Welcome to DTS!
Orientation and Welcome Events
You are invited to attend an orientation event at the campus closest to you. Dallas, Houston, and DC each have a live orientation event, and if you are at an extension site or online, you are encouraged attend the closest live event or watch the orientation videos, including a live-streaming welcome session.
Dallas | Houston | Washington, DC | Online & Extension |
| Friday, August 23, 2019 8:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. | Saturday, August 17, 2019 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Saturday, August 24, 2019 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Monday, August 26, 2019 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. (central) |
First Steps as a Student
Now that you are a DTS student, here are the key first steps you should take before your program begins.
As a DTS student, you will use OneLogin (dts.onelogin.com) to access all of our websites. 1-2 days after you are accepted, you will receive a link to create your OneLogin password. If you have any trouble, you can click the “Reset Password” link.
- www.dts.edu – use the person icon in the upper right to access all the DTS websites
- students.dts.edu – (this website) has links to register for classes, pay your bill, apply for scholarships, and more
- library.dts.edu – search books at DTS libraries or online, and download templates for DTS papers
- online.dts.edu – where all your course materials will be including videos for online courses and where all assignments are submitted
- DTS Technology – information about wifi, requesting a @dallasseminary.edu address, and online requirements
We’re excited for you to take your first classes! Most master’s students will need to register for introductory courses like BE101, ST101, and PM105 in their first semester.
Below are some tools to help you plan your first semester:
- DTS Course Schedule – shows all available classes and lets you filter by your local campus
- Degree Plan Examples – examples of how to complete your degree part-time or full-time
- Talk to an Advisor – speak with your Admissions counselor or setup a time with your campus and degree advisor
- Transfer and Advanced Standing – information on how to test out of courses before you begin
Registration Deadlines for New Masters Students
- April 1 – Summer Courses
- July 1 – Fall Courses
- November 1 – Spring and Winter Courses
If you are accepted after these dates, you have a two week window to register for courses without incurring a late fee or other delays.
Academic Advising Introduction
DTS donors make more than $4 million in scholarship dollars available every year which helps ensure that very few students need to take out student loans.
US Students
The requirements for need-based scholarships for US students are:
- maintaining a GPA of 2.5 or above
- being in the ThM, MABC, MABEL, MACE, MACM, MACL, or MAMW programs
- maintaining a job while in school
- Dallas and Online students need to take 9+ hours, Houston students need to take 6+ hours, and DC and other extensions need to take at least 3 hours
The deadlines for need-based scholarships for new US students are:
- May 1 for Fall courses
- November 1 for Spring courses
Apply for Need-based Scholarships
Additional Resources
International Students
If you are an international student studying on a visa, please visit this website about Finances and Scholarships. If you have additional questions please email the International Student Office at internationaloffice@dts.edu.
Introduction from Financial Aid
Show your friends (and local movie theaters) that you’re part of the DTS family with your DTS student ID.
Just upload a good photo, and we’ll mail it to you a few weeks into the semester.
It’s time to start digging deep into God’s word.
About 7 weeks before your first semester, you’ll receive an email from Faithlife (the company that makes Logos Bible Software) telling you that your Logos license and additional books have been unlocked. For now, you can install the free version:
Student Handbook
Make sure you take a look at the DTS Student Handbook to know important policies of the seminary:
Student Portal
Then take some time to explore the Student Portal (students.dts.edu) for everything you need to know as a students. This website is really your one stop for things like student events, academic advising, financial aid, and so on.
If you cannot find what you are looking for, please email studentlife@dts.edu and we will be happy to help.
Dallas Campus students have a few additional things that may apply to them:
- Find your DTS Box Number – for professors to return papers
- DTS Parking Sticker – if you plan to drive to campus
- Find Housing – live on campus or get help finding off-campus housing
- Job Board – ministry work and other jobs in the Dallas area
Before School Starts
Before your first semester begins, there are a few additional steps we’d like you to take to be prepared for your first semester.
You can sign up for weather/emergency texts related to your campus, and you can also receive texts related to deadlines and other events on campus.
To ensure the safety of all students on campus and to model the kind of environment that grads should create in their ministries, we ask that incoming students submit to an online screening. You will receive and email from Goodhire with instructions on how to complete the process.
The staff of the Division of Student Life want to help you succeed. An online psychological assessment is administered to each entering student for the purpose of assessing for personal struggles that could be detrimental to academic studies and future ministries. We encourage you to complete it as soon as possible. After the assessment, you may be contacted confidentially to review your results and discuss services that could be helpful to you.
The assessment should take about 15 minutes to complete. Please take the assessment alone in one sitting in a quiet place with minimal distractions. To begin, please use the link and session code below and then follow the directions on the screen.
Begin Assessment (code: VhlSOCasRH)
Note: The assessment will ask for the last four digits of your Social Security number. If you do not have a Social Security number issued by the US Government, you can just use the last four digits of your DTS Student ID.
What is the TBTK?
The Test of Biblical and Theological Knowledge (TBTK), which you’ll take here at the beginning of your program and again at when you graduate, helps DTS assess itself and see if how well we are teaching key material.
That means the TBTK is not a test of how much you know now, but of how much your change through your time at DTS. DTS does not look at your individual score, it only compares aggregate data on incoming and graduating classes.
When is the TBTK Offered?
- Spring or Fall Starting Students – If you are starting your seminary classes in the spring or fall semester, you will take the TBTK during your first month of classes. You will receive an invite to take this assessment through the DTS online learning platform (online.dts.edu).
- Summer Starting Students – If you are starting your seminary classes in the summer semester, you will take the TBTK during your first month of classes in the following fall semester. You will receive an invite to take this assessment the following fall semester through the DTS online learning platform (online.dts.edu).
What is the Test Like?
This test is a closed Bible, closed book assessment that is to be taken by yourself without any help.
This test is 150 questions – 75 Bible and 75 theology.
There is a time limit of 75 minutes which starts once you proceed. This gives you an average of 30 seconds per question.
DTS and Ministry Safe have partnered to offer Sexual Abuse Awareness Training. This proactive education seeks to equip current students and DTS alumni with a clear understanding of child sexual abuse, sexual abusers, effective preventative protocols, a compassionate model of care addressing the needs of abuse survivors, and an appropriate response to abuse allegations arising in church and ministry environments.
Please watch this video before proceeding.
You will be asked some basic info to get you registered on the Ministry Safe training site:
- Under Employee/Volunteer, select “volunteer”
- Under Tags, select “Student”
- Under Type of Training, select “Sexual Abuse Awareness Training (2018)”
Once you complete the Ministry Safe training (which will take you about an hour to complete), there is a brief quiz on the Ministry Safe training website. After you complete this quiz with a passing score, you will receive a certificate on the Ministry Safe training website.
Note: If you have previously completed Ministry Safe at your church or your place of service, you can simply email a copy of your certificate from your previous training to studentlife@dts.edu.
DTS is committed to maintaining an environment conductive to learning for all students and a professional workplace for its employees. As such we take active measures against discriminatory harassment and sexual harassment, including any type of violence or misconduct.
Please watch this twelve minute video before you start classes:
Our entire policy can be read at www.dts.edu/title-ix
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