FAQs

The Seminary began in 2004 with a small group of Baptist educators who believed in B. H. Carroll’s vision for seminary education, believing it should be affordable, accessible, and practical for the local church.

Carroll’s faculty is composed of Senior Fellows, Distinguished Fellows, Carroll Fellows, and nearly 80 Resident Fellows. Many serve local churches in the Carroll Teaching Network and some are professors and retired professors from other seminaries. Many are well-known authors and all are gifted teachers. 

The sole authority for faith, practice, and teaching in the B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary is Jesus Christ, whose will is revealed in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The confessional position of B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary is the consensus of opinion concerning those articles of the Christian faith and practice which have been most surely held and expressed in historic Baptist principles and practices.

B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary was formed in January 2004 by a group of Baptists who observed three key problems confronting Christian churches, particularly in Baptist life, as they try to meet the challenges of a radically changing world:

1. a decrease in the proportion of ministers trained to serve in the churches
2. a decline in the effectiveness and relevance of ministerial training
3. a diminishing commitment by church members to prepare and mobilize for Christian ministry.

Recognizing at the same time that ample technological and human resources are available to meet the challenges, these Baptists decided to reinvent theological education in an innovative and creative way that makes it more relevant, practical, affordable, accessible, and effective.

B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary seeks to build collaborative and collegial relationships with all Baptists, with all conventions in the worldwide Baptist family, with state and regional groups, and with local churches in order to provide trained leaders for any Baptist church, convention, or other agencies within Baptist life. The Seminary is free standing and independently funded by all Baptists and other like-minded Christians who have a common vision for Christ and His church.

No. B. H. Carroll’s student body is made up of Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists and others. We all, however, share a common commitment to the Lordship of Christ, the sufficiency and infallibility of God’s Word, and certain key doctrines (including the virgin birth, substitutionary atonement of Christ, his bodily resurrection, and his visible return). We also advocate tirelessly for the Baptist principle of religious liberty.

Emphatically, no. All students pay the same tuition, as designated by their respective academic programs (see Tuition & Fees).

The Seminary works collegially with other evangelical Christians in the diverse and global ministries of the church. The Seminary is a response to a pressing and growing need for a more effective, efficient, and appropriate way of providing theological education in a radically changing world. The focus of the Seminary is to recruit students who have a commitment to the gospel and a desire to continue ministering in their own local congregations while pursuing theological education. We respond to and consider for admission all qualified prospective students.

Students who are active members of Christian churches, persons of genuine Christian character, attitude, and behavior, and who have sufficient academic qualifications and exhibit a call to serve Christ in the diverse and global ministries of His church, or who are committed to preparing and mobilizing as disciples for more effective ministry through His church, may enroll. Students will also include lay persons seeking academic and spiritual enrichment. B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary’s student body reflects the diversity of the kingdom of God made up of different races, ethnicities, nationalities and genders from any Great Commission church.

Affordability is one of our core values. The cost of theological education at the Seminary is around one-third that of a traditional seminary. See our full tuition schedule here.

You bet your boots, we do.

There are four learning clusters in the curriculum design:

1. Scripture and Witness
2. Faith and Heritage
3. Ministry and Formation
4. Worship and Mission

The traditional, classical theological disciplines are offered within this new configuration.

The Seminary offers a variety of degrees, but only at the graduate level (master’s and doctoral degrees). The degrees are tailored for individual ministries within the church, parachurch organizations, the academy, and collegiate and counseling settings.

The Seminary also offers graduate certificates and ministry certificates. Both are composed of graduate-level courses which are transcriptable. Those without an undergraduate degree may enroll in the ministry certificate program.

For a full list of degree offerings, click here.

Yes. B. H. Carroll offers both the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree.

The PhD is a rigorous, research-focused degree designed to equip persons for vocations of research and teaching in theological schools, colleges, universities, and teaching churches, or for scholarly enhancement of ministerial practice. It also enables students to develop a sense of and a commitment to the vocation of theological scholarship in teaching, learning, and research. Admission to this program is extended only to persons who have demonstrated the intellectual ability, preparation, and motivation for a scholarly vocation. Successful completion of this course of study requires the student to demonstrate: a comprehensive knowledge of a selected discipline of religious study; the capacity for critical thinking and evaluation; competence to engage in original research and writing that advances theological understanding for the sake of church, academy, and society; and a breadth of knowledge in associated theological and religious studies and in other related academic disciplines.

The DMin degree is a professional program intended for persons who are in full-time vocational Christian ministry, such as pastors, associate pastors, Christian educators, ministers of worship, missionaries, workers in denominational or parachurch organizations, evangelists, etc., both domestic and international.

Yes, we do, but not one that collects a lot of dust. The Carroll Library is a graduate academic library which exists in several forms. The Electronic Library is accessed through the The Carroll Learning Center system (CLC), and includes periodical databases (such as ATLA’s ATLAS via Ebsco, OCLC’s ERIC, ProQuest Psychology Database), e-book databases (such as ProQuest Ebook Central and Books.Logos.com), reference databases (from Oxford and Cambridge), and handpicked websites (such as our Google Book and Online Resources collections). The Library also participates in OCLC Resource Sharing for InterLibrary Loan. You can learn more about the Library by visiting the Carroll Webpage of the Director of Library and Information Resources or by contacting him directly.

The administrative hub of the B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary is located at 301 S Center St, Arlington TX 76010. Our classrooms are online—as near as your computer screen and keyboard.

The Carroll Learning Center is Carroll Seminary’s online learning system. It is a Moodle-based learning environment used to distribute class materials and to facilitate a variety of course activities for both online and face-to-face courses.

B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the State of Texas on May 1, 2003 and is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3).

Carroll Seminary was certified by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) on February 1, 2007. The Seminary then received exemption from THECB as a religious degree-granting institution in December 2008. Subsequently, the Master of Arts in Counseling was added to Carroll Seminary’s degree program offerings. Since students who complete the licensure track of the MA in Counseling program and then go on to complete other requirements set forth by the state may apply for professional licensure, Carroll Seminary applied for and was granted authorization from the THECB to offer the MA in Counseling degree.

Carroll Seminary does not issue 1098-T statements given that it does not meet the stated eligibility requirements as defined by the IRS and consequently does not have a “school number” issued by the DoE (Department of Education):

An eligible educational institution is any college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. It includes virtually all accredited public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately owned profit-making) postsecondary institutions. (information from IRS Publication 970)

On first reading the definition appears to include any accredited postsecondary institution. The key phrase however is “institution eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.”

Although accreditation is a requirement for Title IV eligibility, accreditation status in and of itself does not automatically certify a school as an eligible institution for handling Title IV funds. Carroll Seminary’s stated policy of non-participation in Title IV funding serves to exclude it from being certified as an “eligible institution” as it relates to DoE programs. Accreditation and Title IV certification are two separate processes.

The B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary is governed by a self-perpetuating Board of Governors—up to fifteen in number, which seeks to display diversity in age, race, and gender. One-third of the Board are patrons or donors to B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary; one-third of the Board have educational or corporate experience; and one-third of the Board are from church constituency or cooperative groups.

B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary is funded by donations from individuals, gifts and offerings from local congregations, grants from foundations, tuition from students, and income from endowments.

B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary invests minimal funds in capital development. Funding priority is given to four areas:

1. intellectual capital
2. technology–electronic delivery systems
3. library resources
4. curricula–development of content that is competency-based and compatible with electronic delivery