Welcome to the Interfaith Seminary. We
offer degrees of a religious nature. We do not offer secular
degrees or those of the physical sciences variety. Although
our degrees are religious in nature they carry the same privileges and
rights as secular degrees.
Degrees at the Interfaith Seminary are earned through the completion of
assigned coursework. Life experience credit can also be given
but NOT for an entire degree. Whether you are a minister, lay
person, or pastoral practitioner you can earn your religious degee with
us. Through our earned degree courses you can earn your
degree while also expanding your knowledge, talents, and abilities in
your chosen field. All degrees at the Interfaith Seminary are
EARNED DEGREES. There is always coursework that must be
completed. We are NOT a degree mill.
The courses at the Interfaith Seminary are available to everyone who
meets our entrance requirements. Our courses require
comprehensive study and self discipline as our Seminary is an online
Seminary with no physical campus. All coursework and degrees
are earned online.
The purpose of the Interfaith Seminary is to help our students develop
the necessary skills needed by clergy and/or laity in their chosen
field of study and work. We set high standards for our
students work and our courses require focused study.
As our students enter into their field of study they will discover new
ways to share they earned knowledge and skills with others along the
way. As our students complete their coursework they will
discover that helping others is much simpler than previous knowledge
allowed.
As a religious Seminary the Interfaith Seminary is not accredited by an
government agency. We are based in the United States of
America. The Constitution of the United States separates
Church from State. No school that offers studeis in religion
can really claim to be more correct than any other religious school
since they are established by man and not the Creator you
seek. Legal accreditation is only offered in the secular
field and does not apply to religious study. The US
Department of Education does not accredit religious schools.
A Seminary is a religious school. Schools that claim
accreditation do so through private accrediting agencies and have no
real value above any other legal degree.
So what does all this mean to you the student?
If you earn a Doctorate degree from the Interfaith Seminary even though
it is a religious degree you still have the right to use the title of
"Doctor." Doctorates issued by religious or secular schools
have the same rights of acknowledgement.
Some degrees issued by the Interfaith Seminary are honorary degrees and
are not earned degrees. You will find, however, that honorary
degrees issued are rare. An honorary degree is granted for
one's life experience within a specific field of work or
practice. It is official recognition of a person who has
advanced greatly their field of work and/or study. Honorary
degrees may also be awarded to persons who have worked in a specific
field for a long time and who have shown great knowledge, wisdom,
service, and contribution in their fields. Any person
receiving an honorary doctorate degree is entitled to use the title of
"Doctor" as well. The title of "Doctor", originally, was a
title of the Church long, long before it was used in the academic or
secular world. It represents the pinnacle of learning,
knowledge, and wisdom in one's chose field of work and/or study.
Please
see our discussions on Alternative Education
Our
Distance Learning Programs
All
IFS degrees and diplomas are earned via distance learning. IFS is a
Seminary without walls utilizing a ONLINE CAMPUS.
IFS
has no physical campus but instead utilizes the Internet as a online
campus.
IFS
provides student resources online except for textbooks. Online students
are able to communicate with the Seminary staff via email or Instant
Messaging, in some cases.
The Interfaith Seminary wants
to provide our seminary students with the most beneficial pastoral and
religious education possible. To this end we even offer personalized
degree programs, based on student desires, needs, and background
knowledge/experience and the input of our experienced and knowledgeable
staff.
Partial Scholarships and life
experience credit are both available towards the degrees. Life
experience credit is known as Extra Institutional Learning and is
defined as learning that is attained outside of educational
institutions.
The IFS offers Diploma courses, Master's and Doctorate Degrees in a
variety of studies, all with a religious foundation. All Degrees fall
under numerous categories, including: Christian Studies, Ministry
Degrees; Interfaith Studies (non-Christian focused) Degrees; Pastoral
Health Degrees.
Please
see our list of Courses.
Our
Academics & Grading Policy
Please take note that the
Interfaith Seminary is NOT a degree mill.
We do NOT award degrees for substandard
work or no academic work at all. You will be expected
to complete your studies and submit them for grading and comment by our
staff. Every course assignment you send in to us is actually read and
graded by a real person. If you do not
meet our student standards then you will NOT receive
your degree until you bring your grades up to the
acceptable standards of this online Seminary. "Acceptable standards" as
set by this Seminary are that you have a grade point average of at
least a "C". Students receiving grades of "D" or "F" or with grade
point averages of "D" or "F" will be required to retake courses or redo
assignments and score higher grades. Students who fail to do so will
NOT receive their degree or diploma until they do so.
NO Seminary student with a grade
point average below a "C" will be awarded ANY degree by the Interfaith
Seminary. There are NO EXCEPTIONS!.
Students with the IFS have MAY
change their degree coursework to better fit their needs, if they can
show the program as outlined and created by the IFS is insufficient.
These changes MUST be made BEFORE coursework commences and only with
the permission and approval of the IFS.
All students are assigned an
Academic Advisor to assist them. An Academic Advisor does everything
from act as a liaison between the student and the IFS, answers
questions or makes changes to the program in accordance to student's
needs, answers coursework related questions and eventually grades the
coursework.
Those candidates for a
Doctorate must defend their thesis in writing against the questions of
the IFS and their Academic Advisor.
To enroll with the IFS please
click on the Application link on the left.
For
more information please see our Admissions Requirements Page.
For
more information please see our Life Experience Page.
Our Grading system is as
follows:
A=Excellent
B=Above Average
C=Average
D=Below Average
F=Fail
Students with below average
grades will not be awarded their degree or diploma until they bring
their grades up to at least a "C". If you have any questions, comments
or suggestions or have a degree you would like to create please contact
us.
