Seminary Endowments: Mainline Has Money, Southern Baptists Have Students
Southern Baptists have more students but mostly declining Mainline Protestant seminaries have more money, according to data collected by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS).
Seminaries affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) continue to hold the most long-term investments, just short of $2.4 billion total across nine seminaries. Remove Princeton Theological Seminary’s endowment ($1.358 billion, more than four times higher than its closest peer, the United Methodist affiliated Candler School of Theology, with $315.8 million), and the number shrinks to just over $1 billion.
Those seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, however, easily post the highest number of students, with 7,147 (FTE) enrolled in 2023-24, nearly seven times the number at PCUSA schools (the total combined FTE enrollment at PCUSA schools was 1,043 the same year). Southern Baptist institutions hold six of the top 10 spots on the list of schools with the most students enrolled based upon full-time equivalent ranking (e.g. two halftime students equal one FTE). This is despite those six schools having total long term investments of only $483.4 million, about one-fifth the investments of the PCUSA schools.
For more information, see the charts below.
The Association of Theological Schools collects data on investments held for long-term purposes in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The phrase “LTI” replaces “Endowment” in earlier editions of the ATS Fact Book. I’ve also calculated the total number of long-term investments held divided by the number of FTE students.
Another tidbit of interest: the disparity between student enrollment and long-term investment is perhaps most sharply seen at United Methodist affiliated United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. United has the smallest endowment of its peer group at $9 million. But, the school has the second-largest FTE enrollment of any UMC affiliated school (515, just behind Duke Divinity School’s 570).
Mainline Denominational abbreviations
PCUSA = Presbyterian Church (USA)
UMC = United Methodist Church
EPISC = Episcopal Church
DISCPL = Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
ELCA = Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
UCC = United Church of Christ
ABCUSA = American Baptist Churches
| Mainline Protestant Seminaries | Denomination | LTI$ (millions) | Enrollment (FTE) | Investment-per-student ratio ($MIL) |
| Princeton Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 1358.2 | 276 | $4.92 |
| Candler School of Theology of Emory University | UMC | 315.8 | 412 | $0.77 |
| Columbia Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 268.8 | 140 | $1.92 |
| Duke University Divinity School | UMC | 267 | 570 | $0.47 |
| Pittsburgh Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 236.1 | 90 | $2.62 |
| Perkins School of Theology Southern Methodist University | UMC | 231.2 | 145 | $1.59 |
| Virginia Theological Seminary | EPISC | 182.2 | 152 | $1.20 |
| Union Presbyterian Seminary | PCUSA | 171.4 | 155 | $1.11 |
| Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 165 | 91 | $1.81 |
| Christian Theological Seminary | DISCPL | 155.7 | 98 | $1.59 |
| Phillips Theological Seminary | DISCPL | 134.2 | 46 | $2.92 |
| Luther Seminary | ELCA | 123.8 | 183 | $0.68 |
| Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary | UMC | 118.3 | 190 | $0.62 |
| United Lutheran Seminary | ELCA | 113.6 | 161 | $0.71 |
| Boston University School of Theology | UMC | 107.4 | 255 | $0.42 |
| Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University | DISCPL | 103.1 | 64 | $1.61 |
| Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 86.5 | 100 | $0.87 |
| McCormick Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 80 | 45 | $1.78 |
| University of the South School of Theology | EPISC | 59.9 | 103 | $0.58 |
| Wesley Theological Seminary | UMC | 56.8 | 302 | $0.19 |
| Methodist Theological School in Ohio | UMC | 53.4 | 86 | $0.62 |
| Lexington Theological Seminary | DISCPL | 49.4 | 29 | $1.70 |
| Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago | ELCA | 48.5 | 58 | $0.84 |
| Seminary of the Southwest | EPISC | 40.7 | 92 | $0.44 |
| Iliff School of Theology | UMC | 39.3 | 132 | $0.30 |
| Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University | ELCA | 37.8 | 41 | $0.92 |
| Drew University Theological School | UMC | 37.7 | 304 | $0.12 |
| Wartburg Theological Seminary | ELCA | 37.3 | 146 | $0.26 |
