Concordia Seminary, St. Louis continued its strong enrollment trend this fall when 121 new students enrolled in the master of divinity and certificate (alternate route) programs. This marks the second-largest incoming class since the 1980s and, when combined with last year’s incoming class represents the best back-to-back years of new student enrollment Concordia Seminary has experienced in recent history.

Each year the admissions office at Concordia Seminary analyzes many characteristics of the incoming class of students to create a Class Profile. The results are helpful in identifying enrollment trends. The following data is gleaned from the 2001-2002 incoming class of master of divinity program students, with additional references made to those enrolled in the certificate (alternate route) program.

District of Origin:
The top five districts in terms of the number of new students provided this year include Texas (19), Michigan (14), Missouri and Northern Illinois (tie, 6), and Florida-Georgia, Iowa-East and Pacific Southwest (tie, 5).

Age:
The average age of incoming students this year is 29.4 years, compared with 29.2 last year and 28.8 two years ago. While 51% are 25 years old or less, 41% are 26-45 years-old, with 12% in the 40-45 years-old bracket. In the certificate program, the average age is 48.9 years.

Marital Status:
Slightly more than half (54%) of the new students are married. Almost two-thirds (65%) of these students have no children, but 14% have two children and 12% have three children. The average is 1.72 children/family. All of the new certificate program students are married, and many have children who no longer live at home.

Second-Career:
Following recent trends, slightly more than half (53%) of the new students are classified as “second-career students,” meaning that they were employed in a vocation other than “student” for at least the two years immediately prior to seminary enrollment. All of those in the certificate program are “second-career.”

LCMS Membership:
A significant percentage (74%) are lifelong members in The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS). An additional 16% have been LCMS members for more than six years.

Influential People:
Pastors and parents remain the people most likely to provide a positive influence on a man’s decision to begin seminary preparation with 74% of students mentioning their pastor and 29% mentioning their parents in this regard.

College Background:
Slightly less than half (47%) of the new students graduated from a Concordia University System school with 70% of those having graduated in the previous academic year. Almost an equal number (46%) graduate from a public college, and the remainder (7%) graduated from a private, non-LCMS school.

For more information, contact Rev. Jeffery Moore, director of ministerial recruitment, at 1-800-822-9545 or e-mail moorej@csl.edu.