Academics

Doctor of Ministry

D.Min. Financial Assistance

Due to unforeseen budget restrictions because of the economic downturn, we regret to inform you that financial aid for the Doctor of Ministry Program has been temporarily suspended.

Limited financial aid is available to Doctor of Ministry candidates on a need basis. The purpose of such aid is to supplement resources provided by candidates, their families, congregations, and judicatories, in order that no one eligible for the program must decline participation for purely financial reasons. The following guidelines describe the process of applying for financial assistance and its disbursement in the program. Applications are considered only from candidates fully admitted to the program and are normally submitted at the time of or shortly after admission decisions are announced.

1. Determining the need for assistance.

Candidates admitted to the program should consult the information about tuition and other program costs provided in information about the program and more specifically in the letter of admission. Financial assistance is applicable to both tuition and room and board costs for D. Min. Workshops. It does not apply to personal expenses such as books and travel, nor to the non-refundable confirmation fee due at the time of acceptance of admission. Candidates should plan a total budget for the entire program, rather than for a single year, since unlike other forms of aid D.Min. assistance is awarded and administered for a complete program rather than for an academic year. (Slight yearly increases in tuition and room and board charges should be taken into account.)

2. Expectations of Princeton Seminary for candidates’ resources.

Financial assistance is limited and each candidate applying for it is expected to present plans for an overall program of financing the D.Min. of which PTS assistance will be one part. Applicants are expected to demonstrate "due diligence" in cultivating other resources before turning to the D.Min. program itself (see requirements for application letter, below). The majority of candidates in the program receive some financial subsidy from their congregations or other organizations, or from their judicatories and denominations. All these sources must be exhausted and their results documented before PTS aid applications will be considered. In addition, an applicant is expected to make a realistic statement of what he or she can budget for the D.Min. from personal funds.

3. Application deadlines and process.

Because assistance is limited, all requests for financial aid in a given year will be considered together and awards made in as equitable a manner as possible based on need. The deadline for financial assistance applications is July 15 in any given academic year for awards to be applied beginning in the fall (normally to begin with the first workshop of a program). Applications submitted after the deadline may not be fundable. (See section below for emergency situations.)

The financial assistance application process consists of a letter to the Director of the D.Min. Program, requesting consideration for aid, and must include the following information:

1.	A basic budget for the entire D.Min. program, including all expected personal expenses in addition to tuition, room, and board.
2.	A statement of all expected sources of funds for the budget, including the applicant’s own personal contribution, together with an estimate of the unfunded amount for which assistance is being asked. Princeton assistance will apply to tuition and room/board only.
3.	Statements from the candidate’s endorsing body, church board, and/or denominational authority describing how much they are contributing to the total cost of the program. If they are unable to provide funds, that fact must be clearly stated and documented. (If applicable, several such statements should be included depending upon number of sources involved.)
4.	A copy of the first two pages of the candidate’s most recent IRS form 1040.

Applications will be considered immediately after the deadline and assistance awards will be announced in letters to applicants from the Director. Funds awarded will be applied directly to the candidate’s PTS D.Min. account and tuition, room, and board charges will be reduced accordingly. Funds are awarded as a single sum covering the entire program, but credited to the payment periods of the D.Min. prior to each workshop.

4. Emergency assistance.

A small reserve fund has been set aside to help in-process candidates in the event of severe financial emergencies which disrupt their original budget plans, whether as aid recipients or not. Please consult the Director of the D.Min. Program in particular cases.

5. Relation of assistance to the Tuition Payment Plan.

Financial assistance can at the candidate’s option work together with the Tuition Payment Plan through which D.Min. costs are paid on a monthly (rather than tripartite) basis. The amount of the assistance award is deducted from the total expenses budgeted, and the monthly payment is then adjusted and made accordingly.