I looked at the Association for Theological School data and made a simple chart of the largest seminaries by enrollment Head Count. The Excel document is linked to below.
2012 Most enrollment total : Head Count and Full Time Equivalent (Ordered by Head Count) |
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Total Enrollment | ||||||
Rank | School | 2012 HC | 2012 FTE | |||
1 | Fuller Theological Seminary |
3579 | 1708 | |||
2 | Southern Baptist Theological Seminary | 2561 | 1424 | |||
3 | Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary |
2338 | 1241 | |||
4 | Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary | 2033 | 1069 | |||
5 | Dallas Theological Seminary |
1962 | 1057 | |||
6 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary | 1907 | 1447 | |||
7 | Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary |
1683 | 667 | |||
8 | New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary | 1596 | 1290 | |||
9 | Asbury Theological Seminary |
1488 | 755 | |||
10 | Trinity Evangelical Divinity School | 1229 | 848 | |||
11 | Talbot School of Theology |
1224 | 541 | |||
12 | Reformed Theological Seminary | 1096 | 561 | |||
13 | Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary |
1025 | 605 | |||
14 | Denver Seminary | 932 | 479 | |||
15 | Regent University School of Divinity |
881 | 497 | |||
16 | Bethel Seminary of Bethel University | 861 | 405 | |||
17 | Western Seminary |
797 | 422 | |||
18 | Alliance Theological Seminary | 760 | 396 | |||
19 | Luther Seminary |
756 | 548 | |||
20 | Ashland Theological Seminary | 744 | 360 | |||
21 | Tyndale University College & Seminary |
683 | 339 | |||
22 | Midwestern Baptist Seminary | 656 | 337 | |||
23 | Duke University Divinity School |
639 | 588 | |||
24 | Concordia Seminary (MO) | 621 | 441 | |||
25 | Westminster Theological Seminary |
617 | 420 | |||
26 | Princeton Theological Seminary | 514 | 500 | |||
27 | Candler School of Theology of Emory University |
478 | 441 | |||
Table |
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http://www.ats.edu/Resources/PublicationsPresentations/Documents/AnnualDataTables/2012-13AnnualDataTables.pdf | ||||||
Annual Data Tables/FactBooks |
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The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada |
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Collated by Andrew D. Rowell, April 2013 |
2012 Most enrollment total : Head Count and Full Time Equivalent (Ordered by Full Time Equivalent) |
|||
Total Enrollment | |||
Rank | School | 2012 HC | 2012 FTE |
1 | Fuller Theological Seminary |
3579 | 1708 |
2 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary | 1907 | 1447 |
3 | Southern Baptist Theological Seminary |
2561 | 1424 |
4 | New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary | 1596 | 1290 |
5 | Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary |
2338 | 1241 |
6 | Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary | 2033 | 1069 |
7 | Dallas Theological Seminary |
1962 | 1057 |
8 | Trinity Evangelical Divinity School | 1229 | 848 |
9 | Asbury Theological Seminary |
1488 | 755 |
10 | Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary | 1683 | 667 |
11 | Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary |
1025 | 605 |
12 | Duke University Divinity School | 639 | 588 |
13 | Reformed Theological Seminary |
1096 | 561 |
14 | Luther Seminary | 756 | 548 |
15 | Talbot School of Theology |
1224 | 541 |
16 | Princeton Theological Seminary | 514 | 500 |
17 | Regent University School of Divinity |
881 | 497 |
18 | Denver Seminary | 932 | 479 |
19 | Concordia Seminary (MO) |
621 | 441 |
20 | Candler School of Theology of Emory University | 478 | 441 |
21 | Western Seminary |
797 | 422 |
22 | Westminster Theological Seminary | 617 | 420 |
23 | Bethel Seminary of Bethel University |
861 | 405 |
24 | Alliance Theological Seminary | 760 | 396 |
25 | Ashland Theological Seminary |
744 | 360 |
26 | Tyndale University College & Seminary | 683 | 339 |
27 | Midwestern Baptist Seminary |
656 | 337 |
Download Excel document of this chart on the Fall 2012 Most enrollment total
Comments:
- There are a lot Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) schools on the list. (The denomination for each school is listed in the ATS data but I have not included it here–sorry).
- It would be great to compare this data with earlier ATS data which you could do but I haven't taken the time to do so–sorry! However, I did do lists of the biggest seminaries in 2006 and 2009 which you can look at.
- I have heard that #1 Fuller Theological Seminary has frozen faculty hiring and cut staff because of financial pressures.
- Note the article about Luther Seminary below with the title "Struggling Seminaries."
- Note that Duke Divinity School and Princeton Theological Seminary are much higher on the list if one considers Full Time Equivalent. However, Greg Henson, in an article linked to below, notes that FTE is rather subjective and thus is not a great indicator.
Other things worth reading about seminaries:
Barely 4 in 10 MDivs Plan To Pastor: Full-Time
Seminary grads who expect to pursue full-time ministry careers are down 10 percent over the past decade. May 30, 2013. Melissa Steffan. Christianity Today Gleanings
The Struggling Seminaries Mar 29, 2013 By Libby A. Nelson Inside Higher Ed
Greg Henson, Chief of Institutional Advancement at Northern Seminary, has done a lot of superb work on Association for Theological Schools data:
Incoming
Seminary Students – What do they bring?
Incoming
Seminary Students – Why are they here?
Incoming
Seminary Students – Who are they?
3
Reasons to Forget About FTE Part 2
I just read a great piece by Will Willimon on seminaries: Ministry As Difficult As It Ought to Be
Andy Crouch and Richard Mouw did a lot of research on seminaries for a report called: Seminary of the Future. (The website has not been very well maintained or linear. It is probably best to read the content by reading through the Discussion Points).
Note: I did this research for a separate project but thought I would share it here for others' benefit.
2 replies on “The largest seminaries: Fall 2012 enrollment data for Association for Theological Schools”
“I have heard that #1 Fuller Theological Seminary has frozen faculty hiring and cut staff because of financial pressures.”
I’ve not heard about faculty hiring freezes at Fuller–indeed there are some overloaded departments–but there definitely have been staff cuts, both in letting people go and, mostly, in not replacing positions when someone leaves. Fuller has also made major changes in its housing and bookstore, which were the 2 big money drains. Definitely in a tight financial position, but I don’t think the quality of education has suffered because of it.
Like with a lot of companies and institutions, expansion during flush times causes a fair amount of problems when times are lean.
Thanks for that correction. I have crossed out the “frozen faculty hiring” above.