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We hope the following list of Frequently Asked Questions is helpful. If you have further questions, we invite you to connect one on one with a member of our admissions team or a current student
The 2027 Application will become available in August
Interviews are not required but are strongly encouraged as they play a significant role in scholarship consideration. For U.S. citizens and permanent residents, interviews are available once the application is submitted. International applicants will be invited to an interview by the Admissions Team if selected. Please wait for our team to contact you regarding interview scheduling.
Unofficial transcripts from every college, university, and seminary where you have received academic credit must be uploaded in the application.
Princeton Seminary accepts transcripts by mail:
Princeton Theological SeminaryAttn: Office of AdmissionsP.O. Box 82164 Mercer StreetPrinceton, NJ 08542-0803
or by email through an official electronic transcript service to:
sherry.garrahan@ptsem.edu
*Princeton Seminary does not accept personally scanned and emailed transcripts. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable for review only during the admissions process. If you are admitted into any of our programs, official transcripts are required to complete your enrollment
Final official transcripts are required and must be sent to us directly from the institution; otherwise, they are not considered official. Depending on how they are being sent, your school can send them to either of the following:
Postal Service Delivery:
Princeton Theological Seminary Office of Admissions P.O. Box 5204 Princeton, NJ 08543-5204
Carrier Delivery (UPS, FedEx, etc.):
Princeton Theological Seminary Office of Admissions 43 College Road West Princeton, NJ 08540
Contact admissions@ptsem.edu if you have any questions about obtaining your official transcripts.
One of Princeton Seminary’s primary commitments is to “Faith & Scholarship.” Your recommendations should be formational people in your life who can speak genuinely and in depth to one or both of those things.
One of your recommendations must be academic. If you have been outside of an academic environment for a significant amount of time and are unable to acquire an academic recommendation, please contact the Admissions Office.
Your pastoral recommendation can come from any formal ministerial leader integral to your vocational discernment. Many applicants select the senior pastors from their home congregations, but other specialized pastors and chaplains who have served as mentors can also complete the recommendation.
Please note that Princeton Seminary cannot accept recommendations from your family members.
Each year many highly qualified people apply for admission to Princeton Theological Seminary. Unfortunately, it is impossible to admit them all, and we must make some very difficult decisions. If an unsuccessful applicant is still interested in applying, they should following the guidelines below.
Master’s degree applicants who applied and were not admitted may reapply beginning with the next admissions cycle. In this case, the Admissions Committee would require a new application, academic transcript(s) from any school(s) attended since your last application, and three new recommendation letters.
If you have been away from formal academic studies and/or are unable to secure an academic reference, you are advised to ask someone who can speak to your academic abilities. In these cases, you can ask a supervisor or colleague for this reference who can speak to your academic abilities and attest to your ability to enter a rigorous graduate program. Please do not submit more than three references. The same person cannot write more than one recommendation. Recommendations cannot come from family members. Please review the application instructions for further details.
Princeton Seminary prepares students to serve in congregations and the larger church, in classrooms and the academy, and in the public arena. This means that Princeton Seminary attracts applicants from a variety of vocational fields, taking all undergraduate majors into consideration during the admissions process.
A background in the liberal arts helps prepare students to think and process theologically — the Admissions Committee and the faculty at Princeton Seminary recommend at least 60 credit hours of language, philosophy, history, literature, psychology, and/or sociology as ideal preparation for Master’s-level theological studies.
Princeton Seminary requires that all prerequisite degrees be from one of the following regional accreditors:
The Office of the Registrar determines transfer credit eligibility and options with each individual admitted Master’s candidate.
Princeton Theological Seminary requires that applicants for whom English is not a primary language take one of the following English proficiency tests:
Such applicants should register for one of these tests at the earliest opportunity, as scoring and processing take considerable time and the results must be received by the application deadline.
Required English proficiency test scores for Princeton Theological Seminary are as follows:
*Only Duolingo English Test scores with subscores (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening) will be accepted
Requests for an English proficiency waiver must be submitted through the application.
For the 2026-27 academic year, tuition for full-time students is $22,500. Hybrid MA students are billed at a reduced tuition rate of $785 per credit (total program length is 36 credits).
A more detailed look at the cost of a seminary education is available on our cost calculator.
Princeton Seminary offers several generous scholarships which cover part or all of tuition, and additional costs. In addition to these scholarships, we offer a small need-based grant for those meeting certain criteria, a forgivable loan for PCUSA students, and Federal Loans and Federal Work Study.
Master’s-level students can learn more about the financial support the Seminary offers in the Financial Aid section of our website. Information about the generous financial support offered to PhD students is also available.
No, unfortunately, PTS does not have any aid programs to cover these costs. Although federal loans can be used for transportation, it is not recommended that these loans be used for moving expenses.
The Theological Seminary at Princeton was established by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1812. It was the Presbyterian Church’s first graduate school for the education of clergy, and the second such school in the United States. Affiliated from the beginning with the Presbyterian Church and the wider Reformed tradition, Princeton Seminary is a denominational school with an ecumenical, interdenominational, and worldwide constituency.
Princeton Theological Seminary is a seminary related to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Enrollment is open to students of any Christian denomination.
Princeton Theological Seminary is accredited separately from Princeton University and has its own faculty, facilities, and student body. However, Princeton Seminary has a relationship of academic reciprocity with Princeton University which allows students to take one class per semester at the University (excluding their first and last semesters at the Seminary) and gives them full access to its libraries (subject to health guidelines). Princeton Seminary also has relationships of academic reciprocity with Westminster Choir College of Rider University, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Rutgers School of Social Work.
Princeton Theological Seminary is a freestanding graduate school dedicated to educating Christian leaders; divinity schools are part of larger universities. While divinity schools provide excellent religious education, students at Princeton Seminary are holistically prepared for ministry in the church, the academy, and the public arena through the Seminary’s combination of world-class scholarship, opportunities for hands-on ministry experience, and life together in residential community.
Princeton Seminary offers eight degree programs:
Princeton Seminary also offers several concentrations that can be integrated into most Master’s programs:
The most current classes, schedules, instructors, and book lists at Princeton Seminary can be searched here.
Apart from top-tier faculty members and more than 600 integrative field education sites worldwide, Princeton Seminary offers students one of the best theological research libraries in the world.
The 92,000-square-foot Wright Library houses:
Both the Wright Library and Princeton University’s Firestone Library are open to Princeton Seminary students and to participants in Princeton Seminary’s Visiting Scholar Program.
Princeton Seminary also offers students the opportunity to participate in specialized research initiatives including:
Princeton Seminary serves the church and to the academy through an intentionally residential and primarily full-time curriculum.
While some courses offered as part of a full-time Master’s program are held in the evening, the majority of courses are held on campus between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.
However, one of Princeton Seminary’s core commitments is to “Tradition & Innovation.” The Admissions team and the registrar work together to embrace the vocational diversity of Princeton Seminary’s student body, and are open to discussing the potential of part-time or non-degree status with individual applicants.
The Master of Arts (Hybrid) is the Seminary’s first low-residency degree. The Hybrid MA is a two-year, 36-credit program designed for working professionals who wish to lead social change toward justice.
Additionally, Princeton Seminary offers a spectrum of specialized events and certificate programs through the Office of Continuing Education.
Princeton Seminary prepares people to serve Jesus Christ in ministries marked by faith, integrity, scholarship, competence, compassion and joy, equipping them for leadership worldwide in congregations and the larger church, in classrooms and the academy, and in the public arena.
Princeton Seminary graduates serve in congregations, the academy, chaplaincies, social service agencies, nonprofit organizations, and in the public square.
