sites).

2. Application Deadlines

Master’s level

We use a rolling admissions process for all of our master’s applicants. However, we have established the following deadlines to allow the necessary time for review prior to the start of the term:

Please note that whereas these deadlines fall shortly before the beginning of the term, we strongly encourage you to apply six to twelve months in advance of your expected enrollment date.

Applications received after these deadlines may be subject to a $20 late application fee, and no master’s program applications will be considered for a given semester after the second week of that semester. (Note: Do not send the late application fee in with application unless notified to do so.)

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

June 15           (fall semester/November seminars)

October 15      (spring semester/March seminars)

February 15    (summer session/July seminars)

Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Studies) (PhD/EDS) and
Doctor of Philosophy (Intercultural Studies) (PhD/ICS)

September 1  (spring semester)

December 15 (fall semester)

(ICS only: Late application deadline of April 1 with permission of Program Director)

Before completing the application, read the EDS or ICS prospectus carefully. They are available online or by request from the Admissions Office.

All elements of the PhD/EDS and PhD/ICS application package (application, personal statements, papers, test scores, recommendations, and transcripts) must be received by the deadline date. Only complete application packages will be sent to the Admissions Committee. Incomplete packages will be held for completion up to two years. Applicants missing the review deadline must submit a supplemental application in order to have their file reviewed at a subsequent date. The Admissions Committee will usually notify applicants of its decision eight weeks from the review date.

Doctor of Philosophy (Theological Studies) (PhD/THS)

September 1  (spring semester)

January 15      (fall semester)

All elements of the PhD/THS application package (application, personal statements, papers, test scores, recommendations, and transcripts) must be received by the deadline date. Only complete application packages will be sent to the admissions committee. Incomplete packages will be held for completion up to two years. Applicants missing the review deadline must submit a supplemental application in order to have their file reviewed at a subsequent date. The review dates of January 15 and September 1 represent the beginning of the application review process, which normally takes eight weeks.

At the conclusion of the review process, applicants will be notified of the results as soon as possible. The number of applicants chosen for admission to the PhD/THS program depends on many factors, including availability of faculty to serve as readers.

3. Personal Statements

Please enclose your typed personal statements, following the instructions on the application. Please put your name on the top right corner of each page.

4. Official Transcripts

An official transcript must come from each undergraduate school at which you have taken a minimum of three courses for credit and from each seminary or graduate school you have attended, even though the work may appear as transfer credit on another transcript. However, at schools where you have taken prerequisite course work needed for your program, you should have transcripts sent even if you took three courses or less. In order to be considered official, transcripts must be sent directly to our Admissions Office in sealed envelopes from each school.

5. Recommendation Forms

All Applicants

Please complete the top portion of each recommendation form yourself:

1. Print your name.
2. Indicate the program to which you are applying.
3. Check the box identifying the recommender.
4. Sign either line “1” or line “2.”

All recommendations should be sent directly to the Admissions Office by the persons who complete them. Persons supplying recommendations will be acknowledged, and the institution reserves the right to investigate the accuracy of information provided by the applicant.

Master’s, Certificate in Christian Studies, and Special Student Applicants

Please have recommendations submitted from the following three people:

1. Pastor or church official
2. A faculty member or administrator familiar with your academic work (undergraduate or graduate)
3. An employer, professional acquaintance, or lay leader in your church

If you cannot locate one of your professors to submit a recommendation, please ask a leader in your church or parachurch group to complete one instead.

Special Instructions for Transfer Students Only:

Students desiring to transfer directly from another ATS accredited seminary to TEDS must submit a fourth recommendation form. This form, to be completed by the Dean of Students (or functional equivalent) of the transferring institution, must certify that the student is currently in good standing.

