Accreditation

Eastern Mennonite University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctorate degrees.  Contact the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Eastern Mennonite University.

Eastern Mennonite Seminary is also accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, and the following degree programs are approved: MDiv, MA in Church Leadership, MA (Religion)

The following extension sites are approved as specified: Lancaster, PA, Approved Degrees: MDiv

Approved for a Comprehensive Distance Education Program

The Commission contact information is:
The Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
10 Summit Park Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15275, USA
Telephone: 412-788-6505
Fax: 412-788-6510
Website: www.ats.edu

The seminary is approved by the United Methodist Church for the training of candidates for ordination. It is a member of the Council of Mennonite Seminaries, which includes Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana, and Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Fresno, California. Through the Theological and Pastoral Education Committee of the Mennonite Education Agency, the seminary is linked to Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, for purposes of coordinating denominational theological education programs.

Current course schedules can be obtained by writing to the seminary Admissions Office or visiting the EMS web site at www.emu.edu/seminary. The seminary welcomes visitors to campus. Interviews and tours may be requested by contacting the seminary Admissions Office at (800) 710-7871, by fax (540) 432-4598, or via e-mail at semadmiss@emu.edu . Appointments should be made in advance. Prospective students are invited to visit classes, attend chapel and visit with seminary personnel.

Disclaimer

The information in this Seminary catalog applies to the academic year 2016-17. The seminary reserves the right to change programs of study, academic requirements, the announced university and seminary calendar and other matters described herein without prior notice, in accordance with established procedures. Each seminary student should understand that published descriptions of degree requirements establish only minimum requirements. It is the prerogative of the seminary to make changes in degree requirements at any time. The Seminary catalog is descriptive and is not to be construed as a legal contract.

2017-18 Calendar

(The extension site in Lancaster, Pa. uses a separate semester calendar. See https://emu.edu/lancaster/seminary/)

History

Eastern Mennonite Seminary is the outgrowth of the curriculum in Bible at Eastern Mennonite College, and the embodiment of a vision of Mennonite leaders in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania for an institution of higher learning for the training of the denomination’s youth.

In the second decade of the 20th century the vision took concrete form at Harrisonburg after preliminary efforts elsewhere in Virginia. As early as 1918 courses at the college level were offered in advanced biblical training. During the next ten years there was an appreciable increase in college offerings.

By 1937 a four-year Bible program was instituted and within several years it was increased to five years. In the 1948-49 academic year, the Bachelor of Theology curriculum – a two-year post-graduate program – was added. The following years witnessed the continued growth of the program and its gradual development into a division distinct from the college.

In 1960 the curriculum was expanded to encompass three years of study and the Bachelor of Divinity degree was offered for the first time. The Master of Divinity degree was first offered in 1968-69 and the Master of Arts in Religion degree in 1972-73. A one-year program leading to a Certificate in Biblical Studies was first offered in 1974-75. The Master of Arts in Church Ministries emerged as part of a major seminary curriculum revision in 1983-84, and was changed to the Master of Arts in Church Leadership in 1991. A Clinical Pastoral Education Program was added in 1999.

In 1965 Eastern Mennonite Seminary adopted its formal name and an acting dean was appointed. By 1968 a separate seminary building provided space for classrooms, faculty offices and seminary chapel. In 1986 another building, the Seminary Annex, provided additional classroom space. The following year a third building, the Seminary Commons, became available. A new building, which replaces all of the previous buildings, was occupied in the fall of 1993.

Since the 1970’s Eastern Mennonite Seminary has offered credit for various pastoral training programs by extension in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 2008 the EMS extension located in Lancaster, Pa. was approved as a complete degree site.

Eastern Mennonite Seminary is a graduate division of Eastern Mennonite University. The seminary is an accredited member of the Association of Theological Schools since 1986. It is approved as an institution for the training of candidates for ordination in the United Methodist Church. Eligible students may receive educational benefits from the Veterans Administration.

Location and Campus

Eastern Mennonite Seminary main campus is located in the heart of the scenic and historic Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Situated in Harrisonburg, a city of 52,000 people, EMS is fronted on the east by the Massanutten and Blue Ridge mountain ranges. To the west lie the Alleghenies.

Harrisonburg is 125 miles from Washington, D.C., to the northeast and 115 miles from Richmond, Virginia, to the southeast. Harrisonburg is located at the junction of U.S. 33 and U.S. 11 and is situated along Interstate 81.

The Shenandoah Valley Airport, about 15 miles from the seminary, provides regular air service.

The 97-acre university campus contains 50 buildings nestled on a hillside topped with an observatory and the Discipleship Center. (See campus map )

Directions to campus

Contact Information

General 
E-mail: seminary@emu.edu 
Phone: (540) 432-4260
Fax: (540) 432-4598

Registrar 
E-mail: bergmane@emu.edu 
Phone: (540) 432-4274

Admissions 
E-mail: semadmiss@emu.edu 
Phone: (540) 432-4257

Development 
E-mail: les.horning@emu.edu 
Phone: (540) 432-4202

Eastern Mennonite Seminary 
1200 Park Rd
Harrisonburg, VA 22802

Extension Program: Location and Contact Information

Eastern Mennonite Seminary operates an extension program in south-eastern Pennsylvania with offices in Lancaster, Pa. For location, directions and contact information of the extension visit www.emu.edu/lancaster/location/

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