Fuller Theological Seminary
Encyclopedia
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
and several satellite campuses in the western United States. The seminary has over 4,300 students from over 67 countries and 108 denominations, and has been described as "arguably the most influential, by number of pastors and educators trained..."
History
Fuller Theological Seminary was founded in 1947 by Charles E. FullerCharles E. Fuller
Charles Edward Fuller was an American Christian clergyman and a radio evangelist.Charles Fuller was born in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from Pomona College in 1910, he worked in the citrus packing business in southern California until 1918...
, a radio evangelist known for his "Old Fashioned Revival Hour" show, and Harold Ockenga
Harold Ockenga
Harold John Ockenga was a leading figure of 20th century American evangelicalism, part of the reform movement known as "Neo-Evangelicalism". A Congregational minister, Ockenga served for many years as pastor of Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts. He was also a prolific author on...
, the pastor of Park Street Church
Park Street Church
The Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts is an active Conservative Congregational Church at the corner of Tremont Street and Park Street. The church is currently pastored by Gordon P. Hugenberger.-History:...
in Boston. With its founding, the seminary's founders sought to reform fundamentalism
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
from its separatist and sometimes anti-intellectual stance of the 1920-40 era. Fuller envisaged that the seminary would become "a Caltech
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
of the evangelical world."
Most of the earliest faculty held to theologically and socially conservative views, though professors with differing perspectives arrived in the 1960s and 1970s. There were tensions in the late 1950s and early 1960s as some faculty members became uncomfortable with staff and students who did not agree with Biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that the Bible is accurate and totally free of error, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact." Some equate inerrancy with infallibility; others do not.Conservative Christians generally believe that...
. This led to the people associated with the seminary playing a role in the rise of new-evangelicalism. More recently, the seminary's “philosophy is gaining pivotal play both in Christian and secular arenas.”
Richard Mouw
Richard Mouw
Richard J. Mouw is currently President at Fuller Theological Seminary. He also holds the post of Professor of Christian Philosophy.- Education and career :...
has served as president of Fuller since 1993. In 2006 a Los Angeles Times article labeled him as "one of the nation's leading evangelicals".
Theology and academics
Fuller is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and CanadaAssociation of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has more than 250 member institutions...
and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
. Fuller's student body of more than 4,000 includes students from more than 70 countries and 100 denominational backgrounds.
Fuller admits evangelicals from both conservative and liberal perspectives. The seminary is also frequently at the center of debate among religious and secular intellectuals on issues ranging from politics, religion, science and culture.” Fuller instructors have been cited as proposing a different perspective on the conservative/liberal debate: "We need to be the voice of a third way that flows out of biblical values, instead of buying into the political ideology of either the right or the left."
Schools and degrees
Fuller Theological Seminary is organized into three schools of theology, psychology, and intercultural studies. The seminary emphasizes the integration of the three and many students take courses in more than one school. The seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.School of Theology
The School of Theology is the oldest school at Fuller and blends academic theology and practical ministry training. Most graduates from the School of Theology serve in roles as pastors, teachers, or lay ministers at churches of almost every denomination--throughout the U.S. and the world.The School of Theology offers the following degrees: Master of Divinity
Master of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
(MDiv), Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(MA) in Theology, MA in Christian Leadership, MA in Theology and Ministry, Doctor of Ministry
Doctor of Ministry
The Doctor of Ministry degree is, according to The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada , a doctoral level degree oriented toward ministerial leadership often in an area of applied theology, such as missions, evangelism, church leadership, pastoral psychology or the...
, Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(PhD) in Theology, and Master of Theology (ThM).
School of Psychology
Fuller’s School of Psychology opened in 1965 and is the first seminary-based psychology program to receive accreditation from the American Psychological Association. The School of Psychology consists of two different departments: Clinical Psychology and Marriage and Family. Research in the School of Psychology takes place within the context of Travis Research Institute, named after the school's founding Dean, Lee Edward Travis. Distinctive centers have been established for biopsychosocial research; the study of stress, trauma, and adjustment; research in psychotherapy and religion; and child and adolescent development research.The School of Psychology offers the following degrees: MA in Family Studies, MS in Marital and Family Therapy, Doctor of Psychology
Doctor of Psychology
The Doctor of Psychology degree is a professional doctorate earned through one of two established training models for clinical psychology...
in Clinical Psychology (PsyD), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Clinical Psychology.
School of Intercultural Studies
The School of Intercultural Studies was founded as the School of World Mission in 1965. The school equips students to serve in ministries and organizations with a cross-cultural focus. More than 3,500 alumni/ae are now serving in over 150 countries in a wide range of cross-cultural contexts and areas of work including missions and nonprofit organizations, church planting and pastoral ministry, education, and international development.The School of Intercultural Studies offers the following degrees: MA in Intercultural Studies (in English and Korean language), MA in Global Leadership (earned primarily online), ThM in Missiology
Missiology
Missiology is the area of practical theology that investigates the mandate, message, and mission of the Christian church, especially the nature of missionary work...
(in English and Korean language), Doctor of Ministry in Global Ministries (in Korean language), Doctor of Missiology, and PhD in Intercultural Studies.
Campuses
In May 2009, Fuller opened its 90000 square feet (8,361.3 m²) David Allan Hubbard Library that incorporated the former McAlister Library building at its main campus in Pasadena, California.In addition to its main campus in Pasadena, Fuller Theological Seminary offers classes at several regional campuses located in the western United States: Fuller Northwest (Seattle), Fuller Northern California
Fuller Northern California
Fuller Seminary Northern California is one of Fuller Theological Seminary's seven regional campuses. Fuller Seminary has two campuses where students can earn a degree – one in Menlo Park, which serves those living in the San Francisco Bay Area, East Bay, South Bay, and the other in Sacramento,...
(Bay Area and Sacramento), Fuller California Coast, Fuller Southwest (Phoenix), Fuller Colorado (Colorado Springs), and Fuller Texas (Houston). The seminary also offers several distance learning courses online.