Educational Effectiveness Statement

– updated March 6, 2025

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (Puritan Reformed) is an institution located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Since its inception in 1995, the seminary has received ample data through various means for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of the student’s learning experience with Puritan Reformed.

Students Awarded a Degree in the Last Ten Years

Available data indicates that Puritan Reformed enjoys success in achieving its educational objectives. At present, we’ve seen the number of students completing the Master of Divinity (MDiv), Master of Arts (MA), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs remaining steady with a slight increase in the past ten years. Similar numbers are found in our Master of Theology (ThM) program, though with a more notable increase in graduates since 2022. We look forward to seeing another 33 graduates complete a program of study this upcoming May. Finally, Puritan Reformed has added a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program in the last four years. The recent addition of this program is evidenced in the statistics below.

The large majority of our graduates included in the chart above completed their respective programs in a reasonable timeframe. For instance, the average amount of time it has taken to complete the Puritan Reformed MDiv program is 3.93 years.

Positive Placements

We are thankful when we consider the positive placements coming out of each of our programs. ATS describes a positive placement as “a vocational placement,” a “non-vocational placement,” or a student continuing on for “further study.” The graduating class of 2024 saw a 95% positive placement rate by these standards, and the last ten years of the institution’s history can be found below.

Most of our graduates have indicated in their exit assessments that they regard their training at a Puritan Reformed as contributing significantly to their ministerial or teaching duties. As an example, 83.3% of our 2024 graduates indicated that they strongly agree with the following statement: “The education I received at Puritan Reformed met or exceeded my expectations. I believe it has adequately prepared me for my future work or study.” At least two thirds of the most recent graduates strongly agree that Puritan Reformed was effective in teaching or training them in the knowledge of church history and systematic theology, their ability to research and communicate biblical truth, as well as in Reformed, confessional distinctives.

Assessment of effectiveness is an ongoing process throughout each of the programs. Each course conforms to the overarching goals and mission of the seminary, contributing in some way to the mission and purpose of Puritan Reformed.

In addition, each student is under the care of the Dean of Students and Spiritual Formation for continual assessment of his overall preparedness for ministry. We believe there is more to the seminary’s effectiveness in training men and women for ministry than just academic competence.