Biola University Expands With New Phoenix Seminary Location
At a time when many Christian colleges are closing, California-based Biola University is expanding to the Southwest with a new regional location planned in Phoenix.
The evangelical university plans to acquire the donated assets of Phoenix Seminary with the aim to make it a regional branch of its Talbot School of Theology. The merger will make Biola the second-largest interdenominational seminary in the country, according to Biola officials.
Several private and Christian colleges have been forced to close due to financial strain in recent years, but Phoenix Seminary leaders have said the school wasn’t yet in a crisis situation. Instead, it was working proactively to ensure the continuity of its campus and ministry.
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More than 350 graduate students currently attend Phoenix Seminary, pursuing degrees such as Master of Arts (Biblical and Theological Studies) and Master of Divinity. According to a Biola, the new Talbot Seminary Phoenix will keep students at comparable tuition costs to what they’re currently paying as long as they remain in the same program for completion of their degree.
The Los Angeles-area campus currently has 1,524 graduate students pursuing seminary degrees, according to Dr. Ed Stetzer, dean of the Talbot School of Theology.
Institutional leaders from both schools said shared theological values and missions made the decision to merge easy.
“Phoenix Seminary has built a remarkable legacy of faithful theological education in the Southwest,” Stetzer said. “Together, Talbot School of Theology and Phoenix Seminary share a deep commitment to the inerrancy and authority of Scripture, the spiritual formation of students and the preparation of leaders to serve the church and impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ, a mission only strengthened by this acquisition.”
The merger comes amid a national discussion of the value of higher education and degrees that lead to traditionally lower-paying fields, like ministry.
The U.S. Department of Education under President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed a rule to hold colleges and universities accountable for low-earning outcomes. If implemented, it could mean undergraduate programs will no longer be eligible for federal student loans (and in some cases, a federal Pell Grants) if the typical graduate of the program does not earn as much as a high school graduate. The same goes for graduate programs, like seminaries. They will be tested to see if they “leave graduates better off” financially, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The new Phoenix location is just one step in the seminary’s expansion plan. University leaders have also launched hybrid seminary programs in Seattle and San Diego in partnership with local churches and are launching two more in Las Vegas and Honolulu in the fall. Students in these programs will participate in mostly virtual classes, but meet together in person a few days per semester. The funding for this Talbot Embedded program is supported by a $10 million Lilly Grant.
Biola currently has 3,553 undergraduates studying in majors ranging from biology and business management to teaching and theatre. It has 2,014 graduate students, including the Talbot Seminary graduate students. About a third of Biola students are eligible for Pell Grants, with 1,166 recipients this school year, according to David Vazquez, vice president of university advancement at Biola University.
“Biola remains as committed to training men and women for ministry as it was at its founding in 1908. While financial outcomes matter for graduates, the Department of Education’s Student Tuition and Transparency System proposal does not adequately or fully measure the depth of both the effectiveness of ministry preparation nor the ways churches and ministries compensate their workers,” he said.
He added: “We understand and agree that borrowing needs to be contained, which is why scholarships have remained a central fundraising priority for well over a decade at Biola. However, the earnings test as proposed does not take into account other common forms of ministry-related compensation, such as housing allowances, insurance provided through denominational plans or donor-designated funds. Biola has … voiced concerns over funding cuts to members of Congress and the administration. We remain dedicated to equipping students to confidently enter into their call to serving in churches and ministries across the globe.”
Cassidy Grom is the managing editor of Religion Unplugged. Her award-winning reporting and digital design work have appeared in numerous publications.