There are three basic types of educational delivery for graduate education:
- In-person/on-campus
- A hybrid of online and in-person intensives
- Fully online
IWS embraces a hybrid of an online and in-person intensive model of educational delivery for graduate education.
The IWS low-residency educational approach is focused on building an intentional learning community through face-to-face interaction.
The IWS model of educational delivery reinforces the nature of the Christian community and fits into the student’s schedule and budget. Each course at IWS has an applied emphasis during the intensive weeks so that students make a direct impact on their ministry contexts. The goal is to prepare our students intellectually and spiritually to lead the church in God-honoring worship. The result is an applicable and stimulating academic experience.
“I can’t think of any other school that is doing what IWS is doing. I love the different denominations and cultures coming together as worship leaders learn to worship the Triune God with excellence.”
Dr. Laura Story, GRAMMY Award Winner & IWS Alumna and Trustee
The IWS hybrid approach of educational delivery also allows students to study with a superior faculty of leading scholars from various exemplary colleges, universities, seminaries, and churches. Students, faculty, staff, and administration gather for one-week intensives in January and June — we eat, study, and worship together and experience community based on honest and open relationships. These are missing elements from the online-only programs. In these and other ways, the IWS creates an atmosphere of learning in community. It is an exciting venture in high-powered but non-competitive intelligent and experiential learning.
“IWS has provided me a community that gathers for rigorous theological study, hands-on training, and personal reflection. We get changed, and I think it’s part of how God intends to change the church.”
– Dr. Reggie Kidd, IWS Professor
As listed in the chart below, in IWS’s list of competitor schools, seventeen of their programs are fully online, fifteen programs are in person/on campus, and eleven programs are various hybrids of online and intensives:
| College/University | In Person / On Campus | Hybrid: Online + Intensives | Fully Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies | |||
| Master of Worship Studies (MWS) | No | Yes | No |
| Doctor of Worship Studies (DWS) | No | Yes | No |
| Baptist College of Florida | |||
| Music and Worship Leadership (MA) | No | No | Yes |
| B.H. Carroll Theological Institute | |||
| Worship (MA) | No | No | Yes |
| California Baptist University | |||
| Worship Arts (MA) | No | Yes | No |
| Cedarville University | |||
| Worship and Theology (MA) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Dallas Baptist University | |||
| Worship Studies (MA) | Unknown | Yes | No |
| Fuller Seminary | |||
| Theology (MA) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Lee University | |||
| Music and Worship (MM) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Liberty University | |||
| Worship Studies (MA) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Worship Studies (DWS) | No | No | Yes |
| New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary | |||
| Worship Ministry (MA) – (SBC) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Worship Ministry (MA) – (Non-SBC) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| North Central University | |||
| Strategic Leadership: Worship Arts track (MA) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Seattle Pacific University (Seattle Pacific Seminary) | |||
| Theology (MA) Worship and the Arts | Yes | No | No |
| Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary | |||
| Worship Ministry (MA) – Baptist or military | Yes | No | No |
| Worship Ministry (MA) – Non-Baptist | Yes | No | No |
| Southern Baptist Theological Seminary | |||
| Worship Leadership (MA) – SBC | Yes | No | Yes |
| Worship Leadership (MA) – Non-SBC | Yes | No | Yes |
| Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary | |||
| Worship Leadership (MA) – SBC | Yes | No | Yes |
| Worship Leadership (MA) – non-SBC | Yes | No | Yes |
| Trevecca Nazarene University | |||
| African American Worship Studies (MA) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Worship and Leadership (MA) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Visible Music College | |||
| Worship (MA) | No | Yes | No |
| World Mission University | |||
| Worship Studies (MA) | Yes | No | Yes |