The field education program provides students with opportunities to serve the church of Jesus Christ and the world. The program depends on partner churches and agencies that are willing to offer themselves as laboratories where the art of ministry is considered and practiced. A set of unique partnerships develop between the student, the Seminary, the supervisor, and those at the ministry site. Partnership implies a relationship based on mutual trust fostered through two-way communication and tangible support. Partnership produces the best sites and supervision.
As a field education supervisor, you must be prepared to invest considerable time and interest in working with the student, and be willing to join peers in supervision training. The program requires the supervisor to invest at least one hour per week of dedicated and uninterrupted time to supervise the student for the length of time the student serves in the placement. Field education is an addition to the church’s mission program, not a means of acquiring additional personnel. While benefits to the church’s program may be secondary, you will find that field education enhances the church’s mission and enriches the supervisor’s ministry.
Students begin interviewing at sites as early as the end of October. They are required to have all summer and academic-year placements finalized by April 1st. Although we accept new site applications at any time, applications received after December 1st are less likely to find a student for the following summer and academic year as many students will already have a placement in mind when they return for classes in late January.
Our office hosts two recruitment events every year, one in November and one in February. Once your application is complete and approved, you are eligible to attend one of the events. Check the Supervisor Calendar below for current dates.
Most Princeton Theological Seminary students must take and pass two field education courses in order to graduate. Because academic credit is awarded, every site and supervisor must be approved and certified. In other words, every site is a classroom. The Office of Field Education must guarantee the quality of the course taught in each classroom to the faculty, administration, and the Seminary’s accrediting association. Therefore, we require:
The seminary will provide training opportunities necessary for the supervisor to fulfill the contract, offer counsel to supervisors and governing bodies to interpret the program, and work to see that the program runs smoothly. For current training dates please see the Supervisor Calendar above.
Presently the recommended minimum stipend for a student engaged in field education full-time during the summer is $3150; part-time during the academic year is $2700; full-time for a yearlong placement is $1200 per month. Limited financial assistance is available from PTS for stipends. Complete the Funding Eligibility with the application to apply. In addition to the stipend, the site is required to reimburse the student for mileage for private vehicle use while on official business. PTS recommends using the current IRS rate. The site should also reimburse the student for pre-approved, out-of-pocket expenses like supplies, trips, meals, or overnight lodging necessitated by the field education work. Any reimbursement to the student for expenses commuting to and from the site is considered earned income and is therefore taxable.
Year Long Intensive Placements have further considerations:
The site is expected to provide housing and utilities for the intern and funding for the basic student insurance policy at the rate specified in the current PTS Catalogue. Please speak with the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid regarding current rates by phone at (609) 497-7805.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us 609-497-7970 or Field-Ed@ptsem.edu.
“Preaching is one of the most important things we do as pastors because it’s one of the last places in our society where people will actually listen, perhaps to things they may not agree with.”