Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary is an educational institution whose mission is to prepare students to serve Christ and His church through biblical, experiential, and practical ministry. The seminary aims that such training be God-glorifying and be in accord with the Scriptures and historic Reformed creeds. We believe that this purpose is well-served by providing theological instruction and training that develops knowledge and skills as well as the personal piety and Christian character that is essential for faithful Christian ministry.
We are committed to the conviction that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as originally written are God’s inerrant Word inspired by His Spirit and therefore are the only, sufficient, and infallible authority for faith and practice. The English translation used by the faculty for instruction in the classroom is the King James Version.
Foundational to the character and mission of the seminary is its identity as a confessionally Reformed institution. Each faculty member, the seminary as an institution, and its supporting and governing denominations, Heritage Reformed Congregation, and Free Reformed Churches, subscribe to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith as expressed in the Ecumenical Creeds and to the teaching of the Reformed faith as expressed in the Three Forms of Unity (The Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort) and the Westminster Standards of the 1640s. From these sources flow our Reformed perspective, our value system, our motivation for ministry, and our curricular emphases.
The following video provides a visual introduction to the seminary.
This book has many biographies. Here is extensive coverage of Luther, Zwingli & Calvin. A larger biography of Calvin is here. Other great reformers were Savonarola, John Huss, Peter Waldo, and John Wyclif. Other influential men during these times were Oecolampadius, John Knox, Philipp Melanchthon, Peter Martyr, William Tyndale, William Farel, Theodore Beza, and Heinrich Bullinger.
Read this.
The PRTS doctrinal statement is contained in either the Three Forms of Unity or the Westminster Confession. You can see these documents on our front page in the section entitled Theological Distinctives.
Information regarding our faculty is here.
You can listen to any of our recorded lectures. Please contact the director of distance learning for these recordings. Then you will be able to download them and listen to them at your leisure. We also have a great deal of material available here.
Here.
Please find the tuition rates here.
A credit hour is the U.S. way of telling you how many lectures are required in a given course. One credit hour is 700 minutes of professor/student time per semester. This breaks down to fourteen sessions of fifty minutes each credit hour. Most PRTS courses are three credit hours, but some are two or four credits.
These are the degrees PRTS offers. We also offer a Certificate in Systematic theology.
First, we record all of our class lectures, and you are welcome to audit these freely. Contact the director of distance learning if you are interested.
Second, we have excellent courses in the original languages (here and here). These courses are specifically designed for distance learners. This is a great way to get ahead in your seminary education since language credits easily transfer regardless of which seminary you attend.
Third, we have some courses that can be taken via distance learning for credit. You can see a list of these courses here.
No, PRTS requires that fifty percent of any degree be earned on campus. The Certificates, however, an be earned entirely via distance learning.
Please read the distance learning policies.
Yes, we have one of the finest online Greek classes available anywhere. We use the inductive method for teaching both Greek and Hebrew. This class is free to auditors. If you wish to take the course for credit, please fill out this form. There is no obligation. Each student is given thirty days to taste the course before he commits by paying the tuition.
Good. We have a course in Hebrew similar to the Greek class. This class is freely available online.
Certainly not. When you enroll in either language course you will have access to the tutorial assistance of Chris Engelsma. He is accessible six days a week from 8am to 4:30pm EDT by phone, instant message, or email. It is also possible to do screen-shares. He welcomes your contact and values these interactions. Please don’t hesitate to ask for help whenever you need it.
Chris Engelsma
2965 Leonard NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
Office: (616) 977-0599 x137
Cell: (616) 350-5160
chris.engelsma@puritanseminary.org
The cost of tuition for the certificate program courses (calculated per credit hour) can be found here. The cost of books would need to be added to this.
The distance learning courses are administered exactly the same as our on-campus courses. The distance student is brought into the classroom via video-conferencing. He is held to the same attendance policy, grading standards, and deadlines as the on-campus students.
The independent study courses are different. The standards and deadlines are set by an agreement between the overseeing professor and the student. Hence, they vary from course to course.
The original language classes are also independent studies, but they work somewhat differently. These classes are broken down into lessons, each with their own assignment, vocabulary quiz, and grammar quiz. Each student is given one year to complete the course.
The distance learning courses required a good (DSL or cable) internet connection. The independent study courses only require the internet to upload assignments and such. Contact the director if this is an issue.
Yes.
FIrst, you will need an internet browser to access our online course management system.
