Members of the AMBS learning community leave worship at the Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount during orientation week in August 2019. (Credit: Peter Ringenberg)
By Annette Brill Bergstresser
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — To make Anabaptist theological and leadership education more accessible to students of diverse traditions, ethnicities, racial identities and geographic locations, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) is offering three new merit-based scholarships for new graduate students beginning in the 2021–22 academic year. Recipients of these scholarships can pursue studies either at a distance or on the AMBS campus in Elkhart, Indiana.
- The Multicultural Church Scholarship is for students who are serving in or preparing for ministry assignments in a multicultural context and/or who belong to historically underrepresented racial or ethnic groups within the Mennonite Church. Each year, this award will provide a limited number of 100-percent tuition grants to full-time students beginning a master’s program, or a limited number of 75-percent tuition grants to part-time students beginning a master’s program. Applicants must be a member in good standing of a congregation that is affiliated with Mennonite World Conference or a related Anabaptist group.
- The MDiv Connect Student Scholarship will provide a limited number of 75-percent tuition grants to students beginning the distance-friendly Master of Divinity (MDiv) Connect program. Applicants must be a member in good standing of a congregation that is affiliated with Mennonite World Conference or a related Anabaptist group.
- The Ecumenical Student Scholarship supports students from other-than-Anabaptist Christian traditions who want to engage with people from the Anabaptist tradition while sharing the theological perspectives of and growing in their own tradition. Each year, this award will provide a limited number of 100-percent tuition grants to full-time students beginning a master’s program, or a limited number of 75-percent tuition grants to part-time students beginning a master’s program. Applicants must be a member in good standing of a congregation that is not affiliated with Mennonite World Conference or a related Anabaptist group.
To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants must be from the U.S. or Canada; other scholarships are available to international students.
“We encourage people to share this information with people they know who would be good candidates for these scholarships,” said Daniel Grimes, M.P.A., vice president for advancement and enrollment at AMBS. “We’re eager to support students with leadership gifts and potential who would benefit from the opportunity to pursue seminary studies.”
The deadline to apply for the scholarships is March 1. (Note added later: In the hope of creating space for more applicants during the uncertain times of the pandemic, we are extending this deadline to March 15.) Applicants must have been admitted to AMBS by that date to be considered for scholarships, so Admissions Team members recommend starting the admissions application process as soon as possible. Applicants who are selected for the scholarships may receive them for the stated length of their academic program by meeting certain conditions.
Grimes noted that AMBS also offers need-based financial aid, church matching grants and various other scholarships in addition to those named above.
To learn more, contact Teresa Thompson Sherrill, M.Div., Enrollment and Financial Aid Specialist.
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