Covenant Seminary welcomes students from other countries and cultures and invites applications from people serving the Church around the world.

Completed applications for international students must be received by the Admissions office no later than June 1 for enrollment in the fall semester, or November 1 for enrollment in the spring semester.

International students should also be aware of the following:

Applicants from countries outside the United States must meet the U.S. Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requirements in addition to the standards of spiritual maturity and academic proficiency required of all students, including a bachelor's degree or its educational equivalent at the level represented by North American institutions.

According to U.S. law, international students must also demonstrate and document adequate resources to finance their education by providing official bank statements or letters from sponsors. Acceptable demonstration of financial support must be submitted before student visa applications can be sent. For more information, please contact the Admissions Office.

Students with F-1 visa status are required to remain registered full-time (10 hours for master degree programs or 8 hours for the ThM) while attending Covenant Seminary. According to USCIS (http://www.immigrationdirect.com/visas/student/index.jsp) guidelines, most students with visa status other than F-1 will not be permitted to enroll full time. If students need to change the number of hours they are taking, they should first contact the International Student Advisor. International students who have questions regarding student visas, need to make changes to immigration status, or have other immigration issues to discuss should contact the International Student Advisor. Furthermore, international Applicants can only apply for Master’s degree programs as student visas are not issued for the graduate certificate or audit programs.

English Language Skills and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): Out of concern for applicants from non-English-speaking countries, Covenant Seminary requires all prospective students for whom English is not their first language to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Applicants must submit results from the Internet-based (IBT) TOEFL exam, with minimum scores of 21 on the written component, 24 on the speaking component, 20 on the reading component, and 19 on the listening component. The minimum cumulative score is 84. Though there are two other forms of the TOEFL (paper and computer), Internet-based results are the only TOEFL results we will accept.

Students identified by the faculty as having weak English skills will be required to take additional courses in written and spoken English until their skills are judged to be adequate. Students whose first language is not English may be permitted additional time equal to one-third of the ordinary time allotted for examinations and final exams. The student must begin the exam at the stated time (the privilege is not intended for students who arrive late). Students seeking additional time for in-class examinations must normally make arrangements with the instructor to take the examination outside of the regular class time.

For information concerning times and places of TOEFL test administration, contact:
Educational Testing Service
Box CN6151
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, U.S.A.
www.TOEFL.org
(Covenant Theological Seminary’s TOEFL code number is 6141).

Immunization: In accordance with recommendations from the American Lung Association, the Public Health Service, and the Centers for Disease Control, students in high-risk groups (international students from Asia, Africa, or Latin America, or any student exposed to TB due to vocation, locale, or living arrangement) and their families are required to be tested for TB as part of their application to Covenant Seminary and again prior to registration for their first semester. Those who test positive for TB must receive chest x-rays and any preventive treatment prescribed by the physician. All students required to have an initial test must have an annual follow-up interview with the International Student Advisor. In this interview they will sign a form certifying that they are free of TB symptoms. All test results must be received prior to registration in order for the student to register.

Immunization Certificate (pdf, 25.09KB)

Declaration and Certification of Finances (pdf, 20.39KB)