Second, you will need some kind of software to listen/watch lectures. This one will play both audio and video and is recommended. You will also need a word processor; this one is free.
Third, in the distance learning courses, your computer will have to be able to run our video-conferencing software. We will run a test on your computer to ensure that it can do this prior to the beginning of the course.
Course materials can be accessed here. This is our online course management system. Each class has its own homepage on this site.
You can do this freely. Contact the director.
All distance learning courses are for credit. If you wish to audit a courses’s lectures, you can do that freely. Contact the director.
No.
Please find the tuition rates here.
A credit hour is the U.S. way of telling you how many lectures are required in a given course. One credit hour is 700 minutes of professor/student time per semester. This breaks down to fourteen sessions of fifty minutes each credit hour. Most PRTS courses are three credit hours, but some are two or four credits.
The seminary’s distance learning policies will apply.
Not very much. In the distance learning courses, you will be online during the class lecture time. For the other courses, you only need to be online to download course materials, pay your tuition, search the library, etc.
Textbooks can be purchased anywhere you please. The seminary bookstore is here.
A basic knowledge is all that is required. The only skills necessary are the receiving and sending of email and email attachments, listening to audio files, and word processing skills. The director will gladly walk you through anything that puzzles you.
- To access the library catalog online, click on “Find Books” under Library, or go directly here
- Select from the menu if you want to search by “Keyword,” “Title,” Author,” “Subject,” or “ISBN”
- Enter your search term; then, if you only want to search the PRTS Library, select “PRTS.” (If you leave it as “View Entire Collection,” it will also search Cornerstone University Library).
- When your book (or list of books) comes up as “Available,” write down the CALL NUMBER–this will tell you where it is located in the PRTS (or Cornerstone) Library.
- By clicking on the title (in blue) you can find out more about the book.
Once you find the book in the online catalog, you can locate it by the Call Number on the library shelves (see FAQ #5). Checking out books from the libraries at either Cornerstone or Kuyper requires your PRTS ID number. Once you find your books on their shelves, bring them to the front desk and someone will assist you. If you are not a PRTS student or staff, you will need to apply for a Guest card from the individual library, whether Cornerstone, Kuyper, or PRTS. The Circulation Policy for all three institutions is available here.
Zondervan Library hours of operation are Monday through Thursday 8 am to 10 pm; Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm; and Saturday 10 am to 5 pm. Miller Library hours of operation are generally 7:30 am to midnight, Monday – Thursday, but closing on 5pm on Friday and Saturday.
Most books are due in 4 weeks. You can renew most books for an additional 4 weeks by going online with your PRTS ID number (“My Library Account” link on the catalog home page).
You may not check out Reference books (shelved in the Reference section), Magazines, Journals, or antiquarian books.
Guest borrowers may have additional restrictions (see the Circulation/Borrowing Policy)
PRTS, Cornerstone, and Kuyper libraries are all organized by Library of Congress Subjects and Call Numbers. For example, most of our Bible commentaries will be shelved together in the BS471–BS2825 range, in order of the books of the Bible. (Genesis: BS1235– to Revelation: BS2825.)
At PRTS only, books by or about the Puritans are housed in the PRC (see FAQ #9). Secondary source works about the Puritans are shelved by LC Call Number, but books by the Puritans themselves (Primary Sources) are shelved in alphabetic order by the last name of the author.
These numbers were assigned in PRTS Library’s previous system (not at CU Library, however). They were retained in our online catalog to enable searches by the JRB number, using the “ISBN” search. If you know the JRB number, simply type it in as a search by ISBN. Need help with this? Ask our Library staff or submit an “Ask a Librarian” request.
Books restricted for limited class access are shelved separately in PRTS (and CU) Library. These books are restricted to a 4-hour checkout in order to make them available to all students in the course.
Try searching the WorldCat database, the world’s largest catalog of library-owned materials. You can then obtain these books either by interlibrary loan, or by finding them in a Grand Rapids area library.
Click here for a complete description of the Puritan Research Center.
PRTS Library has hundreds of rare books, depending on one’s definition of ‘rare.’ Most of these are part of the Puritan Research Collection. Many date back to the late 16th century, such as John Knox’s (1560) An Answer to a Great Number of Blasphemous Cavillations written by an Anabaptist…. A few other gems include: William Attersoll’s (1610) Continuation of the Exposition of the Book of Numbers, of the History of Balak…; and Niels Hemmingsen’s (1569) Exposition of the Gospels…; and John Downame’s (1609) The Christian Warfare.