Doctor of Ministry Applicants

Please have recommendations submitted from the following four people:

1. A ministry supervisor (e.g., a superintendent, pastor under whom you are serving, etc.)
2. A ministry colleague
3. A lay leader
4. The chairman of your church board, a professor, a denominational or organizational official, or a professional acquaintance

Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Studies) and
Doctor of Philosophy (Intercultural Studies) Applicants

Please have recommendations submitted from the following four people:

1. A ministry supervisor (e.g., a superintendent, senior pastor or church leader, field supervisor, or mission executive)
   
2. A professor from your most recent graduate studies
3. A professional colleague
4. A lay person from your church or organization

Doctor of Philosophy (Theological Studies) Applicants

Please have recommendations submitted from the following four people:

1. A pastor or church official
2. Three professors

6. Standardized Tests

Master’s Applicants

Applicants to our Master of Arts program are required to submit test scores from either the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). (Special conditions apply to applicants whose first language is not English; see section on TOEFL below.) However, applicants with prerequisite degrees from fully accredited schools who are applying to the Master of Divinity or Master of Theology programs may be exempted from this requirement. We can determine this only after we evaluate the transcripts of all previous postsecondary studies. If you are uncertain as to whether the GRE or MAT will be required, we suggest that you make arrangements to take one of the tests as soon as possible. This could prevent inconvenient delays in your application process.

Additionally, students applying to the Master of Divinity whose GPA does not meet catalog standards and/or who do not have an accredited Bachelors Degree may be required to submit test scores from either the GRE or MAT. Again, we can determine this only after we evaluate the transcripts of all previous postsecondary studies.

Trinity’s campus counseling center administers the MAT. If you live nearby, you may make an appointment to take the test with the Counseling Center (phone: 847.317.4067).

Certificate in Christian Studies, Special Student, and Visiting Student Applicants

The GRE or MAT is not required. (Special conditions apply to applicants whose first language is not English; see section on TOEFL below.)

Doctor of Ministry Applicants

The Miller Analogies Test (MAT) may be required. When we receive your official transcripts, we will notify you if you need to take the MAT.

Academic Doctoral Program Applicants

Doctor of Philosophy (Theological Studies) applicants, including applicants required to take the TOEFL, must submit GRE scores. Applicants to our Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Studies) or Intercultural Studies programs may submit scores from either the MAT or the GRE. (Special conditions apply to applicants whose first language is not English; see section on TOEFL below.)

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Information

If your primary language of instruction was not English, you will be required to submit Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the Test of Written English (TWE), and the Test of Spoken English (TSE) scores. See the following chart for required tests and minimum scores:

English Language Test (TOEFL/TWE/TSE) Requirements¹
Degree Programs

¹Computer scores for TOEFL are listed first, with paper scores listed in parentheses. Degree programs that do not require certain tests are listed as “n/a.”
²Includes Certificate in Christian Studies, Visiting Student, and Special Student.
³The TSE is an entirely separate test and must be arranged/scheduled in addition to the TOEFL and TWE.

Waivers are not normally granted from these requirements. However, if a waiver is authorized, many applicants become subject to the same standardized testing requirements as their native English-speaking counterparts, required to submit qualifying scores from either the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Applicants should weigh this prospect carefully before requesting a waiver from the TOEFL.

Waiver requests must be submitted in writing to the Director of Admission at least three months (ninety days) prior to the application deadline date in order to allow sufficient time for testing if the request is denied. Failure to submit qualifying test scores by application deadlines may result in outright denial of admission or postponement of application decision to a subsequent semester.

Students required to submit a TOEFL/TWE/TSE score will also be required to take an English language proficiency examination during orientation week on campus.

Master’s Level

Applicants with completed advanced degrees at the master’s level or higher may request a waiver from the standardized testing requirement. (Does not apply to TOEFL/TWE/TSE.)

Graduate Test Information

Test scores must be less than five years old (except TOEFL/TWE/TSE scores, which must be less than two years old) and must be submitted directly to our Admissions Office from the testing service. Photocopies from the applicant are not acceptable.

