The cost of a seminary education varies widely — by school, by degree, and above all by whether you study residentially or online. Published tuition at well-known Reformed seminaries runs roughly $645 to $675 per credit hour, and a residential program adds housing, relocation, and campus fees on top of tuition. At New Geneva Theological Seminary, a fully online Reformed seminary, tuition is a flat $300 per credit hour for every degree — so a complete Master of Divinity (100 credits) is $30,000 in tuition, a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry (48 credits) is $14,400, and a Certificate in Biblical Studies (26 credits) is $7,800. Because the seminary is entirely online, there are no housing, relocation, meal, or campus fees to add.
New Geneva at a Glance
- Tuition
- $300 / credit hour
- Format
- 100% online
- Tradition
- Confessionally Reformed · Westminster Standards
- Founded
- 1993
- Programs
- Certificate · MACM · M.Div. · Th.M. · D.Min.
- Status
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit
New Geneva tuition at a glance
New Geneva charges the same tuition rate for every program, so the total cost of a degree is simply the number of credit hours multiplied by the per-credit rate. There is no separate "online fee" and no tuition premium for any particular degree.
There is no application fee — applying is free. Administrative fees are modest and per-semester: a $25 semester fee, a $25 late-registration fee, and a $15 course-drop fee. The D.Min. carries a $25-per-semester administrative continuation fee.
What a full degree costs
Here is the complete tuition cost of each New Geneva degree from start to finish, at the standard $300-per-credit-hour rate:
| Program | Credits | Total tuition |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate in Biblical Studies | 26 credits | $7,800 |
| Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) | 30 credits | $9,000 |
| M.A. in Christian Ministry (MACM) | 48 credits | $14,400 |
| Master of Divinity (M.Div.) | 100 credits · 3–4+ years | $30,000 |
Tuition only. As an online institution, New Geneva has no housing costs, no relocation, no meal plans, and no campus fees — the categories that often double the true cost of a residential seminary degree.
How New Geneva compares to other Reformed seminaries
The clearest way to see the difference is per credit hour, because that figure is comparable across schools regardless of program length. Below is each seminary’s own published M.Div. tuition per credit or semester hour for 2025–26.
| Seminary | M.Div. tuition per credit hour (2025–26) |
|---|---|
| New Geneva Theological Seminary | $300 |
| Covenant Seminary | $645 |
| Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) | $654 |
| Westminster Theological Seminary | $675 |
Each figure is the seminary’s own published M.Div. tuition per credit / semester hour for 2025–26 (Covenant $645, RTS $654, Westminster online $675), verified June 2026 and subject to change. Peer schools discount heavily through scholarships and church matching, so the price many students actually pay can be lower than the published rate. New Geneva’s rate is simply low by design: a full 100-credit M.Div. is $30,000 in tuition, with no scholarship application required to reach that price.
Fees, financial aid, and veterans’ benefits
New Geneva’s primary form of financial assistance is its low tuition — the structure is intended to let students graduate without debt whether or not a church or denomination is helping with the cost. Beyond that, a deferred payment plan spreads the balance across the semester (a minimum 25% payment at registration, with the remainder in three monthly installments), and need-based and work-study scholarships are evaluated case by case on admission. New Geneva’s degree programs are also approved for veterans’ education benefits by the Colorado State Approving Agency, and financial assistance is available to both domestic and international students.
Can you attend seminary for free?
You can study at New Geneva without paying tuition by auditing. Auditing lets pastors, elders, deacons, and other believers sit under rigorous Reformed instruction without the demands of exams, papers, or degree tracking — and your first New Geneva course is free to audit ($100 per course after). It is the most affordable way to begin: many students audit a course first to experience the teaching before enrolling for credit. Contact the registrar for current audit details and available courses.