One rare title of particular interest for its provenance is the 3-volume Works of William Perkins, printed in 1626. This set was owned by Charles Spurgeon, and passed on to another great expositor, Arthur Pink, whose numerous handwritten notes appear in the margins of all three volumes.
If a book is lost or damaged, you may be charged a replacement fee–this includes not only the cost of replacing the book (closest edition available), but a processing fee to find and re-catalog the new book, and prepare it for the shelf. If such a fee is charged, your library account may be blocked until paid in full. In the case where books are “lost,” but later found and returned to PRTS Library, the replacement cost will be waived or refunded, and a late fee will be assessed instead.
For more information, refer to the PRTS Damaged Book Policy.
Books that are not returned by the due date are considered overdue. A courtesy reminder will be sent to the borrower’s email address three days prior to when an item is due. An overdue notice will be emailed to the patron three days after the item is due. If the item is still not returned within 11 more days, (14 total) a replacement bill is sent. This will include a $40 default cost for any item, a $30 processing fee, and a $5 billing fee, for a total of $75. If the material is later returned, the charges would be removed except for the $5 billing fee, per item.
Assistance from Library staff is readily available for finding and checking out books.
- Assistance finding books that are not in PRTS library or finding journal articles should be directed to our Librarian by email or by using the online “Ask-a-Librarian” form.
- InterLibrary Loan is a service available (only) to PRTS’ currently registered students or staff (The same is true at CU Library–restricted to registered CU students/staff). Sorry, but alumni and guests are unable to borrow by ILL (due to license restrictions).
PRTS students in the USA and Canada currently registered as distance education students are able to borrow books from PRTS Library and to have them mailed to their home. They are responsible for return postage and must observe the usual loan periods (4 weeks from receipt of books, though they may also renew books online.)
Distance students requesting journal articles from any of our three full-text article collections or our print journal collection should email the librarian (laura.mustafa@puritanseminary.org) to request the pdf article.
Interlibrary Loan requests for books are often more efficient when processed through the distance education student’s local library–though we are happy to provide research assistance in finding books as requested.
Interlibrary Loan requests for articles may be placed via the request item link within the online subscription databases on the library website.
InterLibrary Loan is a service available (only) to PRTS currently registered students or staff. (The same is true at CU Library–restricted to registered CU students/staff.) Sorry, but alumni and guests are unable to borrow by ILL (due to license restrictions).
For a full explanation of ILL Policies & Procedures, please see the “Student’s Guide to the Library,” available at the circulation counter. For more information on ILL and journal articles, see the PRTS Interlibrary Loan Policy.
Journals & Articles
- Many of our journals are indexed in the FirstSearch database, especially in the ATLA-Religion collection, where many theology/ministry-related articles are also available ‘full-text online.’ This is a licensed database restricted to our currently registered students and staff. If you are PRTS students, call or email Library staff for access information.
- There are certain “open-access” journals that provide free access to articles in theology, religion, and ministry. See our “Research Guides” page for suggested open-access journals.
PRTS Library subscribes to about 130 periodicals, and has back files of several decades for many journals.
Do a Journal Title search in the online catalog to find print journals or magazines in the library.
Many of our journals are indexed in the ATLA-Religion collection, where many theology/ministry-related articles are also available ‘full-text online.’ This is a licensed database restricted to our currently registered students and staff. If you are PRTS students, call or email Library staff for access information.
There are certain “open-access” journals that provide free access to articles in theology, religion, and ministry. See the Research Guides page for links.
Internet & Databases
PRTS Library has individual carrels with network ports and electric outlets for laptop computers; wireless access to the network is also available. There are three public access computers with Internet access for student and guest use.
- ATLA-Religion
- CPI (Christian Periodical Index)
- NTA (New Testament Abstracts)
- OTA (Old Testament Abstracts)
- Religion & Philosophy Collection
Zotero is a freely available online bibliographic management system. It enables one to create Turabian style bibliographies from data available online, through databases, from library catalogs, etc. For a full description and demo, click here.
Journals & Articles
PRTS Library is generally open to the public, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. (PRTS students and staff have extended access hours.)
Everyone is welcome to visit PRTS Library during its regular hours (see FAQ #11). Guests from Cornerstone University have borrowing privileges much the same as at Cornerstone’s Library. Other guests may apply for a Guest Borrower’s card. (Some borrowing restrictions apply, and an annual $10 fee is required.) For more information about guest borrowing, click here.
