Educational Effectiveness Statement

– updated June 7, 2024

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.

Available data indicates that Puritan Reformed enjoys success in achieving its educational objectives. At present, we have a completion rate of 73% for those matriculated into the Master of Divinity (MDiv) program; 41% for those matriculated into the Master of Arts (MA) program, and 59% for those matriculated into the Master of Theology (ThM) program, and 47% for those matriculated into the new Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program (see charts below). Puritan Reformed has added a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling (MABC) program, as well as a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program in the last three years. Due to the recent addition of these programs, they were not included in the statistics found below.

Rate of Completion Chart

The large majority of our graduates have completed their respective programs in a reasonable timeframe. The following chart and graph indicates the number of students completing their program by length of completion (in years).

Length of Completion Chart

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.