Transfer Students & Readmission

Transfer Credit Policy

St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary welcomes transfer students from accredited North American colleges, universities, and seminaries. Transfer credit is also awarded for courses completed at colleges, universities, and semi­na­ries outside of the United States that are accredited or approved by the Ministry of Education (or other appropriate ecclesial or governmental agency) of the country in which they are located.

Transferability restrictions. In general, the Seminary awards credit in transfer for most graduate courses completed at such schools, subject to the following restrictions:

• Transfer credit from previously completed programs is subject to restriction; students should consult with the Dean and/or the Registrar;
• Substantially similar or parallel courses in doctrine and theology are accepted in transfer only from accredited Orthodox theological seminaries and schools of theology;
• A limited number of Scripture courses (i.e., Old Testament, New Testament, Synoptic Gospels, and Acts) that are substantially similar to courses offered at St. Tikhon’s Seminary may be accepted from non-Orthodox schools, subject to departmental approval; and
• Previous courses in which the student received a grade lower than B- will not be considered for transfer credit.

Determination of transfer credit equivalencies. Initial determinations of transfer credit equivalencies are made by the Office of the Registrar through a comparison of course descriptions and/or course titles. Students who wish to transfer graduate credit must submit appropriate evidence of transferability (course sylla­bus, college/university/seminary catalog). If a determination is made that substantial similarity exists between a course taken at another institution and a St. Tikhon’s course, transfer credit may be awarded for the St. Tikhon’s course. If substantial similarity does not exist, but the course is in an academic discipline taught at St. Tikhon’s Seminary, elective credit may be awarded in that dis­cipline.

If the content of a course includes subject matter offered in more than one core area, or if the course description does not provide sufficient information to assign the credit to a speci­fic prefix, general elective credit may be awarded. In some such cases, the course may be designated as applicable to a portion of the Seminary undergraduate general education require­ment. Elective credits awarded for upper-division undergraduate courses taken at four-year colleges and universities will be counted for the purpose of calculating baccalaureate equivalency requirements for acceptance into the Master of Divinity program.

Transfer equivalencies are based on current policies and generally reflect course numbers from the St. Tikhon’s Seminary Bulletin at the time the evaluation is conducted. St. Tikhon’s Seminary courses and course numbers are subject to change; thus, transfer equivalencies are subject to change as well.

Currently enrolled Seminary students who plan to take courses at other institutions are encouraged to confirm transferability of such courses prior to enrolling.

(For further credit transfer information, please see the current Academic Bulletin, p. 36-38).

Mid-year admissions

Many of the courses at the Seminary form part of a two-semester sequence (the prior semester constituting a prerequisite for the latter) which begins in the Fall Semester. In addition, an orientation program for new students is conducted only in the Fall Semester. For these reasons, admissions are not normally permitted in the Spring Semester. In very rare cases, however, exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Seminary Board of Admissions.

Re-admission

A student formerly enrolled at St. Tikhon's Seminary who wishes to re-enroll must submit, in writing, a formal request for readmission to the Rector and the Seminary Board of Admissions.