Transfer Credit

Transferring Credit from another Seminary/University

Students who have completed work at other educational institutions may be entitled to transfer credit by presenting official transcripts from those institutions to be evaluated by the registrar’s office. Course work may be applied to degree core credit, or they may transfer as elective credit. Certain criteria must be met in the transfer credit evaluation

For more information see the Southern Seminary transfer credit policy.

Transfer Credit Process

• Review the transfer equivalency database (TES) that shows all of our established equivalencies from institutions from which we have previously received transfer credit. This list is not exclusive but is updated regularly. If your school or coursework is not listed, it is still possible it could transfer to Southern Seminary.
• Transfer credit will be automatically reviewed upon your admission to Southern Seminary – pending receipt of official transcripts.
• Start the application and order an official transcript from the institution from which you earned the credit.
  • For international transcripts, a WES evaluation will be required for an official transfer credit evaluation.
• Please allow up to 3 weeks for your transfer credit to be reviewed.
• If your transfer credit is not listed in the TES database the registrar’s office will request syllabi for each course.
• After receiving your transfer credit evaluation, it is recommended to meet with an Academic Advisor to discuss how your transfer credits will apply to your current SBTS degree. 

Transfer Equivalency Database

Southern Seminary partners with CollegeSource to provide students with a database showing all of our established equivalencies from institutions from which we have previously received transfer credit.

This list is not exclusive, but is updated regularly. If your school or coursework is not listed it is still possible it could transfer to SBTS.

 If you have not yet applied to SBTS and want to know if your credits will transfer, please browse the database. Transfer credits are officially reviewed upon your acceptance to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Advanced Placement Exams

Students coming to Southern Seminary with a background in certain fields are able to complete an exam for advanced standing. The exams do not award course credit, but rather allow students to replace introductory courses with an elective in the same field.

Example: If a student passes the exam for Systematic Theology I, they may take another Theology class in its place.

To pass an exam, the student must receive at least an 80%. If the student fails an exam, they can retake the exam one time after 60 days (the second attempt will be a different exam). The exams are a service to students and so there is no fee for attempting an exam.

For a list of possible exams and the official process, visit this page.