Finishing Strong Scholarship

The Finishing Strong Scholarship is a special scholarship program for new and continuing students enrolled in the Master of Theology (ThM) program beginning in Fall 2025. It offers progressively increasing scholarships, especially for the final forty-eight (48) hours of the program, during which 50% of tuition is covered for hours 73–96 and 100% of tuition is covered for hours 97–120.

Traditional MDiv programs at other seminaries tend to comprise 80–90 hours, which means they do not offer the comprehensive training of DTS’s ThM. The Finishing Strong Scholarship makes this additional training more affordable by easing the financial burden beyond our usual needs-based aid, beginning with hour 72.

Absolutely not! We believe in the purpose of each DTS degree program, and we value the students enrolled in them. Each degree prepares students for specific and necessary areas of ministry. We are a better school the selection of degrees we offer. Since the ThM requires nearly double the time and cost of most of the MA programs, we provide targeted assistance to students enrolled in this program.

The Finishing Strong Scholarship expands on the Last Year Free Scholarship, which began in 2016. The Last Year Free Scholarship originally covered 100% of tuition cost in the final 24 hours of the ThM. For Fall 2025, DTS expanded the overall program to include 50% tuition coverage for an additional 24 hours (hours 73–96 of the 120-hour ThM).

No. The Finishing Strong Scholarship is available to every new and continuing student enrolled in the ThM program. However, students must apply for it every term, and students who do not have financial need can forego utilizing FSS funding, which allows the seminary to share the benefit with another student.

All students enrolled in the ThM program are eligible for the Finishing Strong Scholarship beginning in Fall 2025. This includes new, continuing, or returning ThM students. Students must maintain a GPA of 2.5 or above and be in good standing with the seminary.

No. The Finishing Strong Scholarship applies only to students enrolled in the ThM program.

No. The Finishing Strong Scholarship is funded through an endowment, which means many funds are still available for MA students; these continue to increase each year.

Yes. Alumni who wish to pursue the ThM are eligible for the Finishing Strong Scholarship if they enroll in the ThM program. Contact the Admissions Office ([email protected]) for more information about reapplying.

Yes; however, students may be asked to commit to an ambitious degree completion plan. These options will be considered in consultation with the Advising Center upon admission to the ThM. Contact the Admissions Office ([email protected]) for more information about reapplying.

You can apply for the ThM degree if you are a graduate of DTS. If you retain your previous degree (excluding the certificate), then courses completed during or after Spring 2001 that match ThM requirements will count toward both degrees (that is, your completed degree and the ThM you are pursuing). Both degrees require a minimum number of total credit hours:

ThM + 2-year MA = 150 hours
ThM + 3-year MA = 165 hours

Contact the Admissions Office ([email protected]) for more information about applying.

Yes; you meet initial eligibility for the Finishing Strong Scholarship if you apply and are accepted to the ThM.

Previous DTS credits may be applied toward the ThM. These credits are officially evaluated upon readmittance to DTS. An initial estimate of remaining credits and new time limit is available by submitting this form. Previous courses from DTS may be used toward the ThM but must meet current course and degree requirements upon reentry.

All eligible ThM students can use the Finishing Strong Scholarship for the final forty-eight (48) required credit hours of their degree program, regardless of when they reach that point in their studies. This includes courses taken in Fall, Spring, Summer, and Winter sessions, as long as a student takes at least six or more required credit hours (that is, hours that satisfy degree requirements) per semester through in-person, videoconference, or independent-study courses. The Finishing Strong Scholarship does not apply to prerecorded online (OL section) classes, except for RS5102.

Students enrolled in the ThM program automatically satisfy initial eligibility. Once eligible students reach the forty-eight (48) required credit hours of the ThM program, they must

• apply for the Finishing Strong Scholarship each semester by completing the financial aid application,
• have and maintain a 2.5 GPA, and
• be and remain in good standing with the seminary.

