APPLY NOW

Admissions

Welcome, Prospective Students!

Come, get to know IRBS. We are committed to preparing men for gospel ministry through the tutelage of the expert pastor-scholars who make up our faculty paired with real-world training in our structured internship program. Whether you are a young college graduate, a pastor seeking further education in the Reformed tradition, or a mature professional with the desire to serve Christ’s church, our academic programs can help you fulfil God’s call on your life.

Applying at IRBS

Individuals with a desire to receive an education at International Reformed Baptist Seminary must meet the following requirements as prerequisite. If you meet the requirements and wish to be considered for enrollment, please follow the application process.

* IRBS admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin.

REQUIREMENTS

Application process

Explore Degrees

Find the program that matches your specific ministry calling.

Apply

Ready to begin your theological education? Begin the application process today!

Get More Info

Have questions? Schedule a meeting with our admissions office today!

Tuition

IRBS is serious about keeping robust seminary training affordable. There are enough obstacles in a life dedicated to gospel ministry, finances should not stand in the way of your call.

With the generous support of our donors and church partners, we are devoted to keeping your seminary costs as low as possible. As you will see below, IRBS is more attainable than you may think.

If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected]

Testimonials

Scholarship Opportunities

Understanding that students might be prevented from receiving a theological education for financial reasons, IRBS offers scholarships that are based on financial need. Scholarship applications can be requested after acceptance into enrollment. Once you have been accepted, please express scholarship interest to the admissions office and they will provide you with more information.

The purpose of the David K. Straub Missions Scholarship Fund is to provide financial support to a student who is attending IRBS and who currently is or intends to become a minister of the Gospel on the missions field. The Fund is named in recognition of the significant contribution of time, heart and effort made by David Straub during his many years of service to the Reformed Baptist Missions Service as its Coordinator. Students committed to serving in foreign missions will be given the highest preference while students committed to domestic missions, or church planting, will be given secondary preference for scholarship consideration.

The purpose of the IRBS General Scholarship Fund is to provide financial support to students attending IRBS who currently are or intend to become ministers of the Gospel.

The purpose of the Myers Family Scholarship in Pastoral Ministry is to provide financial support to students who are attending IRBS and who currently are or intend to become ministers of the Gospel. Students from the states of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma along with veterans or active duty members of the US Military will be given the highest preference for scholarship consideration.

International Students

International applicants are eligible to apply and learn through distance education courses. However, IRBS does not currently admit international applicants as residential students. International students wishing to attend a US college or university must be capable of obtaining an F-1 Visa. F-1 Visas are granted to international students who attend an academic program or English Language Program at an institution that is certified by the United States Government to issue I-20 Visa Applications. IRBS currently is not certified by the United States Government to issue such forms. Therefore, international students cannot be admitted as residential students. However, international students are eligible to apply and take part in distance learning courses that are offered at IRBS.

For more information, please review the FAQ’s below.

FAQ's

No! IRBS has adopted a hybrid academic structure which will make enrollment in and completion of our degree programs more accessible to students from all over the world. Classes are available via video conferencing and may be attended from anywhere.  Several classes are available as pre-recorded, self-paced Legacy courses.

The Master of Divinity and Diploma programs will require a minimum of 30 hours of face-to-face teaching, as this will better prepare students for pastoral ministry. This may be completed by attending intensive classes offered on campus or a variety of domestic & international locations, and/or through video conferencing technologies.  

The Master of Arts in Religion may be completed online, with the exception of our Missions & Evangelism class, which requires travel. 

The Certificate of Reformed Baptist Studies will be available 100% online. 

All potential students must submit official student transcripts as part of their application process.  Once students have been accepted for admission, they may request that any relevant graduate level credits they’ve earned be considered for transfer credit.  When evaluating transfer credit, the Admissions Committee analyzes the following: 1) the relevance of the curriculum, 2) the equivalency of the curriculum in its content, 3) the equivalency of the curriculum in its quantity, and 4) the received grade for the completion of the course curriculum.  A maximum of 50% of the degree requirements may be applied as transfer credit (MDiv – 55 hours, MAR – 36 hours). All credits considered for transfer must have been completed within 10 years prior to applying.

