NOBTS, North Greenville University sign articulation agreement

By Marilyn Stewart

NEW ORLEANS -- A move that can help men and women called to ministry get placed into ministry positions sooner, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) and North Greenville University (NGU), Tigerville, S.C., have partnered to count certain college credit hours toward a master of divinity degree, thereby saving students time and money.

The articulation agreement, signed by NOBTS President James K. Dew, Jr. and NGU President Gene C. Fant, Jr., lays out a pathway whereby NGU Christian Studies majors can apply qualified earned college credits toward an NOBTS M. Div.

The schools worked together prior to the agreement to identify North Greenville’s Christian Studies major courses that would be comparable or equivalent to specific courses required for the M. Div. degree.  

“The work of Christian ministry is more important now than ever before,” Dew said. “As such, removing obstacles and redundancies that prohibit students from completing this training in a timely and cost-effective manner is critical for the future of theological education. We are proud to partner with a fantastic school like North Greenville University to make that possible.”

The Accelerated Master of Divinity program outlined in the agreement reduces a student’s time in school -- potentially saving thousands of dollars -- by reducing course redundancy.

Qualifying students can earn up to one-third of the required hours for the M.Div. degree, as outlined in the articulation agreement. NGU students can count qualified hours toward any M.Div. of any specialization, including Expository Preaching, Biblical Languages, Christian Thought, Christian Education, Christian Apologetics, and others.

NGU President Fant, a 1989 NOBTS graduate, is among four generations of his family to attend the seminary. 

“New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has been a partner in the ministry education of North Greenville graduates for over a century and many of our faculty leaders are graduates, including Dr. Walter Johnson, the Dean of the College of Christian Studies,” Fant said. “This partnership represents a new opportunity for our students to pursue practical training in all areas of ministry, recognizing the quality of our undergraduate program with an accelerated graduate program. We are deeply grateful to Pres. Dew and his staff for the invitation to pursue this partnership.”

NGU students and graduates must meet additional requirements to qualify to enter the accelerated program. Potential students for the program must apply to NOBTS and meet all the admissions requirements for the school. Students must have earned a “B” or higher in qualifying undergraduate courses to receive credit towards a master’s course. In addition, the credits can only be applied to the Accelerated M.Div. program within five years of a student’s baccalaureate graduation.

For more information and a complete list of qualifying courses, visit www.nobts.edu/acceleratedmdiv.