God's Sustaining Grace

Measuring Student Success

A theological seminary’s success is unachievable without faithfulness in two dimensions. Above all it is God’s gracious faithfulness to Greenville Seminary that has upheld us for more than 30 years; all of our operations (academic and administrative) depend on His sustaining grace—which we have not deserved. In the second place, the Seminary’s pursuit of faithfulness to God in our mission to equip men to be preachers, pastors, and churchmen for Christ’s Kingdom among the nations in the context of biblical fidelity, confessional integrity, experimental piety, and ecclesiastical accountability. In light of our dependence upon God’s gracious faithfulness, and our pursuit of institutional faithfulness to Him, the following data helps measure our, and our students’ success. 

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Student & Graduate Statistics 

• 94.1% of our 280 living graduates are either actively engaged in current ministry as pastors, missionaries, Christian school teachers, or church workers; or, honorably retired from ministry. 
• Of those men who have graduated from our Divinity program, over 90% have persisted in ordained gospel ministry beyond five years after graduation. 
• As of 2022, 38% of our graduates are affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), 25% are affiliated with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), 8% are Independent or Baptist, and 29% are serving in some other Reformed or Presbyterian denomination (including international denominations). 
• For the 2024-2025 academic year, 35% of our students are full-time, and 43% of our student body is in residence at GPTS.

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Course Evaluations 

• In our course evaluations for the 2023-2024 academic year, the following percentages of students indicate that they strongly agree or agree with the following statements:‍
  • “Course content was organized”: 95.8% 
  • “Course content was relevant to stated objectives”: 97.6% 
  • “Course assignments were useful in accomplishing stated course objectives”: 96.7% 
  • “Workload for the course was appropriate relative to other GPTS courses”: 95.4% 
  • “Textbooks required were used and were relevant to the stated course objectives”: 96.7% ‍
  • In our course evaluations for the 2021-2022 academic year, 98.2% of our students indicated that they strongly agree or agree with the statement, “The instructor was effective at teaching the subject matter.” 

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Recent Student Testimonials 

• “Greenville Seminary has been a place for me to dwell upon an encouraging combination of sound Reformed theology and a consuming zeal for the local church. Each class intentionally shows us how the topic at-hand helps us to fulfill our Master’s command: ‘Feed My sheep’ (Jn. 21:15-17).” – Class of 2022 
• “At Greenville Seminary, I have enjoyed pursuing pastoral ministry and personal piety alongside my classmates. Both the local church context and my professors’ teaching are always inspiring in me a passion for the advancement of the gospel, commitment to sound biblical exegesis, and love for the church.” – Class of 2022 
• “The education I received at Greenville Seminary has equipped me to handle the Word of God with greater care, confidence, and delight. My preaching is much improved, and I better understand what it means to be a faithful teacher and preacher in service to Christ.” – Class of 2021 

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To promote continuous improvement in our academic programs, our faculty members review student feedback, clarify course outcomes, and evaluate our curriculum (i.e., program requirements and course syllabi) on both monthly and annual bases. Twice annually, the Board of Trustees reviews the academic and administrative programs of the Seminary, including course evaluations, budgets, and personnel decisions. To maintain faithfulness to the doctrinal standards and mission of the Seminary, all members of the faculty and Board of Trustees reaffirm and sign our agreed-upon Statement of Belief & Covenant. 

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GRADUATION RATES

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 Graduation rates were determined by calculating the total number of students enrolled in each degree program, then dividing the number of graduates by the total enrollment. The data was further categorized by full-time enrollment, part-time enrollment, distance, and resident students. Ten years’ worth of data (from 2012 onwards) was then averaged to produce the graduation rate. Common reasons for students not graduating include: the realization of not being called to gospel ministry, changing family needs, employment needs, and transfers to other institutions.

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DURATION OF STUDY FOR GRADUATES

Resident and Distance Combined Divinity Program (2012-Present):

• Total graduates: 82
  • 40 completed in 4 years
  • 10 completed in 5 years
  • 26 completed in 6+ years
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Resident-Only Divinity Program (2012-Present):

• Total graduates: 70
  • 40 completed in 4 years
  • 10 completed in 5 years
  • 20 completed in 6+ years
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For more information contact our admissions department: admissions@gpts.edu.

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