If these criteria are met, the Finishing Strong Scholarship covers 50% of tuition for the 24 credit hours between hours 73–96 of the ThM program and 100% of tuition for the final 24 credit hours (hours 97–120). This applies as long as a student takes at least six or more required credit hours (that is, hours that satisfy degree requirements) per semester through in-person, videoconference, or independent-study courses. The FSS does not apply to prerecorded online (OL section) classes, except for RS5102.

No; however, the Finishing Strong Scholarship does not cover the cost of tuition for any semester in which a student takes fewer than 6 credit hours. Therefore, it is to the student’s advantage to take at least 6 credit hours a semester.

The Finishing Strong Scholarship will cover tuition for students who need to complete fewer than six (6) credit hours in their final semester, as long as the courses are not prerecorded online (OL section) classes.

The Finishing Strong Scholarship covers videoconference courses with specific meeting times (for example, RV and OL-LIVE courses) and independent studies. However, the Finishing Strong Scholarship does not cover prerecorded online (OL section) classes, except for RS5102.

Yes.

Yes. Because students often complete the thesis, internship, or ministry residency in their final year of study, the Finishing Strong Scholarship covers it. But this does not include any continuation fees.

No. The Finishing Strong Scholarship covers only tuition, at 50% for hours 73–96 and 100% for the final twenty-four (24) required credit hours of the ThM program. Students are responsible for fees and other costs (books, supplies, and so forth).

No. The Finishing Strong Scholarship combines with other needs-based funds to cover tuition only. During Stage 3, the maximum benefit will be 100% of the tuition cost, but not more.

Students may lose Finishing Strong Scholarship coverage if they

• do not maintain a 2.5 GPA,
• reclassify out of the ThM program at any time,
• withdraw from the ThM program at any time, or
• do not remain in good standing with the seminary.

No. The Finishing Strong Scholarship only covers tuition once for an eligible course. After that, students bear responsibility for covering the tuition cost for that course.

Students enrolled in the ThM program automatically satisfy initial eligibility. To utilize the Finishing Strong Scholarship, however, students need to complete a financial aid application by the deadline the semester before they reach the final forty-eight (48) required credit hours of the ThM program. Students must reapply every semester they intend to utilize the scholarship. The committee will presume that any students who do not apply for the Finishing Strong Scholarship do not need the scholarship that semester. Visit the Financial Aid webpage or contact the Financial Aid ([email protected]) office for more information about financial aid application deadlines and the application process.

Yes. Funding from the Finishing Strong Scholarship is not automatically applied to a student’s account. DTS will apply all applicable needs-based scholarships before applying the Finishing Strong Scholarship. In order to assess this and a student’s interest in utilizing Finishing Strong Scholarship funding, we need each eligible student to complete a financial aid application by the deadline for each semester they need funding. Contact the Financial Aid office ([email protected]) for more information about the application process.

DTS will apply all applicable needs-based scholarships before applying the Finishing Strong Scholarship, so students should expect to see two scholarship values each term.

For example, during Stage 3 (100% coverage), if a student has a $5,000 tuition bill, they may receive a specific needs-based scholarship of $1,000, and then the Finishing Strong Scholarship will cover the remaining $4,000, resulting in the total $5,000 being covered. During Stage 2 (50% coverage), in the same scenario, in which a student has a $5,000 tuition bill and receives a needs-based scholarship of $1,000, the Finishing Strong Scholarship would add $1,500, so that $2,500 of the $5,000 would be covered.

No; DTS scholarships will not combine to be more than the cost of tuition. During Stage 2 (hours 73–96), some students may have combined benefits of more than 50%, but this would be from funds other than the Finishing Strong Scholarship and an unusual case.

In most cases, yes. Some outside scholarships are restricted to tuition only. In this case, the combination of the two cannot exceed tuition costs.

Yes; however, satisfactory academic progress (SAP) must be maintained. This requirement is satisfied when students take at least fifteen (15) credit hours per academic year.

Contact the Advising Center ([email protected]) or visit the Advising Center webpage.

Contact the Financial Aid office ([email protected]) or visit the Financial Aid page.