Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is adding eight new awards to its financial aid offerings beginning in the 2015-2016 academic year. Known as Regent grants, these awards will be offered to students who demonstrate the greatest potential.

Up to four students will be awarded full tuition. Four additional awards will reduce the cost of tuition.

“These grants reflect an awareness of the need for more financial assistance for our outstanding Seminary students,” said the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Kloha, Concordia Seminary’s provost. “We want new pastors to be able to start their work in a congregation without the burden of debt.”

The new Regent grants are available to incoming students enrolled in the Master of Divinity and Alternate Route programs.

Here is a description of the new Regent awards:

The Martin Scharlemann and Robert Kolb Grants. These two awards include full tuition for up to 45 hours per academic year. Recipients also will receive a cash stipend of $4,500, paid monthly throughout the academic year.

The Timothy and Titus and Barnabas Grants. These two awards include full tuition for up to 45 hours per academic year.

The Urban and Rural Grants. Two candidates who competed for but were not awarded the previously described Regent grants will be awarded these grants amounting to a 25 percent discount on up to seven credit hours per term in a regular academic year.

The Sword of the Spirit Grants. Two candidates who competed for but were not awarded the previously described Regent grants will be granted $1,000 per academic year.

Regent grants will be awarded by the Seminary’s scholarship committee, and will be automatically renewed for one pre-vicarage year and one post-vicarage year.

To determine the recipients of these awards, the scholarship committee will review students’ academic records, recommendations, faculty interviews, and church and community involvement.

“Our prayer is that those who are considering service in the church would not be turned away from seminary studies because of the cost,” Kloha said. “Named in recognition of distinguished past professors of New Testament and the Lutheran Confessions (Scharlemann and Kolb) and the support from our Board of Regents, these awards will provide financial aid for those who would make outstanding pastors but otherwise might not be able to afford their Seminary education. Enormous support from the people and congregations of the LCMS makes it possible to offer these grants, and we at Concordia Seminary are deeply grateful to make them available.”

For more information, check out our website or contact Concordia Seminary’s financial aid office at 314-505-7202 or finaid@csl.edu.

About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church —Missouri Synod (LCMS). Since its founding in 1839, Concordia Seminary has equipped more than 12,000 graduates to serve Church and world. Today, a world-renowned faculty teaches more than 600 students in the classroom, off-campus, and online. Learn more at www.csl.edu.