Ranked #21 in popularity, theological & ministerial studies is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 3 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 101 master's degrees in theological & ministerial studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Choosing a Great Theological & Ministerial Studies School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of theological & ministerial studies for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality theology program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master'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 - The number of theological & ministerial studies students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
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 easy is it for theological & ministerial studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized theological & ministerial studies related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for theological & ministerial studies students working on their master's degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Theological & Ministerial Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in theological & ministerial studies.
Top Rocky Mountains Region Schools for a Master's in Theology
Northwest Nazarene University is a good option for students pursuing a master's degree in theological & ministerial studies. NNU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the midsize suburb of Nampa.
Theological & Ministerial Studies master's degree recipients from Northwest Nazarene University get an earnings boost of approximately $5,272 above the average income of theological & ministerial studies majors.
Denver Seminary is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in theological & ministerial studies. Located in the suburb of Littleton, Denver Seminary is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
Master's students who receive their degree from the theology program earn an average of $46,446 for their early career.
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).
college factual
Your choice of theological & ministerial studies for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality theology program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
