Students should confirm that the Office of Admissions has official transcripts for all courses taken at the undergraduate or graduate level.

International applicants must submit their transcripts to SpanTran for evaluation. Spantran sends results directly to the RDS Office.

Each applicant must submit scores from the Graduate Record Exam Standard Examination (GRE). The GRE should be taken at least four months prior to the SWBTS PhD entrance examination and must have been taken no more than five years prior to applying for admission to Southwestern’s PhD program. Applicants must take the GRE at a testing center since Southwestern Seminary does not administer the GRE. Current GRE testing sites are listed at www.ets.or. Each applicant must take the Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing portions of the General Test.

If ten years have passed since an applicant finished his or her most recent coursework, he or she may contact the RDS Office for permission to submit the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) score in lieu of the GRE.

International applicants must submit scores either from TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or DuoLingo English Test (DET). For the TOEFL, a minimum score of 100 on the internet-based test or 250 on the computer-based test is required. Students who complete the computer-based TOEFL must also complete the TSE (Test of Spoken English). For the DET, a score of 120 is required.

Each applicant must submit a research paper (4000-6000 words) on a subject in the student’s chosen major. The form and style should follow the most recent edition of the Turabian Manual for Writers. In matters not addressed by Turabian, the paper should adhere to the most recent edition of (1) The Chicago Manual of Style or (2) The SBL Handbook of Style.

In addition to the general admissions requirements, each applicant must provide two confidential academic references from former graduate-level professors. These forms must be submitted by the recommenders electronically to the Office of Admissions.

Applicants who submit their application (including all supporting materials) by the deadline may be invited to sit for an entrance examination and attend an interview. The entrance examination probes the applicants’ knowledge in the chose major field and tests the ability to organize and express thoughts logically and clearly. These examinations have a two-hour time allotment. Applicants invited to sit for the entrance examination will be notified by the RDS Office of relevant details. Study aids for these examinations are available from the RDS Office.

Likewise, the RDS Office will facilitate entrance interviews to be conducted by professors in the applicant’s chosen major. On rare occasions, the faculty of the applicant’s minor area of study may also wish to conduct an interview.

Applicants must submit all required documents for World Christian Studies Ph.D. applications to the Office of Admissions by the last Friday in August or January prior to the May semester in which accepted applicants will begin their seminars. Applications are good for one year from the date received.