Admission (Table of Contents)

Greetings from Ketlie D. Henry, director of the Central Admissions and Record office of the Inter-American Adventist Theological Seminary (IATS). This office is at your service for any question you have about the IATS, a multi-site Seminary. We serve as your guide and assistance during the admission process. In addition, once you are admitted, we make all the efforts necessary to conserve, update, safeguard confidentiality, and share appropriately your academic records whether you are active or inactive as per the requirements of the law and beyond. We pledge to accompany you at every step of your journey at any of our ten sites (Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela) and make your academic success and your spiritual growth, our greatest achievements.

The accrediting agencies approved the following degree programs: 

Admission process

  1.  Everyone interested in entering one of the Seminary programs may apply directly for admission materials by calling +1 (305) 403-4541, by writing to [email protected] or through the local coordinator at the closest affiliated site.
  2. The employing organizations or institutions of the SDAC recommend workers who desire scholarships in IATS’ programs. The boards of those organizations or institutions must notify these workers and direct them to the Local Coordinator’s Office of the program found at the nearest affiliated IATS institution, from which they might receive the Application for Admission packet.
  3. Workers of SDAC institutions, who wish to enroll in one of the IATS’ programs, must first apply to communicate with their employing organization, be considered in the scholarship program and receive a study permit.
  4. An official letter must accompany special requests for admission for workers from other Divisions from the respective Division administration.
  5. The local Admissions Commission studies the application and the materials that must be sent to the IATS Administration Committee.
  6. The student is notified that his/her application is accepted or denied through the site Coordinator.
  7. The student is responsible for handing in all necessary documentation before the date when classes begin.

Student Status

Regular: For students who meet all of the requirements for admission to the IATS’s graduate programs, and all of the specific departmental requirements for the proposed studies. The Local Coordinator indicates the evaluation of the above in an appropriate form, which accompanies the academic application forms as the Central Admissions Committee sends them to the Office of Admissions for further processing and consideration. Any exception to these minimal norms for regular admission must be recommended and justified in writing by the Local Coordinator and sent to the Seminary’s Admissions and Records Director.

Provisional: For students who do not fully comply with one or more of the regular admission requirements, but in the Local Coordinator’s judgment, and after consulting the Seminary Officials, believe the missing requirements can be completed within a reasonable period.

Permission to take classes: Non-degree students, CPE participants, and auditors who have complied with all the requirements regarding their specific admission will be authorized to register on a PTC basis [permission to take courses] with a possibility of earning academic credits depending on the case. The petitioner who wishes to follow advanced studies without the intention of acquiring an academic degree in the IATS may request authorization to enroll in a permissive category to take a class (PTC). To serve the constituents and the community, a limited number of promissory students may be admitted who do not necessarily qualify for

enrollment in an academic program. They may select courses favorable to their needs and those areas where they may have had previous exposure and experience.

Participants not Enrolled in a degree program

At times, some people who are not enrolled in one of the Seminary’s academic programs may be interested in a course taught as part of the curriculum. The IATS recognizes this need and has a provision to satisfy it. A student may audit a course without having the right to academic credit. These persons must make sure that all conditions and consequences involved in this privilege are understood.

For more detailed information about the admission process, among others, click here to see the Catalog. If any doubt, question or request for additional information arises, you can contact me at [email protected] and I will gladly assist you.