| Saint Paul School of Theology | UMC | 34.8 | 66 | $0.53 |
| San Francisco Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 34.1 | 65 | $0.52 |
| Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary of California Lutheran University | ELCA | 34 | 49 | $0.69 |
| General Theological Seminary | EPISC | 33.9 | 22 | $1.54 |
| Church Divinity School of the Pacific | EPISC | 28.7 | 28 | $1.03 |
| Eden Theological Seminary | UCC | 26.3 | 66 | $0.40 |
| Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School | ABCUSA | 19.3 | 41 | $0.47 |
| University of Dubuque Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 17.1 | 81 | $0.21 |
| Chicago Theological Seminary | UCC | 16.6 | 128 | $0.13 |
| Claremont School of Theology | UMC | 16.4 | 96 | $0.17 |
| Lancaster Theological Seminary | UCC | 16.4 | 42 | $0.39 |
| Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University | ABCUSA | 16.2 | 110 | $0.15 |
| Northern Baptist Theological Seminary | ABCUSA | 11.2 | 79 | $0.14 |
| Berkeley School of Theology (CA) | ABCUSA | 9.1 | 85 | $0.11 |
| Bexley Hall Seabury-Western Theological Seminary | EPISC | 9 | 34 | $0.26 |
| Nashotah House | EPISC | 9 | 76 | $0.12 |
| United Theological Seminary | UMC | 9 | 515 | $0.02 |
| United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities | UCC | 9 | 130 | $0.07 |
| Central Baptist Theological Seminary | ABCUSA | 0.1 | 262 | $0.00 |
| Berkeley Divinity School (Yale) | EPISC | 0 | 0 |
| Southern Baptist Seminaries | Denomination | LTI$ (millions) | Enrollment (FTE) | Investment-per-student ratio ($MIL) |
| Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary | SBC | 162.1 | 1,041 | $0.16 |
| Southern Baptist Theological Seminary | SBC | 107 | 1,866 | $0.06 |
| New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary | SBC | 75.2 | 871 | $0.09 |
| Gateway Seminary | SBC | 59.4 | 782 | $0.08 |
| Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary | SBC | 48.7 | 1,085 | $0.04 |
| Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary | SBC | 31 | 1,502 | $0.02 |
| United Methodist Seminaries | Denomination | LTI$ (millions) | Enrollment (FTE) | Investment-per-student ratio ($MIL) |
| Candler School of Theology of Emory University | UMC | 315.8 | 412 | $0.77 |
| Duke University Divinity School | UMC | 267 | 570 | $0.47 |
| Perkins School of Theology Southern Methodist University | UMC | 231.2 | 145 | $1.59 |
| Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary | UMC | 118.3 | 190 | $0.62 |
| Boston University School of Theology | UMC | 107.4 | 255 | $0.42 |
| Wesley Theological Seminary | UMC | 56.8 | 302 | $0.19 |
| Methodist Theological School in Ohio | UMC | 53.4 | 86 | $0.62 |
| Iliff School of Theology | UMC | 39.3 | 132 | $0.30 |
| Drew University Theological School | UMC | 37.7 | 304 | $0.12 |
| Saint Paul School of Theology | UMC | 34.8 | 66 | $0.53 |
| Claremont School of Theology | UMC | 16.4 | 96 | $0.17 |
| United Theological Seminary | UMC | 9 | 515 | $0.02 |
| Anglican / Episcopal Seminaries | Denomination | LTI$ (millions) | Enrollment (FTE) | Investment-per-student ratio ($MIL) |
| Virginia Theological Seminary | EPISC | 182.2 | 152 | $1.20 |
| University of the South School of Theology (Sewanee) | EPISC | 59.9 | 103 | $0.58 |
| Seminary of the Southwest | EPISC | 40.7 | 92 | $0.44 |
| General Theological Seminary | EPISC | 33.9 | 22 | $1.54 |
| Church Divinity School of the Pacific | EPISC | 28.7 | 28 | $1.03 |
| Trinity Anglican Seminary | ANGOTH | 27.3 | 90 | $0.30 |
| Bexley Hall Seabury-Western Theological Seminary | EPISC | 9 | 34 | $0.26 |
| Nashotah House | EPISC/ANGOTH | 9 | 76 | $0.12 |
| Reformed Episcopal Seminary | RFEPISC/ANGOTH | 1 | 8 | $0.13 |
| Berkeley Divinity School (Yale) | EPISC | 0 | 0 |
| PCUSA Affiliated Seminaries | Denomination | LTI$ (millions) | Enrollment (FTE) | Investment-per-student ratio ($MIL) |
| Princeton Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 1358.2 | 276 | $4.92 |
| Columbia Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 268.8 | 140 | $1.92 |
| Pittsburgh Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 236.1 | 90 | $2.62 |
| Union Presbyterian Seminary | PCUSA | 171.4 | 155 | $1.11 |
| Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 165 | 91 | $1.81 |
| Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 86.5 | 100 | $0.87 |
| McCormick Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 80 | 45 | $1.78 |
| San Francisco Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 34.1 | 65 | $0.52 |
| University of Dubuque Theological Seminary | PCUSA | 17.1 | 81 | $0.21 |
