2025 Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools
54Colleges in the United States
15,527Theology Degrees Awarded
$49,215Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in theological & ministerial studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #63 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 54 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 15,527 degrees in theological & ministerial studies to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Theological & Ministerial Studies School
The theology program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Theological & Ministerial Studies rankings. We derive our Best Overall Theological & Ministerial Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Theological & Ministerial Studies Rankings by Degree Level
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools list to help you make the college decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Theological & Ministerial Studies in the United States
The schools below may not offer all types of theology degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in theological & ministerial studies. Located in the city of Kansas City, MBTS is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were about 394 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at MBTS in the most recent data year. Those theological & ministerial studies students who get their degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary earn $6,097 more than the typical theology grad.
Liberty University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in theological & ministerial studies. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Lynchburg. A Best Colleges rank of #265 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Liberty University is a great university overall.
There were about 1777 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at Liberty University in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, theology degree recipients generally earn about $50,742 in the first five years of their career.
Every student who is interested in theological & ministerial studies has to take a look at University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were roughly 130 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the theology program report average early career earnings of $44,214.
Every student pursuing a degree in theological & ministerial studies needs to check out Bethel University Minnesota. Bethel University Minnesota is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Paul. A Best Colleges rank of #476 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Bethel University Minnesota is a great university overall.
There were approximately 57 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at Bethel University Minnesota in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the theology program report average early career income of $46,813.
Located in the large suburb of Santa Clarita, The Master's University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #383 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means The Master's University is a great university overall.
There were approximately 101 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at The Master's University in the most recent data year. Theological & Ministerial Studies degree recipients from The Master's University and Seminary get an earnings boost of about $5,380 over the average earnings of theological & ministerial studies majors.
Biola is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of La Mirada. This university ranks 86th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 98 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at Biola in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the theology program state that they receive average early career wages of $42,625.
CIU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Columbia. A Best Colleges rank of #329 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means CIU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 62 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at CIU in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of Chicago, Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were approximately 196 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the theology program make around $41,640 in the first couple years of working.
Located in the medium-sized city of Lakeland, SEU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 28th out of 70 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were roughly 449 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at SEU in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the theology program make around $32,605 for their early career.
IWU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the distant town of Marion. A Best Colleges rank of #555 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means IWU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 6 theological & ministerial studies students who graduated with this degree at IWU in the most recent data year. Those theological & ministerial studies students who get their degree from Indiana Wesleyan University receive $7,904 more than the typical theology grad.
Here are some additional great schools for Theological & Ministerial Studies students that almost earned our Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
The theology program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Theological & Ministerial Studies rankings. We derive our Best Overall Theological & Ministerial Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
