Accelerated (for Dallas-campus students) Accelerated advanced standing is a curricular reduction of a degree program determined by the assessment of a student’s competency in predetermined segments of a degree program and conditioned on satisfactory completion of specially designed accelerated courses offered on the Dallas campus. Through accelerated advanced standing, Master of Theology students can reduce their program by 30 credit hours. Depending on the program, Master of Arts students can reduce their program by 15 or 16 credit hours. Accelerated advanced standing is available only to Dallas-campus students before they begin classes at DTS. For more information about advanced standing see www.dts.edu/advancedstanding.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Dallas Theological Seminary is enriched by the presence of more than 100 international students from nearly 35 foreign countries. Applicants for whom English is not their native or birth language or who were not born in the U.S. are required to demonstrate their proficiency in
BEN STUART Passion City Church Plant Church Planter Atlanta, GA (ThM, 2012)
English by submitting satisfactory Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores taken within two years of the date of application. This applies even if the applicant is a U.S. citizen, has attended American or English-speaking colleges and universities, and is a longtime resident of English-speaking countries. The minimum score on the Internet-based TOEFL (IBT) is 85, with subscores of 22 in the Listening and Speaking sections, 20 in the Writing/Structure section, and 21 in the Reading section. Information about the TOEFL may be obtained at www.toefl.org or www.ets.org/toefl. The TOEFL institution code for DTS is 6156. DTS also accepts scores on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. The minimum overall score accepted by DTS is 6.5, with subscores of 6.5 in Listening, Reading, and Speaking and 6.0 in Writing.
ADMISSION
Course-by-course Students may qualify to reduce degree program credit hours on a course-by-course basis using diagnostic tools similar to those used to assess competency gained in a DTS course (i.e., exam). Course-by-course advanced standing (except for biblical language) is available to a student before the end of his or her first year of study at DTS. Course-by-course advanced standing for biblical language (i.e., NT and OT) is available to a student at any time during his or her course of study provided the student has not taken a class in that language at DTS.
International applicants, like other students, must submit the nonrefundable application fee of $50 if applying online. The application fee must be paid with funds drawn on an American bank, a money order in U.S. dollars, U.S. credit card over the phone, or traveler’s check. Occasionally applicants have a contact in the U.S. that will pay the fee on their behalf. No application will be processed until this application fee is received. International students must show evidence of financial documentation for the first 12 months of study and show a plan of support for the length of their program. Documentation can be in the form of bank statements, which show the current balance and the average balance during the past six months. Family or friends who provide financial support must sign a financial pledge form and return it, along with bank statements from the past three months, to the International Student Office. (Pledges for students are not tax-deductible.) The documents needed to apply for a student visa will not be issued until proof of financial support has been shown. All documents must be submitted at least one month prior to the anticipated date of enrollment. For a current estimate of tuition and living expenses, please visit the International Admissions website: www.dts.edu/ais. A very limited number of tuition scholarships are available for international students each year. Application forms are distributed and processed by the Financial Aid Office and can be obtained online. For a student to be considered for scholarship, his or her application for admission must be approved by the Admissions Committee by January 15. International students must be in Dallas for the International Student Orientation, which is held the week prior to the Entering Student Orientation. 45