Wondering if IWS is right for you? Fresh out of your undergraduate studies and not sure yet if graduate school is the right decision at this time in your life? Have you been out of the classroom for a while and have some understandable concerns about returning to the academic realm? Maybe you’re not a worship leader–maybe you’re not even employed by a church and you’re concerned that you might not fit into the IWS community. Maybe your church background doesn’t look very much like some of the pictures right here on the website. 

As an IWS student, you will learn to approach Christian worship in a way that is grounded in biblical theology and church history, worship and the arts, Christian formation, and the church’s role in advocating for culturally intelligence. All of our students, whether they’re in the MWS or DWS program, are immersed in what our founder Bob Webber called “the four-fold order of worship” (i.e., Gathering, The Word, Communion/Thanksgiving, and Sending).

While we have many worship leaders and music ministers in our student body, IWS has enjoyed an increasing number of senior pastors, teachers, theologians, and missionaries in recent years. Students don’t necessarily need to be employed by a church in order to begin a program at IWS. Rather, our students simply need to have a ministry context that they call their own and into which they can apply what they’re learning at IWS. Perhaps your context is a congregation or a classroom. Perhaps you volunteer in your church’s worship team on a regular basis, or perhaps your main passion is ministering to those in prison, serving the needy in the inner-city, or participating in God’s Kingdom work through some other community outreach. Regardless of your ministry context, IWS has a place for you!

Finally, the networking and fellowship within the IWS community is second to none. During any given on-campus session, we have upwards of 50 different denominations represented among the faculty and student body. You will meet other Christian leaders and teachers who share your same visions, passions, struggles, and questions. IWS is an environment that fosters and nurtures these relationships over shared meals, morning chapel sessions, and evening worship workshops.  We are a community that prays together, studies together, and grows together, and we would love to have you join us.

The Institute for Worship Studies holds two semesters each year, each involving an eight-day intensive session on campus. One intensive is held in January (“the January semester”), and one in June (“the June semester”). New students may begin their degree program in either semester, but note that the work for these intensives begins several weeks before the on-campus session. For students unable to attend two sessions per year, an Extended Track is available.

The Master of Worship Studies requires four total trips to the IWS campus; the Doctor of Worship Studies requires five (assuming the successful completion of each course).

When students and faculty are not on campus, interaction takes place in an online learning environment. Instructors are available through online chats and message boards, e-mail, telephone, and video chat. Coursework and projects are submitted electronically at the end of the semester (guidelines and due dates are of course specific to each course’s syllabus).

New students may begin during either the January or June session. To be considered for the January session, all application materials must be submitted no later than November 1st. To be considered for the June session, all application materials must be submitted no later than April 21st.

However, applying by the deadline is not a guarantee that spaces are still available in the incoming class; spaces fill up quickly and it is not uncommon for new students to be placed on a waitlist. In light of this, the Admissions Department encourages all applicants to submit their materials well in advance of the November 1/April 21 deadline.