2024 Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

If you pursue a doctor's degree in theological & ministerial studies, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #18 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 4 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 156 doctor's degrees in theological & ministerial studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Theological & Ministerial Studies School for Your Doctor's Degree

Your choice of theological & ministerial studies for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality theology program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on theological & ministerial studies students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other theological & ministerial studies students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt theological & ministerial studies students go into to obtain their doctor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized theological & ministerial studies related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for theological & ministerial studies students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Theological & Ministerial Studies in the Far Western US Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in theological & ministerial studies.

Top Far Western US Region Schools for a Doctorate in Theology

1

Fuller Theological Seminary
Pasadena, CA

74 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in theological & ministerial studies needs to take a look at Fuller Theological Seminary. Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Fuller is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in theological & ministerial studies from Fuller Theological Seminary

2

Biola University
La Mirada, CA

Biola University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in theological & ministerial studies. Located in the suburb of La Mirada, Biola is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in theological & ministerial studies from Biola University

3

Seattle University
Seattle, WA

6 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in theological & ministerial studies needs to check out Seattle University. Seattle U is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Seattle.More information about a doctorate in theological & ministerial studies from Seattle University

4

Western Seminary
Portland, OR

4 Annual Graduates

Western Seminary is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in theological & ministerial studies. Western Seminary-San Jose is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Portland.More information about a doctorate in theological & ministerial studies from Western Seminary

Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best theological & ministerial studies schools for a specific state in the Far Western US Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
California	180	141
Washington	122	6
Oregon	107	9

View All Rankings >

Theological & Ministerial Studies Related Rankings by Major

Theological & Ministerial Studies is one of 7 different types of Theology & Religious Vocations programs to choose from.

Theology Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Other Theological & Ministerial Studies	79
Theology	59
Divinity/Ministry	18

Majors Similar to Theology

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries	65
Theology & Religious Vocations (Other)	50
Missionary Studies	37
Religious Education	5

Notes and References

• 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Jonund. More about our data sources and methodologies.