bg真人

Published: October 21, 2024

Enrollment remains consistent in 2024 

By Annette Brill Bergstresser

ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) 鈥� Enrollment at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (bg真人) in Elkhart, Indiana, continues to be the highest since 2009, with 190 students in September 2024 (189 in 2023). Of these, 149 are graduate students (149 in 2023) and 41 are participants in the undergraduate-level nondegree Journey Missional Leadership Development Program (40 in 2023). 

According to Scott Janzen, MDiv, Assistant Dean, Registrar and Director of Retention, the full-time equivalency (FTE) of graduate student enrollment 鈥� 60.9 鈥� is slightly down from 2023 (62.6), but is still the second highest in 13 years. The number of degree- or certificate-seeking graduate students (132) is equal to that of last year, the highest figure since 2009. The number of guest students (17) also matches that of 2023.

鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful to experience continued strong interest in our academic and nondegree programs,鈥� reflected David Boshart, PhD, President. 鈥淭hrough our collaboration with Anabaptist-Mennonite and other Christian organizations in the United States, Canada and across the globe, we鈥檝e been able to increase our programming to meet the needs of more students around the world for Anabaptist theological education.鈥�

These enrollment figures are from bg真人鈥檚 close of registration on Sept. 16, 2024.

Graduate programs

Of bg真人鈥檚 149 graduate students, 82 are from the U.S., four are from Canada and 63 are from outside of the U.S. or Canada 鈥� compared with 65 U.S., 11 Canadian and 73 international students in 2023. The graduate student body represents 18 countries: Canada, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand, United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

According to Janzen, the seminary experienced a high international student visa denial rate in the past two years, which has affected campus programs and full-time student enrollment. Only one of 14 admitted international students was granted a visa to study on campus this year, and only three received a visa in 2023. 

bg真人鈥檚 distance-friendly programs represent 79 percent of admitted students in 2024 (up from 77 percent in 2023), Janzen said:

• The seminary is seeing increased demand for its 21-credit-hour distance-friendly Graduate Certificate programs, with 22 students enrolled in 2024 (16 in 2023). Ten of these are enrolled in a fully online Spanish-language certificate program that began in 2023 through a partnership between Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) and bg真人: the MEA Hispanic Ministries 鈥� bg真人 Graduate Certificate in Theology.听
• Twelve students are enrolled in bg真人鈥檚 distance-friendly Doctor of Ministry in Leadership, which launched in January 2023 with seven students.
• The seminary鈥檚 fully online Master of Arts: Theology and Global Anabaptism (MATGA) program has 50 students in 2024, compared with 51 in 2023 and 40 in 2022. Twenty-nine of these are Ethiopian students who are enrolled in MATGA cohorts through a partnership between bg真人 and Meserete Kristos Seminary in Bishoftu/Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, that began in 2019. Nine are South Korean students taking MATGA courses in South Korea through a partnership between bg真人 and the Nehemiah Institute for Christian Studies in Seoul that began in 2022.听
• Twenty students are enrolled in the distance-friendly Master of Divinity Connect program, compared with 27 in 2023. (Janzen observed that the Association of Theological Schools, bg真人鈥檚 accrediting institution, has reported long-term downward trends in Master of Divinity program enrollment in the U.S. and Canada.)

Of the seminary鈥檚 campus-based programs 鈥� for students who live on campus or within commuting distance:

• Fifteen students are enrolled in Master of Arts programs: six in the Master of Arts in Christian Formation (unchanged from 2023) and nine in the Master of Arts: Theology and Peace Studies (down from 10 in 2023).
• Thirteen students are enrolled in the Master of Divinity Campus program, compared with 15 in 2023.听

Currently, the student body consists of 91 men and 58 women (a change from 87 men and 62 women in 2023), due in part to a majority of students enrolled in the MATGA Ethiopia program being men, Janzen said. The number of part-time students (118, or 79 percent) and full-time students (31, or 21 percent) is unchanged from 2023.

One hundred twenty-three graduate students are affiliated with Mennonite World Conference or related Anabaptist groups (including bg真人鈥檚 two sponsoring denominations, Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA); 26 are affiliated with other Christian traditions.

Journey Missional Leadership Development Program

Of the 41 participants in Journey, an undergraduate-level certificate program of bg真人鈥檚 Church Leadership Center that develops leaders centered in Jesus Christ for ministries in local churches and communities, 27 are residing in countries other than the U.S. and Canada 鈥� including the Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda and Southeast Asia (precise locations are not specified for security reasons). Eleven are from the U.S., representing seven states; and three are from Canada, representing two provinces. The cohort of 21 Journey students in Southeast Asia is studying online in languages other than English.

Seventeen of the participants in the distance-friendly program are women, and 24 are men. Seventeen participants are affiliated with Mennonite World Conference or related Anabaptist groups (including Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA), and one is from the Cooperative Baptist Church. (The affiliations of Southeast Asia participants are not listed for security reasons.)

鈥淲e are excited to see participants enrolling in the Journey program from various backgrounds and denominations,鈥� said Steve Norton, Assistant Director of Journey. 鈥淎 new relationship is emerging with BIC (Be in Christ) Canada, due to the closing of a Bible school that BIC students were using. Also, a student who is a bishop in Mennonite Church Uganda has been instrumental in encouraging three other students to begin the program. We鈥檙e grateful that our relationships with both students and denominational leaders are bringing attention to the program.鈥�   

Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs 鈥� all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God鈥檚 reconciling mission in the world. ambs.edu

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