Non-Accredited BA to Accredited MA

[Zachary Salsbury]

Hello all,

I am about to complete my B.A. at a non-accredited bible college and I am now looking at my options for grad school. I have looked into a few ATS and Regionally accredited schools and have found that some of them will admit students with non-accredited degrees. My question then is this: Assuming that I am able to secure a spot at one of these accredited institutions, how would my lack of an accredited bachelors degree affect my chances of getting into a decent Ph.D program?

P.S. I started at my current institution with no real desire to do grad work. Once I began to consider graduate school, however, I felt like I was too far along to consider starting over at an accredited school.

Any insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Kuriakos]

I think it is a problem unless you can establish a solid track record in an accredited setting and perhaps provide a narrative explanation in your application explaining your decision to attend an unaccredited undergrad. I know a guy in a program at Duke who used to be a fundamentalist and went to an unaccredited undergrad, but he was still able to go to Duke. That said, most unaccredited Bible colleges are little better than diploma mills. If you really want to give academic biblical studies a try, then I think you should at least do some coursework at a reputable school to see what it is like. I don't mean to be patronizing, but if you went someplace like Bob Jones or Pensacola, you probably haven't experienced anything like academic study of the Bible.

[Zachary Salsbury]

I think it is a problem unless you can establish a solid track record in an accredited setting and perhaps provide a narrative explanation in your application explaining your decision to attend an unaccredited undergrad. I know a guy in a program at Duke who used to be a fundamentalist and went to an unaccredited undergrad, but he was still able to go to Duke. That said, most unaccredited Bible colleges are little better than diploma mills. If you really want to give academic biblical studies a try, then I think you should at least do some coursework at a reputable school to see what it is like. I don't mean to be patronizing, but if you went someplace like Bob Jones or Pensacola, you probably haven't experienced anything like academic study of the Bible.

A fair answer, thanks!

I have looked at Regent in Vancouver (MCS) not only because they have a decent reputation, but also because they basically advertise their acceptance of non-accredited students. Would this be a wise move?

Btw, I am not a Fundie and I did not attend a diploma mill, Bob Jones, or Pensacola. But I do see your point. Mine is a small school in Kansas City that has been in opperation for about 75 years.