by Even for aspiring religious leaders, college may be expensive.
Therefore, through scholarships, donations, and denomination-specific benefits, Fort Worth’s religious higher education institutions are paving the road to make religious education more affordable for students.
Rev. Dr. Stephen Cady, president of TCU’s Brite Divinity School, stated, “We do not want the way that people are responding to their call to be limited by the debt that they bring along with them.”
Early in August, Texas Christian University administrators announced a free tuition initiative to assist undergraduate students who qualify for Pell Grants starting the following fall. TCU is expanding quickly, as evidenced by the 29% increase in enrollment over the past ten years. The school’s tuition for the 2025–2026 school year is approximately $82,310.
According to data from the Association of Theological Schools for 2022–2023, the average annual cost to complete a Master of Divinity degree at Brite Divinity School is around $29,220. However, starting the summer semester of 2023, the institution has paid for all master’s students’ tuition and expenses.
According to its website, the Next Brite Scholarship is a multi-year, experimental program that concludes after the spring 2027 semester.
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According to Cady, the goal is to lessen the financial strain on students, particularly those who are not pursuing lucrative occupations.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average yearly salary for clergy in Texas as of May 2024 was $61,230, which is less than the $67,160 national average.
Enrollment has increased as a result of the initiative, but it’s difficult to distinguish its effects from the post-pandemic recovery, according to Cady. According to yearly data from the Association of Theological Schools, the divinity school had 170 students enrolled in the 2024–25 academic year, a modest increase over pre-pandemic enrollment.
According to Cady, the university also provides a stipend and full tuition for students enrolled in its Doctor of Philosophy program.
The Doctor of Ministry program at Brite Divinity School costs $13,200 in total, which is divided into six equal installments of $2,200 each. Students pay a $375 ongoing charge until the program is finished if they do not finish their degree within the allotted three years. According to its website, Doctor of Ministry students are not eligible for grants or tuition assistance from the British Divinity School.
With plans to keep raising money to keep the scholarship going, the emphasis is still on helping master’s students, according to Cady.
According to Cady, churches are unable to pay full-time pastors in the current climate, so they frequently take on two jobs.
He went on to say, “We are working to remove those barriers so that good people can enter ministry and so that people can answer their call.”
Fort Worth seminary offers resources for Southern Baptists
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, one of six institutions run by the Southern Baptist Convention and formerly the biggest in the country, is also located in Fort Worth.
Chandler Snyder, the seminary’s vice president for institutional relations, stated that comparing Southwestern to TCU and Brite is somewhat similar in certain ways and rather different in others.
According to Trinity International University, seminaries are usually associated with a specific religious denomination and provide courses to prepare students in that organization. Divinity schools provide instruction in a variety of academic subjects in a university environment.
Unlike Brite Divinity, Southwestern does not take any federal student aid.
According to Snyder, 98% of students are eligible for additional types of financial aid that the seminary offers in collaboration with benefactors.
For instance, Southwestern Seminary offers a one-time scholarship called the Mercy Scholarship, which covers books, tuition, and fees to help a chosen group of first-semester students get a jump start on their degree. Additionally, it provides a $500 monthly stipend for a full year.
Males who attend Southern Baptist churches and are fresh to the seminary are eligible to receive this award. Plans to pursue a Master of Divinity, enroll full-time, and attend classes in person are further prerequisites.
According to Snyder, the anonymous donor is aware of the sacrifices required to get ready for missionary work.
According to Snyder, he wants to help those students graduate debt-free and in a way that will enable them to flourish and enter the ministry right away, serving as pastors and evangelists.
For students connected to a Southern Baptist Convention church, the cost of on-campus master’s and seminary certificate courses is $342 per credit hour every semester. Each semester, students who are not members of a Southern Baptist church would pay $684 per credit hour. According to data from the Association of Theological Schools, tuition and fees for the school’s Master of Divinity program totaled around $11,220 for students in the 2024–25 academic year.
Students who are affiliated with a Southern Baptist Convention congregation must pay $13,174 for the seminary’s three-year Doctor of Ministry program. The school’s 2025–2026 rates indicate that the general standard rate is $17,908 per year.
Beginning in their fourth year, students who require additional time to finish the program pay a $1,500 extension fee each fall and spring semester.
Although enrollment in seminaries nationwide has decreased over the last 20 years, the Association of Theological Schools reports that enrollment is rising.
In 2024–2025, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary enrolled 2,278 students, up from 2,237 the previous year.
These benefactors who accompany it see that it’s a special calling and wish to support it, but they also recognize the importance of the mission of caring for souls, Snyder added.
Classes at Brite and Southwestern Seminary start on August 18.
Marissa Greene, who covers faith for the Fort Worth Report, is a member of the Report for America corps. [email protected], you can reach her.
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