Seminary Admission Overview

Application procedures described below are for graduate programs—master's degrees and graduate certificates—at Eastern Mennonite Seminary.

EMS works with a rolling admissions process and accepts applications throughout the year. Students should be registered for courses 30 days prior to the start of the semester, and no later than 5 business days before the start of the semester.

Applicants should have an undergraduate degree from an accredited university with a GPA of at least 2.75 (on a four-point scale). Applicants who do not meet this criteria may still apply and be considered for admission.

Mature students with ministry leadership experience but without a bachelor's degree may apply to the Graduate Theological Certificate as a pathway to the Master of Divinity or Master of Arts in Christian Leadership.

Admission Process

Domestic (U.S.) Applicants

Application
Students will submit an initial application for admission, along with a $50 non-refundable application fee. Payment can be made online through CASHNet (International payments can be made using Flywire.) After submitting the initial application you will receive two follow-up emails. The first will include a link to your Application portal: here you can upload your resume and also monitor the progress of your application. The second email will include a link to your essay portal: here you will complete the essay for your application, and have the option to submit an additional essay if you would like to be considered for scholarship support.

Transcripts and Test Scores
Send official transcripts from each college or university attended to Graduate and Professional Programs at EMU, Campus Center 230, 1200 Park Rd., Harrisonburg, VA 22802, or, electronically to graduate@emu.edu.

Transcripts must be in English or accompanied by a certified English translation. Students are required to have non-US transcripts evaluated by an academic transcript evaluating agency, such as World Education Services (WES).

References
Please provide three references (including one academic, one pastoral and one character reference). Only two letters required when applying for a graduate certificate. Your references will be contacted via email with a request upon submission of your application. Reference forms must be completed in English.

GRE's are not required or recommended

Application deadlines:

Priority Deadline for Admission and Scholarship consideration: March 5

*Scholarship funds will be awarded as available after the March 5 review date.

Fraudulent Documents
Honesty is a requirement of the programs at EMU and EMS. Therefore, EMS will verify every document uploaded with your application against official documents we receive from the issuing institution. If any material is found to have been altered or falsified, we reserve the right to withdraw offers of admission or expel the student.
International Applicants

Application
Students will submit an initial application for admission, along with a $50 non-refundable application fee. Payment can be made online through CASHNet (International payments can be made using Flywire.) After submitting the initial application you will receive two follow-up emails. The first will include a link to your Application portal: here you can upload your resume and also monitor the progress of your application. The second email will include a link to your essay portal: here you will complete the essay for your application, and have the option to submit an additional essay if you would like to be considered for scholarship support.

Transcripts and Test Scores
Send official transcripts from each college or university attended to Graduate and Professional Programs at EMU, Campus Center 230, 1200 Park Rd., Harrisonburg, VA 22802, or, electronically to graduate@emu.edu.

Transcripts must be in English or accompanied by a certified English translation. Students are required to have non-US transcripts evaluated by an academic transcript evaluating agency, such as World Education Services (WES).

Applicants whose first language is not English must submit scores for either the TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo test. EMS requires a 79-80 on the internet-based TOEFL, or its equivalent, a 6.5-7.0 on the IELTS, or a 104 on the Duolingo. (Institutional code: 5181)

GRE's are not required or recommended

References
Please provide three references (including one academic, one professional and one character reference). Only two letters required when applying for a graduate certificate. Your references will be contacted via email with a request upon submission of your application. Reference forms must be completed in English.

Visa (This process begins after an offer of admission to Seminary)
F-1 student visa applicants must submit the application for Form I-20. Note: Citizens of certain countries (such as Canada) are not required to have a US visa in order to enter the US.

A financial certificate demonstrating the student’s ability to pay is required after admission in order for the program to issue a student visa application (I-20 form).

Application deadlines:

Priority Deadline for Admission and Scholarship consideration: March 5

*Scholarship funds will be awarded as available after the March 5 review date.

Fraudulent Documents
Honesty is a requirement of the programs at EMU and EMS. Therefore, EMS will verify every document uploaded with your application against official documents we receive from the issuing institution. If any material is found to have been altered or falsified, we reserve the right to withdraw offers of admission or expel the student.

Technology Requirements

Your experience in EMU classes (especially, but not exclusively online courses) is highly dependent on the quality and functionality of your computer equipment. Below are the minimum required specifications for your computer equipment and software.

Computer
- A Windows or Mac desktop or laptop computer with speakers, microphone, and a webcam.
- Windows 10 22H2[1] or Windows 11 Build 22H2 or newer • macOS 12.7.5 or newer (Win 10 version 22H2, Win 11 22H2 or macOS 14.5 or higher recommended.)[2] Please note that this data is accurate as of the date stated above for at least one calendar year.
- Audio headset with microphone attachment is required for all online live sessions
System requirements for Zoom
Network Bandwidth/Connection Speed
- Internet Access with a minimum connection speed of 100 mbps (300 mbps download speed or higher recommended). To test speed: Close all applications and other website tabs and conduct test by visiting: https://speedtest.net
- Students have had connection issues in past years using limited data cellular connections and/or lower speed home internet connections. This type of internet access will often have restrictive data caps that could result in unexpected overage fees due to the bandwidth required for online learning.
Software
- PDF Viewer: Adobe Acrobat Reader (https://get.adobe.com/reader/ ) or Preview for macOS (to open PDFs)
- Browser: Firefox – https://firefox.com (recommended); Other browsers may work but Moodle prefers Firefox.

Housing

We are in the process of finalizing graduate housing opportunities. As we are working out the details of creating a graduate community, please reach out to your admissions counselor with questions. If you are in need of on campus housing, please complete the Graduate Housing Form. For additional information on on-campus Graduate Housing, visit our Living in Harrisonburg page.