An undergraduate degree is required for admission to our degree programs (MDiv & MAR).  However, mature men who have not yet earned a bachelor’s degree may apply for the diploma program.  This program consists of the same requirements as the MDiv (110-hours of Exegetical, Systematic, Historical, Practical, and Language courses; 30-hours of live teaching; the completion of our internship program; and standard tuition & fees). This is not a degree granting program, but a diploma will be conferred to the student upon completion. Credits will not be transferred to other institutions.  

This program is intended for continuing education of pastors and theological students who wish to gain understanding of historical Reformed Baptist Doctrine. An undergraduate degree is required in order to receive graduate credit for these courses.

IRBS wants to assure its students and prospective students of its high academic standards and integrity. While even now operating at such standards, the seminary is pursuing official accreditation and has secured other forms of verification. 

Enrolled students who are members in good standing of churches which support IRBS with a monthly gift of $200+ (or the annual equivalent) qualify for tuition free enrollment (administrative & technology fees do apply).

Learn More

Applications can take up to 6 weeks to process, including the gathering of transcripts & references, so it’s best to begin your application about 3 months before the beginning of the target semester, but there is no deadline.  You may apply at any time for the rolling enrollment of Legacy courses.

  • Thanks to our ability to live conference with students online, we can now accept students from around the world, and have several countries represented in our student body.  However, IRBS cannot currently admit international applicants as residential students. All international applicants are eligible to apply and learn through distance education courses.  
  • If your native language is not English, sufficient evidence of English proficiency must be provided, demonstrated by a minimum score of 79 on the internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT), taken within two years prior to applying to IRBS.  All three delivery methods of the TOEFL iBT will be accepted, including the home edition & paper edition. Our institution code is D119. 
  • If you have completed an undergraduate degree in the U.S. [or in a primarily English-speaking country], with a minimum of 2.7 GPA, you may be eligible to be exempt from the TOEFL requirement.  Contact IRBS Admissions to discuss options.
  •  

Understanding that students might be prevented from receiving a theological education for financial reasons, IRBS offers scholarships that are based on financial need. Once a student’s admission application has been accepted, the student may request a scholarship application from Admissions. Scholarship applications made before admission will not be reviewed. Once the request has been made, proof of financial need may be required. The Scholarship Committee will review scholarship requests and respond within 2-4 weeks with their decision. Scholarships are awarded on a first come, first serve basis and according to need. Students must apply for scholarships each academic year, but they are awarded on a semesterly basis, assuming the student meets all the conditions for the scholarship that he or she is applying for. 

A Welcome from President Renihan

Dear Christian friends,

Welcome to the website for International Reformed Baptist Seminary. Thank you for taking the time to visit our site and learning about what the Lord is doing among us. An internet site cannot convey the warmth we wish to express, so we ask you to receive our words which express a genuine desire for the Lord’s blessing on your life.

IRBS is soon to celebrate its 25th anniversary. For twenty years we existed as an institute affiliated with Westminster Seminary California, and in 2018 developed our programs into a full seminary curriculum in our new location, Mansfield, Texas. We are committed to the infallible and inerrant Word of God, and joyfully subscribe to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, often called the 1689 London Baptist Confession. By God’s grace, our pledges to these documents are strong and firm and will remain so.

The Lord has allowed us to bring together an excellent faculty of pastor-scholars who together seek to honor Christ in their teaching ministries. These are experienced men who shepherd God’s flocks with loving concern. We are united in our devotion to Christ, His Word, our Confession and the task of preparing able ministers of the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3.6). Each faculty member is available to assist students in their coursework as well as their ministry and personal questions.

Students may enroll in a variety of programs at IRBS, including the standard degree for ministerial preparation, the Master of Divinity, a two-year Master of Arts in Religion, the Certificate of Reformed Baptist Studies, a Diploma program for mature students who do not have a baccalaureate degree, as well as special opportunities for visiting students. Our flexible hybrid programs offer students the opportunity to study on campus as well as virtually in their own homes. Most classes are offered live in the classroom as well as via livestream. We hope that even our distance students will be able to enter into the live classroom experience.

We hope that you will find your visit here to be not only informative, but also the first step in getting to know us better.

May Christ be glorified!

In His name,
James M. Renihan, Ph.D.,
President