Wesley Biblical Seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and licensed by the State of Mississippi to offer graduate-level biblical and theological education. WBS is also an Applicant for Accreditation with the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE).
ATS accredits more than 270 graduate schools of ministry, teaching, and research in the theological disciplines in North America and maintains the highest institutional standards of accreditation and institutional performance. ATS is a member of the Council for Higher Education Association (CHEA), the primary national accreditation advocate to the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Accrediting of ATS accredits the schools and approves the degree programs they offer.
Accreditation involves voluntary participation in a peer-evaluation process with similar institutions in a quest to insure academic quality, rigor, and integrity. In 2021, Wesley Biblical Seminary’s accreditation was reaffirmed for ten years by the Association of Theological Schools.
WBS holds applicant status with the Association for Biblical Higher Education Commission on Accreditation (5850 T. G. Lee Blvd., Ste. 130, Orlando, FL 32822, 407.207.0808). Applicant status is a pre-membership status granted to those institutions that meet the ABHE Conditions of Eligibility and that possess such qualities as may provide a basis for achieving candidate status within five years.
The seminary is also accredited by the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation.
The seminary has approval from the Department of Defense and the State Approving Agency for qualifying military personnel (active duty and reserve) and veterans to receive educational funds from the DoD and Veterans Administration. The Immigration and Naturalization Service of the United States Department of Justice (SEVIS/SEVP) recognizes Wesley Biblical Seminary as an educational center for international students.
Faculty members belong to various professional organizations, such as the Evangelical Theological Society, the Society of Biblical Literature, the Wesleyan Theological Society, and the Institute for Biblical Research, which enable them to stay current and to keep abreast of developments in theological education.
A number of denominations have officially endorsed Wesley Biblical Seminary as an approved theological school for their constituencies. At least twelve different denominations have been represented on the seminary faculty and more than thirty within the student body. This diversity enables the seminary to effectively prepare students for service under episcopal, elder-led, or congregational church polity. It also provides for training in both liturgical and free worship.
Wesley encourages students to develop relationships with their chosen denomination. Exposure to the ethos and culture of a selected denomination is necessary as seminarians prepare to enter ministry in that community.
Wesley Biblical Seminary partners with the Lilias Trotter Center (LTC) by engaging their well-qualified staff to teach in a Graduate Certificate in Ministry to Muslims. Named after a veteran missionary to Algeria, the Lilias Trotter Center “enables thoughtful Christian engagement with Muslims by bringing seasoned evangelical scholarship and discipleship to students and to practitioners serving among Muslims to equip them for informed, fruitful and enduring ministry.” We at Wesley Biblical Seminary are delighted to be working with this fine group of people and happy to extend this opportunity to our students. You can learn more about LTC at http://liliastrottercenter.org/.
Wesley Biblical Seminary, through the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation, participates in The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement. This agreement allows WBS to offer distance programs and courses to residents of member states without seeking state-by-state approval, and is intended to make it easier for students to take online courses offered by postsecondary institutions based in another state.
If you are an online student residing in a state not listed below please contact the Dean of Online Studies’ Office at 601-366-8880 for information regarding your state. Students in the online program with complaints not resolved at the institution level may refer to the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation Student Complaint Process web site and the Student Complaint Form.
The Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools
10 Summit Park Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15275
Phone: 412-788-6505
Fax: 412-788-6510
www.ats.edu