Maranatha Baptist University and Seminary

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Degrees Offered at Maranatha Baptist University and Seminary

Maranatha Baptist University and Seminary appears in our ranking of the 50 Most Affordable Master’s in Theology Degree Programs Online.

Maranatha Baptist University and Seminary is a Baptist college that offers seminary education to divinity students looking to enter careers of Christian service and worship. A wide range of liberal arts and theology degrees are offered in several innovative formats. Many courses are offered completely online, so students of any degree program can take advantage of the convenience and flexibility of online learning. Students can also choose to take classes in a virtual format, which is similar to the online format but includes scheduling requirements for virtual classroom attendance. Courses offered in the online format do not have scheduling requirements and can be completed by students at their own pace.

The semester schedule of online courses is more compressed than the schedule for residential courses, so online students are required to work quite hard to keep up with the coursework. In contrast to the 16-week semester schedules of residential courses, online courses run on eight-week schedules although students have an additional four weeks to complete unfinished reading and writing assignments.

The degrees offered online and on campus at MBU range from bachelor’s degrees in biblical studies, music, nursing, and business to graduate programs in divinity and Christian ministry. The biblical seminary and graduate degree programs at MBU are tailored for students seeking leadership positions of divinity scholarship and ministry in churches, corporations, military, and nonprofit organizations. Master’s degrees can take one to two years of full-time enrollment to complete, depending on the student’s education level, experience and course schedule.

Online courses can help students complete their studies more quickly, so they are generally considered a more challenging alternative to traditional residential classes.  The most popular graduate degree program at MBU is the Master of Arts in the Bible, followed by the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling. Both of these programs build on postsecondary education in divinity, biblical scholarship or theology although a bachelor’s degree in a biblical discipline is not required. Instead, students must have a bachelor’s degree in any subject from an accredited university, and they can prepare for their graduate studies during their first semester of classes at MBU.

All students enrolled in courses at MBU have access to the same state-of-the-art tools and technology whether they are attending classes online or on campus. Several bachelor’s degrees are available entirely online, including the bachelor of business administration, bachelor of educational studies, bachelor of biblical studies and bachelor of interdisciplinary studies. As online courses are scheduled in eight-week semesters, students can complete a bachelor’s degree more quickly online than in person.

The School of Education offers several of the most popular bachelor’s programs, and it has the largest number of degree options at MBU. From early childhood education and elementary teacher education to music education and science education, the degree options in the education department are geared toward aspiring teachers and teacher educators. The elective, core and advanced courses in these disciplines can be taken in online, virtual and classroom formats.

All degree programs at MBU include biblical courses, such as Old Testament Survey, Christian Life, Leadership and Evangelism, Baptist Heritage and Biblical Doctrine. Each semester covers 17 or 18 credit hours of coursework, and undergraduate students must complete eight semesters to earn a bachelor’s degree. Whether a student is enrolled in an associate of nursing program or a doctor of divinity program, he or she can expect the same rigorous approach to education offered to all students at MBU.

About Maranatha Baptist University and Seminary

MBU has been educating divinity students since 1968. During the first year of enrollment, 200 students were taught by a faculty of 27 biblical scholars and professors. The first class to graduate after the opening of MBU consisted of 13 graduates, and new degree programs and academic departments have been added to the curriculum over the years. Today, MBU offers over 40 degree programs in a wide range of disciplines, including business, education, divinity and the humanities. The mission of MBU is to educate students in the doctrine and principles of Baptist Christianity. The seminary of MBU is dedicated to educating future Baptist leaders and biblical scholars. In total, over 5,000 students from 20 countries have graduated from MBU since its opening.

Maranatha Baptist University and Seminary Accreditation Details

MBU is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to award associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees to students of the online and residential colleges. The HLC is a regional accrediting commission that audits universities in the upper midwest region of the United States. Because the HLC is a regional accrediting commission instead of a national one, students can more easily transfer their credits to other schools. The HLC is recognized as an official accrediting body, so MBU graduates can enroll in post-graduate programs at other schools and undergraduate credits from MBU can be transferred to other colleges. In addition to institutional accreditation by the HLC, the nursing program at MBU is programmatically accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Maranatha Baptist University and Seminary Application Requirements

Class sizes at MBU are small, and spaces in each program are limited. Applications are reviewed multiple times by different faculty members and administrators before approval. Most applicants must submit high school or college transcripts with GPA scores, class ranking, and class size information. Depending on the program a student is applying for, he or she should include SAT, ACT or GRE test scores with the application. Before submitting an application, students must complete a short questionnaire to determine which application type is appropriate. Students who want to take only a few class and are not interested in pursuing a degree do not need to submit school transcripts or test scores.

Tuition and Financial Aid

The cost of tuition at MBU is about $14,260 per year for in-state and out-of-state residents. Expenses for books, room, board, food, and personal expenses can increase this cost by $12,000 to $20,000 per year. Students can apply for financial aid on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) website. Pell Grants and low-cost subsidized and unsubsidized loans are available through the FAFSA program to students who can demonstrate financial need. Maranatha Baptist University and Seminary offers scholarships and work-study programs to all students through its financial aid office.