Phillips Online

At Phillips, we believe theological education is for the whole church. For many, seminary is out of reach.  Literally. There is not a school close enough to where they live, or classes are not offered to fit within their schedules, which are already full of commitments to family, work, and church. We believe the need for pastoral leaders to strive for a compassionate, intelligent faith is too great to leave them without access to quality theological education.

Phillips offers four master’s degree programs: a 48 hour MAMC, a 48 hour MTS, a 38 hour MASJ, and an 81 hour MDiv. MDiv students must complete at least 24 hours on campus; MAMC and MTS students must complete 16 hours on campus; and MASJ students 12 hours on campus. Phillips also has 15-hour and 16-hour Graduate Certificate program. Students in the Graduate Certificate program participating in general theological studies and biblical studies programs can complete all 15 hours in the online format.

For more information about our programs, contact Ulysses Allen at 918.270.6463.

Are You a Candidate for Phillips Online?

You might be a candidate for Phillips Online if you are:

  • Highly self-motivated
  • A disciplined, well-organized person
  • Willing to stretch to reach research materials (in addition to the excellent support from the Phillips library staff)

At Phillips we will privilege enrollments in online courses by those students who must travel more than 150 miles one-way to campus. This will help ensure that those who live beyond reasonable commuting distance still have access to graduate theological education. Following in order of precedence are students who need a course(s) for some extraordinary circumstance, those who need a course for graduation, and those with the most earned credit hours as determined by the Phillips registrar.

Course Delivery
The primary platform for our online courses is Canvas. Access to Canvas is available to enrolled students with a login and password provided during new student onboarding. Instructors inform students in advance of a course if there are other technology requirements. For example, some professors may use a free program such as AdobeConnect or Skype to communicate with students and to set up real-time conversations with each other.

Online/On Campus

ATS Accreditation standards require students to complete one-third of a master’s degree coursework on campus (also termed “in residence”). Coursework required on campus for the MDiv is 24 semester hours; 58 hours may be earned online. For the MAMC and MTS the on-campus requirement is 16 hours; 32 hours may be completed online. Students in the MASJ program may earn 26 hours online and 12 on campus. Individual students who plan carefully and are able to take advantage of the course offerings are able to complete the on-campus hours in concentrated one-week or weekend courses in the fall, spring, or summer terms. Graduate Certificate program students doing the programs in general theological studies and biblical studies can complete all 15 hours in the online format. United Methodist students at Phillips are required by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church to do all work on campus.

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