[1]WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)–Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary will get a little closer for prospective students in South Carolina, Georgia and western North Carolina with the establishment of a new seminary extension center at Anderson College in Anderson, S.C.
Southeastern will begin offering foundational courses toward a master of divinity degree Jan. 25 on the Anderson College campus located in the northwestern corner of South Carolina halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte.
“We are delighted to partner with Anderson College in preparing a new generation of young men and women for the high calling of Christian ministry by providing sound, Bible-centered theological education,” said Paige Patterson, president of Southeastern Seminary, based in Wake Forest, N.C., and president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Two courses will be offered at the Anderson extension center in the spring 1999 semester: Christian Missions will begin Jan. 25, while Basic Evangelism will begin March 22. Classes will meet on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:30 to 4 p.m.
Lee Royce, president of Anderson College, said he welcomed the opportunity to facilitate ministerial training for God’s chosen servants.
“Anderson College is delighted to welcome Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary to our campus,” Royce said. “We hope and pray that their program will offer significant opportunities for men and women to pursue theological education and further their ministry in Christ’s name. We believe this relationship with Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary could become a strategic alliance that will help Anderson College fulfill its vision of becoming a premier place of learning that serves its students, community and church while upholding the teachings of Jesus Christ.”
Anderson College, founded in 1911, is a private, four-year, co-ed liberal arts college affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
L. Russ Bush, III, academic vice president and dean of faculty at Southeastern Seminary, said students attending the Anderson extension center will benefit from excellent library and classroom facilities and other student services provided by the college.
“We hope that because we have connections with local churches in the area and students who are finishing their work at Anderson that it will be a good opportunity for Anderson students to get a head start on their seminary education,” Bush said.
Students pursuing a master’s-level degree, however, must complete at least 32 hours of academic credit on Southeastern Seminary’s Wake Forest campus to meet accreditation standards for graduation from the seminary.
Registration fees for courses are $75 per credit hour for students who are members of a Southern Baptist church and $150 per credit hour for non-Southern Baptist students.
Applications for admission must be submitted to Southeastern’s office of admissions at least 30 days before the courses begin.
The Anderson extension center will be Southeastern’s fourth extension center. Currently, the seminary has centers at Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C.; First Baptist Church, Norfolk, Va.; and Idlewild Baptist Church, Tampa, Fla.
Southeastern Seminary, a seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, offers 12 master’s-level degrees as well as the doctor of ministry and doctor of philosophy degrees.
For more information about Southeastern Seminary or its Anderson extension center, contact the office of admissions at 1-800-284-6317 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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