Bethany Opens Year with Strong Enrollment

Bethany Theological Seminary is welcoming 42 students who are enrolling for the first time at the Seminary, or beginning new graduate programs, this fall. Nine of these students come from the Church of Brethren and will benefit from the new Church of Brethren Scholarship, which covers the full cost of tuition for qualified students from the denomination.

The Seminary expects a total of 117 students to enroll this fall (the official headcount is finalized each year in October). This continues Bethany’s strong enrollment trend over the last few years, which led to an unusually large graduation class last spring. In May, the Seminary awarded 40 master’s degrees and certificates — the largest number issued since at least the 1960s.

Bethany offers five master’s degrees and nine graduate certificates, and the cohort of new students includes individuals who are enrolling in all of the master’s programs and a majority of the certificates. Seminary leaders say that strong enrollment is tied directly to the wide variety of its offerings.

“We are very happy to welcome a new class of talented students to Bethany,” says Academic Dean Steve Schweitzer. “It is great to see students with a broad range of academic interests and from a variety of backgrounds find an academic home at Bethany.”

Bethany also enrolls exceptional undergraduates from the six Brethren-related colleges and universities in the UP@Bethany program. This endeavor, funded by a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment, offers juniors and seniors from those colleges and universities an opportunity to explore theological education and potential careers in ministry by taking Bethany courses online, while remaining at their undergraduate institutions. This year, new students from Manchester University will participate in the program.

Bethany is well known for its use of technology to provide an excellent educational experience to students who are studying at a distance. All of the Seminary’s new students are studying from afar.

Bethany will host its partner seminary, the Earlham School of Religion (ESR), for Convocation to open the 2026-27 school year on Thursday, August 27, at 11:15 a.m., in Nicarry Chapel. Dr. Henry Burt, assistant professor of spiritual and pastoral care at ESR, will preach at the service. 

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