Nondegree Students
Special Students
Special Student status is designed for people who would like to take courses at the School of Theology (STH) without enrolling in a degree program. Special Students include college graduates interested in religious work but not a theological degree, spouses of students desiring to enroll in particular courses, and people trying to strengthen their eventual application for admission into a degree program (such as, for example, students who have a cumulative undergraduate GPA below 3.0). All Special Students are enrolled in courses for credit unless they receive permission to audit, and they must receive permission from the Director of Admissions each semester before registration day to renew their Special Student status. Special Students are not eligible for STH financial aid or federal subsidized or unsubsidized loans. Graduate students of other schools within Boston University may not enroll as Special Students at STH unless they have the written permission of the Registrar of their respective school to do so. Any Special Student who had a cumulative undergraduate GPA below 3.0 who is seeking to matriculate into an STH degree program must have completed at least two 3-credit courses at STH with a 3.0 or higher GPA in each course and receive the approval of the Director of Admissions and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
Ordination Credit
Individuals seeking to take a course to meet ordination requirements may not do so through the Continuing Scholar program, but must instead be registered as a Special Student so that the work completed may appear on an academic transcript with a grade. All of the required work for the course must be completed as with a regular seminary course.
The application for admission as a Special Student is streamlined; please contact the Admissions office at sthadmis@bu.edu. For continuing scholars pursuing ordination and taking courses required for ordination, STH is able to provide 70% tuition scholarships, thereby greatly reducing the total cost of each course.