MAT information:
The Psychological Corporation
555 Academic Court
San Antonio TX 78204
800.622.3231
210.921.8802
210.921.8861 (Fax)

Graduate Record Examination information:
GRE-ETS
PO Box 6000
Princeton NJ  08541-6000
609.771.7670
609.771.7906 (Fax)
Email: gre-info@ets.org
Web: http://www.gre.org/

Our GRE institutional code is R1797.

TOEFL information:
TOEFL Services
Educational Testing Service
Box 6151
Princeton NJ  08541-6151
609.771.7100
609.771.7500 (Fax)
Email: toefl@ets.org
Web: http://www.toefl.org/

Our TOEFL institutional code is 1797.

7. Immunization

The state of Illinois requires incoming students to submit documentation with exact dates of the following injections: Measles (two); Mumps (one); Rubella (one); and Tetanus/Diphtheria (one injection within the last ten years). For students not attending U.S. grades 9-12, three Tetanus/Diphtheria injections are required, the third being within the last ten years. A PPD tuberculosis skin test is also required.

Accepted students will receive further information and a proper form to be completed as part of the admissions process. Do not send immunization documentation before receiving the official form.

Students who are taking less than 6 hours of credit or were born prior to 1957 are exempt from this law.

8. Tuition Deposits

Master’s Level

If you are admitted to Trinity, you must submit a tuition deposit of $100.00 to the Admissions Office as a confirmation of your acceptance of our offer of admission. This deposit is refundable only if the Admissions Office receives written notification of cancellation at least thirty days prior to your anticipated date of enrollment.

Doctoral Level

If you are admitted, you must submit a nonrefundable tuition deposit as a confirmation of your acceptance of our offer of admission. Specific information regarding this deposit is detailed in your letter of acceptance from the Admissions Office.

International Applicants, Master’s or Doctoral Level (F-1 Visa)

If you are an International applicant who will be entering the United States on an F-1 visa and plan to attend Trinity’s Deerfield Campus in a full-time residential status, you must submit a tuition deposit of US$2,000 to the Admissions Office as confirmation of your acceptance of our offer of admission before an I-20 can be issued. This deposit is fully refundable.

9. Special Instructions

Marital Status

As an educational institution with a broad representation of denominations among our student body, we are aware that marital status, including positions on divorce and remarriage, vary widely among churches and Christian organizations. Applicants are encouraged to dialogue early with their church and spouse relative to these matters, as they may relate to future ministry placement.

International Applicants

Trinity is authorized under Federal laws to enroll nonimmigrant alien students. In addition to the regular application materials, however, international applicants have some special admission conditions and are required to submit additional information. Please see the general admission section for information pertinent to international applicants.

Before making application to Trinity, international students who will require entry to the United States in an F-1 visa status will be asked to fill out and return a “Pre-application Information for International Applicants” form. The primary purpose of this form is to determine if the potential applicant has realistically identified her or his sources of funding. No application will be acted upon without prior submission and approval of the pre-application form. The pre-application form can be found at www.tiu.edu/forms/graduatepreapp.php, downloaded from Trinity’s web site (www.tiu.edu/divinity/admissions/international), or requested from the Admissions Office.

Applicants with Disabilities

We want to be prepared to meet your needs when you come to Trinity. After you receive your letter of admission, please send us a statement describing your disabilities and what special attention or arrangements you may need at Trinity. For more information, contact the Associate Dean of Students (telephone: 847.317.4063).

Doctor of Ministry Applicants

Please let us know in writing if and when you intend to take up residence in the community to pursue on-campus course work during the regular academic terms.

Academic Doctoral Applicants

You are required to submit a work that shows evidence of your writing and research ability. All PhD applicants must submit an exemplary research paper or thesis. EDS and ISC applicants may also submit a recently published paper or article. For application purposes, your paper must be in English or at least translated into English.

Concluding Remarks

If you need further information or have any questions concerning any part of the application process, please feel free to call the Admissions Office at 800.345.TEDS or 847.317.8000. You also may email us at tedsadm@tiu.edu or visit our web site at www.teds.edu/admissions/.

We reserve the right to request from any applicant to the divinity school additional materials or an interview with a representative of Trinity.