Yes! Set up a meeting with your advisor to see if switching to a new degree program is in your best interest. In preparing for your advisor meeting, review your degree audit in S.I.S.. 

After talking with your advisor, if you want to formally change programs, you will need to submit the appropriate documentation to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.:

• For Marital and Family Therapy students wanting the 2018-2019 M.A. in Counseling curriculum: Curriculum and Degree Intent Form
• For Bible and Theology students wanting 2017-2018 curriculum:  Request to Change to 2017-2018 Degree Programs 

Please note: You must be currently enrolled as a student in the program in order to transfer into the new curriculum for the said program. All non-degree, GSC or GSD students must take courses as offered and once the admission requirements have been met, can contact the admissions team for how to apply for a full degree program.

A program audit shows where you currently stand and what you have remaining prior to graduation. Use the degree audit tool in S.I.S. to see when you completed each course requirement. The courses remaining will not have completion dates.

If you are considering a new program, your advisor can help you run a sample audit for the new degree. If you and your advisor have specific questions, you can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

There are various requirements associated with receiving financial aid. Thus, you will want to pay careful attention to financial aid credit hour requirements as you consider whether to change to a new curriculum. If you have questions, please contact our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

If you study at a U.S. location of Western Seminary under a student visa, there are credit hour requirements to the granting of your visa. As you consider whether to change to the new curriculum, pay careful attention to the availability of courses so that you can continue to meet those credit hour requirements during any semester in which you will study in the U.S. under a student visa.

Courses affected by curriculum changes are available at the start of the next registration term.

Your advisor will be a primary resource for you. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is also here to help!

Glad you asked. Most students will benefit from changing to newer curriculum and degree requirements. Some, however, may need to make modifications. Read thru these instances and see if any of them apply to your circumstances:

• Students receiving Financial Aid Loans or Grants:  Financial Aid requirements may mean you have to maintain a certain credit load. Check with the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to see what credit loads per semester are required for your circumstances.
• Students in Chaplaincy Track:  While most will have not problems with our new degree requirements, it would be wise to check with your service branch or hospital system to see if they have specific requirements that differ from ours.
• Students wanting to pursue a ThM:  If you have questions about the requirements for a Master of Theology (ThM), review our ThM Information Page. 
• International Students:  International students may need to stay within certain credit loads and residency hours. Recheck your requirements and refer questions to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

As of fall 2018, the MA/MFT program will be phased out, so students are encouraged to move to the MA in Counseling program. None of the CNS course requirements change for either the 2017-18 or 2018-19 catalog. However, if you haven't yet completed your Bible and theology courses, there are some changes that may actually reduce the number of credits required for your program. In addition, the new Bible/Theology courses are designed specifically for you—to aid you in integrating biblical truth with the counseling profession.

Your advisor or program director can help you plan your schedule. You can also plan it using these guides:

• If you have taken ALL your Bible and theology credits, you will need to do NOTHING more.
• If you have NOT YET started your Bible and theology credits, we suggest you begin with the new Bible and theology courses starting in fall 2018.
• If you have taken SOME of your Bible and theology credits and you change the MAC program, you will now ONLY be required to take 8 credits worth (instead of the 12-13 credits required in the MFT program). The This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. can confirm how your prior Bible/theology classes will convert to the new program requirements.

See the MAMFT program conversion chart for more information on how the old BLS/THS classes (offered prior to fall 2017) convert to the 2017-18 Bible & theology curriculum.

In 2017–2018, we improved our core content and focused our training, resulting in new course ID numbers and, in some cases, new titles. These numbers are more intuitive and give a student indication of when it’s best to take a class. For example, the 501 classes are best to take in your first year of coursework, 502 in your second, etc.. Use the conversion charts to see the equivalencies from the old curriculum to the new.

Threshold Courses & Orientation:

• Online degree students are still required to come to Portland for six days during their first year to attend orientation and the lectures of the threshold courses. Rather than taking a threshold of MFM500 Discovering and Developing Your Ministry Potential and SFS501 Learning to Love God and Others, classes of MF501 Introduction to Theological Study and Ministry Formation and CS501 Loving God and Others will now be offered.

Online MA(BTS) Degree Students:

• Online campus students who are under the new curriculum of the Master of Arts (Biblical and Theological Studies) program are required to sit in on the lectures of MF501 Introduction to Theological Study and Ministry Formation during orientation and threshold week, taking the courses as a pass/no pass course. In this case, MF501 will count towards the residency requirements of those online MA(BTS) students, even though the pass/no pass status of their registration will not accrue credit hours towards completion of the degree. To receive a Pass, students must complete learning projects assigned in the course and pay a lab fee.

Online MDiv Degree Students:

• Students in the online Master of Divinity program must still take at least four credit hours of residency courses on the Portland Campus during the middle of their program. Students can choose any four or more credits within their program requirements that meet on the Portland Campus.

Capstone Courses:

• All online degree students are still required to return to Portland in the spring semester of their final year to attend the lectures of their capstone course, TH504 Integrating Ministry and Theology. For students in the online MA(BTS) program: Exegetical and Open tracks, TH504 will, therefore, occupy two credits of “open elective” in the degree requirements.

If you have already completed MFM500 and MFM501-2, then nothing else is required unless you want to continue the ministry formation sequence. Keep in mind that any ministry formation courses following the first two courses are optional, however many students appreciate the formative environment that these courses provide and may choose to continue.

If you did not complete MFM501-2 by the end of summer 2017, you will need to register for the next appropriate course in the ministry formation sequence and then participate in the degree candidacy evaluation process (more details forthcoming, but this is designed to help the formation and integration of your learning within your ministry context). These courses are offered Pass/No Pass, carry no academic credit, and are designed to promote the formation required to prepare for the degree candidacy evaluation. They are strongly encouraged until degree candidacy has been achieved.

If you decide to stay in the current program that requires four semesters of MFM coursework (MFM501-4), you will still need to complete four credits of ministry formation to complete your degree requirements. We will create special sections of MF531-534 for one credit each (note: they will be zero credits, Pass/No Pass for those in the new curriculum). However, you will probably need to request that we register you manually for these sections since they may not be available for registration via S.I.S.. In this case, fill out an academic petition to request being added to this class manually. 

Please refer to the conversion charts for your degree program to determine which theology courses would remain for you to take within the new curriculum. Also note that the new curriculum requires you to complete 12 credit hours within TH501-502-503, which is two more credit hours than the prior systematic theology series THS501-502-503.

In order to reach the new total of 12 credits, you may have to take an elective in biblical or theological studies. For example, if you completed THS501-502-503 for 12 credits, you may take an elective for 2 credits in biblical studies (BL5XX) or theological studies (TH5XX).