The foundations you need to serve, wherever God calls you

To apply to the program, the student simply chooses his/her desired track within the 5-Year Program. IN so doing, the student chooses the undergraduate major and the specific master’s degree which he/she plans to pursue. The student will be accepted into the 5-Year Program on a provisional basis until the following two requirements are met. Those beginning their college career at Texas Baptist College must:

• Complete 45 hours of course work at Texas Baptist College
• Have a GPA of 3.00 or higher, which must be maintained throughout the program.

Transfer students must:

• Complete 30 hours of course work at Texas Baptist College
• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher, which must be maintained throughout the program.

If the student meets these qualifications, then he/she will be approved to continue in the 5-Year Program. If a student’s GPA falls below 3.00, that student will be on probation for one semester to raise the GPA back to a 3.00. If there is no improvement at the end of the probation semester, the student will move to the regular four-year undergraduate major.

Advising will require special attention. To ensure that the student moves through the program effectively, students will be assigned a special undergraduate advisor to counsel them through the program and to help them transition from the BA degree to the M.Div. or MACE degree. The student will meet with the undergraduate advisor from the time the student is accepted into the program. The student must adhere strictly to the prescribed order of course work through the undergraduate part of the program. The student will have the status of undergraduate until 60 hours are completed.

Once the student has been approved into the program, passed the Advanced Standing exams, and successfully completed 60 hours of undergraduate work, the student will proceed to the second stage of the program, the dual status stage in which the student will complete the undergraduate degree while also beginning graduate-level classes. At this point the student will be assigned a second advisor, a graduate advisor, to take the student through the master’s part of the program. For the 61 to 120 hour period of the program (or the third and fourth years of full-time study), the student will have dual status and will meet with both advisors. For the final 34 hours of the program (or the final year of full-time study), the student will then be a graduate student and meet only with the graduate advisor.

Once the student has completed the first 60 hours as an undergraduate student, he/she will have completed the first stage of the 5-Year Program. However, before the student can progress to the dual status stage, the student must pass advanced standing exams in Old Testament I & II, New Testament I & II, Church History I & II, Systematic Theology I, Evangelism, and Introduction to Missiology. These exams must be taken once the student has successfully completed 45 hours, but before he/she has completed 60 hours. The student must pass these exams with a minimum score of 75 to continue in the program. Upon passing the Advance Standing exams and successfully completing 60 hours of undergraduate study with a 3.00 or higher GPA, the student will then proceed to the next stage of the program, taking a combination of undergraduate and graduate courses.

As mentioned above, during the next 60 hour phase of the program, the student will take both undergraduate and graduate courses. During the 61-90 hour period student will take mostly undergraduate courses while also beginning the first master’s courses. In the following period of 91-120 hours, the student will finish up the few remaining undergraduate courses and take mostly graduate courses. In the final phase of 34 hours (hours121-154) the student will be full-time in graduate courses to finish the program. A 3.00 GPA must be maintained throughout the 5-Year Program.

As part of the 5-Year Program, the student will choose a concentration on the graduate level. The concentrations will be chosen in consultation with your graduate advisor from among the concentrations offered in that graduate school: the School of Theology, the Fish School of Evangelism & Missions, or the Terry School of Educational Ministries.