AMBS program allows Canadian students to obtain distance degree

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) has received long-awaited approval for students from Canada to study in the seminary’s distance program, Master of Divinity Connect.

In the MDiv Connect program, students do most of their study in their home contexts and come to the Elkhart, Ind., campus only for week-long classes two or three times a year. “This low-residency format needed approval from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” AMBS registrar Scott Janzen explained.

Now with approval for these brief study periods in the U.S., students can earn a Master of Divinity without moving to campus for a year or more of study. While MDiv Connect allows students to take most of their courses online, some courses are taught in a hybrid format in which each course includes one week on campus. These sessions meet residency requirements set by accrediting agencies.

“Over and over again I hear high praise for the quality of learning that students and faculty experience in our MDiv Connect. We are thrilled that we now have full clearance for Canadian and all international students to engage this exceptional Anabaptist learning opportunity from within their own local contexts,” Sara Wenger Shenk, AMBS president, said.

 AMBS has had long-standing approval for Canadians to study full-time on the campus. However, “a part of our Anabaptist family was unable to fully participate in all that our learning community has to offer. The removal of those travel restrictions will now allow Canadians to freely cross the border and take their place at the table. For this we a truly grateful,” Daniel Grimes, director of enrollment and financial aid, said.

Another long-standing benefit for Canadian students is that they pay AMBS tuition costs on par, receiving dollar-for-dollar credit in U.S. currency.

So far one Canadian student is registered in the program.

More information can be found here: www.ambs.edu/academics/Master-of-Divinity-Connect.cfm