Where you can study for ordination.
Thirteen United Methodist schools — and a longer list beyond them.
¶324.4 asks for basic graduate theological studies from a University Senate–approved school. That is a broader list than most people realise: the thirteen United Methodist seminaries, and twenty-four more the Senate has approved. Both routes are legitimate; they carry different constraints, and the biggest one is that no online or distance class taken at a non–United Methodist school counts toward ordination.
17 of 17 schools
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Austin, TX
Senate-approved but not United Methodist: seven of the nine ¶324.4 areas are in the required M.Div., but United Methodist studies is not.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Brite Divinity School (Texas Christian University)
Fort Worth, TX
Senate-approved but not United Methodist — yet it teaches UM history, doctrine, mission, and polity in house, with denominational approval.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Phillips Theological Seminary
Tulsa, OK
The one school on the roster under University Senate Monitoring with Public Warning — still approved, but say the phrase to your registrar. All nine ¶324.4 areas are covered, and Phillips itself limits UM ordination-track students to in-residence courses.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Vanderbilt University Divinity School
Nashville, TN
Methodist by origin, not by affiliation since 1914. Two chairs in Wesleyan Studies and three named UM courses — all electives, and Vanderbilt claims no denominational approval for them.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Boston University School of Theology
Boston, MA
Four of the nine ¶324.4 areas are in the shared M.Div. core; the other five — including worship, preaching, and United Methodist studies itself — the school 'offers' rather than requires.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Candler School of Theology (Emory University)
Atlanta, GA
Certified UMC candidates who apply by the priority deadline receive full tuition — but only four of the nine ¶324.4 areas are in the required curriculum.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Claremont School of Theology
Los Angeles, CA
Keeps the Claremont name, but relocated to Los Angeles in 2024 — the campus is on Wilshire Blvd. Its MDiv splits into two tracks with different ¶324.4 coverage; only Ministerial Leadership requires worship and preaching.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Drew University Theological School
Madison, NJ
Eight of the nine ¶324.4 areas bind a student who takes the United Methodist Ministry pathway; no pathway at Drew guarantees a preaching course.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Duke Divinity School
Durham, NC
Five of the nine ¶324.4 areas are in the core everyone takes; the other four Duke requires of United Methodist students specifically.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Gammon Theological Seminary
Atlanta, GA
The only Historically Black Theological Institution of the UMC, newly independent (2024) after decades inside the Interdenominational Theological Center. States a 24-of-72-credit UM "Religious Heritage" requirement but doesn't yet publish how it maps to the nine ¶324.4 areas.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Garrett Seminary
Evanston, IL
Goes by Garrett Seminary now; Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary remains the legal name. Eight of the nine ¶324.4 areas are required — the best coverage found so far.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Iliff School of Theology
Denver, CO
All nine ¶324.4 areas bind a United Methodist candidate, but none sit in Iliff's own denomination-neutral core — every one binds only through Iliff's UMC-specific page, which predates its Fall 2025 curriculum redesign.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Methodist Theological School in Ohio
Delaware, OH
Six of the nine ¶324.4 areas are in the core everyone takes; the other three — evangelism, mission, and UM studies — are named electives MTSO says twice are yours to confirm with your annual conference.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Perkins School of Theology (Southern Methodist University)
Dallas, TX
Home seminary for much of the South Central Jurisdiction, including Rio Texas, with a Houston-Galveston extension.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Saint Paul School of Theology
Leawood, KS
Campuses in Kansas and Oklahoma — same degree plan and tuition at both, but most of the faculty are in Kansas.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
United Theological Seminary
Dayton, OH
Wesley Theological Seminary
Washington, DC
Six of the nine ¶324.4 areas are in the required core; Wesley states plainly that the other three are the church's requirement rather than its own, and lists which electives satisfy them.
Full profile — faculty, cost, and what ¶324.4 needs here
Not every call requires a residential M.Div.
Licensed local pastors complete the five-year Course of Study while serving, often without relocating. Second-career and bivocational candidates especially should ask their conference about this route before committing to a full residential degree. And the Ministerial Education Fund and other scholarships exist precisely so that money is not the thing that stops a call.