__NOTOC__ The John Leland Center for Theological Studies is a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...

theological institute A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological e ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, with several satellite locations elsewhere in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. Leland is partnered with the

Baptist General Association of Virginia The Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV), founded in 1823, is an umbrella organization of Baptist churches in Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World Alliance. History Baptists have been in V ...

and the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, though the center has ties with a range of denominations and churches. Leland is a member of the

Washington Theological Consortium The Washington Theological Consortium is an ecumenical organization of Christian theological schools and interfaith partners located in Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Members cooperate to deepen ecumenical unity in theologica ...

. The center's namesake, John Leland, was an 18th- and 19th-century

minister in the United States who was a proponent of the

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

and an opponent of theological seminaries.

History

At a 1997

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

meeting, several Baptist leaders discussed developing the

Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

's first Baptist seminary. These individuals resolved to create the center which began offering classes the next year. Randel Everett, the center's first president, stepped down in late 2006. Mark J. Olson became Leland's second president in 2007. In 2019, William H. Smith became Leland's president.

Academics

The seminary is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History It was founded in 1918. The associ ...

(ATS). The seminary offers the following ATS-approved degrees:

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and div ...

, Master of Christian Leadership, and

Master of Theological Studies A Master of Theological Studies (MTS) is a graduate degree, offered in theological seminary or graduate faculty of theology, which gives students lay training in theological studies. Under Association of Theological Schools in the United States a ...

. The seminary also offers several

graduate certificate A graduate certificate is an educational credential representing completion of specialized training at the college or university level. A graduate certificate can be awarded by universities upon completion of certain coursework indicating masteri ...

s. Leland's School of Ministry offers the center's

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-l ...

-level courses, including a diploma in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

program. Students seeking a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

may be able to

transfer credit Transfer credit, credit transfer, or advanced standing are the terms used by colleges and universities for the procedure of granting credit to a student for educational experiences or courses undertaken at another institution. This is a subset of ...

from the School of Ministry into two

Bluefield College Bluefield University is a private Baptist university in Bluefield, Virginia. It offers 22 majors and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The campus is about from the state line between Virginia and West Virgin ...

Bachelor of Arts degree programs.

References

External links

* {{authority control Education in Arlington County, Virginia Baptist seminaries and theological colleges in the United States Seminaries and theological colleges in Virginia Educational institutions established in 1998 Buildings and structures in Arlington County, Virginia Baptist Christianity in Virginia 1998 establishments in Virginia