Academic Programs
As a graduate theological school with a mission focused upon ministry, ESR bears the dual responsibility of accurately conveying the materials and movements that shape the Christian and Quaker religious heritages, and of creating a learning environment in which students are formed for ministry that is relevant to the current era. Consequently, the academic programs at ESR intend to combine academic rigor with spiritual formation, and value the inner transformation of the student as much as the outer preparation of the minister. ESR holds out a standard of excellence significantly higher than expected in most undergraduate studies, and a student should expect to spend a minimum of three hours of work per week outside class for every semester hour of course work taken in a given semester. This is in keeping with the standards appropriate for seminary education.
The ESR Credo, "We hold that Christ is present, guiding and directing our lives, and that we can know and obey Christ's will" is the foundation for ESR's curriculum and the context in which the School offers theological education. From the beginning ESR has maintained that only growth in the whole person will provide the kind of foundation for leadership needed in the Society of Friends and the wider Church and world, that this growth needs academic and intellectual input, but that finally it comes only with the movements of the Holy Spirit in study, in class, in worship, and in fellowship together. In its pedagogy, ESR returns repeatedly to that quintessential question from George Fox: "what canst thou say," a question that asks not for mere argument but for a listening to the Inward Teacher who sifts through with us the information and ideas gained to guide us into knowledge and action. The experiences of learning and worship within this context give the ESR education a distinctly Quaker character.
ESR offers the Master of Divinity/Ministry and the Master of Arts in Religion, and a process for occasional participation in ESR courses. Both degrees are available in a residential and a distance-learning format. Occasional students attend ESR on a part-time basis and may take up to two courses per semester. A non-degree program known as T.R.Y. (Theological Reflection Year) allows students to enroll full-time in residence at ESR, earning graduate credits for one year without commitment to a degree program.
Prospective students will be best prepared for ESR if they have a well-rounded undergraduate education. Especially important is training in critical reasoning, the thoughtful assessment of texts, standard library research techniques, and the essay as a form of communication. It is also expected that students will have basic computer literacy skills, as these abilities are required for research and writing. More important for success in seminary than specific backgrounds, however, is the student's demonstrated capacity for creative learning, self-discipline and the pursuit of excellence.