Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary is a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. Joel R. Beeke was the president of Puritan Reformed from 1995 to 2023 and currently serves as the chancellor, while Adriaan C. Neele serves as the president and Gerald M. Bilkes as the vice president. Founded by the

Heritage Reformed Congregations The Heritage Reformed Congregations (HRC) is a Reformed denomination in the United States and Canada influenced by the tradition of English Puritanism and the Dutch ''Nadere Reformatie''. History The Heritage Reformed Congregations denominat ...

in 1995, Puritan Reformed is a graduate school that offers both masters' and

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

degrees. All of its faculty subscribe to the

Three Forms of Unity The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by man ...

and the

Westminster Standards The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–1649). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Direc ...

. Since 1998, the

Free Reformed Churches of North America The Free Reformed Churches of North America (FRCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of churches in the Dutch Calvinist tradition with congregations in the United States and Canada. It officially adopted its current name in 1974. Thes ...

(FRCNA) has sent its theological students to Puritan Reformed.

International Campuses

Apart from the main campus in Grand Rapids, Puritan Reformed has five global extension campuses for the ThM degree in Africa (

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

), Asia (

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

), Europe (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

), the Middle East (

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

) and South America (

São José dos Campos São José dos Campos (, meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a major city and the seat of the Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. One of the leading industrial and res ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Accreditation

The state of Michigan has granted Puritan Reformed a degree-granting

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

and has approved their degree offerings. Puritan Reformed offers six accredited degrees: the

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

(

MDiv For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

( MA), Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling (MABC),

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

( ThM),

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is a doctorate in religious ministry. It often includes an original research component, and may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in ministry. It is categorized as an advanced doctoral de ...

( DMin), and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

). In February 2014, Puritan Reformed became

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. History The ATS was found ...

. The Master of Theology (ThM) degree program is also approved at the following five extension sites: Alexandria Governorate-

Governorate,

Taipei City , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Countr ...

, and Pretoria,

Research Centers

The Puritan Research Center began in conjunction with the

Theological University of Apeldoorn The Theological University of Apeldoorn (TUA) is the Dutch theological university of the Christian Reformed Churches (Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken). More than 130 students study at the university in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. The theological co ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

to establish an associated combined doctoral program and to encourage research in

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

studies. The Jonathan Edwards Center is part of international network centers dedicated to research, education, and publication on

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

and his context. The first Jonathan Edwards Center began at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, and subsequently many such centers were planted in six continents. It was announced during the International Jonathan Edwards Conference at Yale University, on October 4, 2019, that Edwards Center-Midwest would be moving to Puritan Reformed. The Center for Classical Reformed Systematic Theology was established in cooperation with the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public university, public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in ...

for postdoctoral research in Reformed systematic theology. The Geerhardus Vos Center was established at Puritan Reformed for the advancement and dissemination of research that advances the interrelationship and cross-fertilization of exegetical, biblical, and systematic theology in the context of Reformed epistemology.

References

External links

* Seminaries and theological colleges in Michigan Reformed church seminaries and theological colleges in the United States Education in Grand Rapids, Michigan Educational institutions established in 1995 Universities and colleges in Kent County, Michigan 1995 establishments in Michigan {{Seminary-stub