M.A. in Old Testament Archaeology Admission Requirements

Requirements for All Applicants

The M.A. in Old Testament Archaeology is a residential program except for the summer excavation in Israel. Students are highly encouraged to start the program in the summer term. Applications are reviewed holistically.

1. Bachelor's Degree from a regionally accredited institution.
2. GPA 3.0 minimum.
3. Official Transcripts from all colleges where a degree was earned or is currently being earned.
   • Applicants will be required to provide official transcripts from each institution where they have received or will receive a degree prior to enrollment in Wheaton College Graduate School. Applicants who have earned more than 25% of their degree from institutions outside of their degree conferring school will be required to supply official transcripts for those credits in the event they are not explicitly listed on their original transcript with course names and grades. Graduate Admissions will reserve the right to request additional transcripts as may be needed to meet departmental requirements or demonstrate proof of program-specific prerequisites.
   • E-transcripts preferred. Must be addressed to nancy.crane@wheaton.edu.
   • Mail hard copies to Graduate Admissions, Attn: Nancy Crane, 501 College Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187.
4. Application Form.
   • Three essays.
   • Affirmations of the Statement of Faith and Community Covenant.
5. Three Recommendations, which are online forms. Letters are accepted as supplements to the forms.
   • Academic. A professor from whom you have taken a class preferred. Alternatives: a college-level instructor from whom you have not taken a class or an acquaintance with a doctorate or master's.
   • Pastoral. Can be a Christian leader who is not a pastor.
   • Professional. A person with whom you have had a supervisor-employee relationship, which can be in a non-paid context.
   • Recommendations from relatives not accepted.
   • For help choosing recommenders, preview the recommendation questions in the forms at the bottom of this page.
6. Sample Research Paper. Ten to twenty pages.
7. Resumé. Chronological.
8. Application Fee. USD $30, non-refundable.

Prerequisite

• Competency in Hebrew. Competency is defined as passing a competency exam or taking HEBR 101 Elementary Hebrew I, HEBR 102 Elementary Hebrew II, and HEBR 201 Intermediate Hebrew. See the Wheaton catalog for course descriptions. These language prerequisites do not count toward the completion of degree requirements.
• Option to take Hebrew concurrently with the program. If students choose to take the courses concurrently with the program, it will take up to two years to complete the degree.

Additional Requirements for International Students

International students, and permanent residents of the US whose native language is not English, are required to take either the TOEFL iBT Test,  IELTS Academic Test or Duolingo English test with the minimal scores indicated below:

• TOEFL iBT Test: 80 with at least 18 in each category
• IELTS Academic Test: 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each category
• Duolingo English Test: 105

Applicants who wish to waive their English proficiency test, please refer to the English proficiency page for details.

An International Transcript Verification Report is needed for students who completed degrees outside of the United States.

Important Travel Notice

• Due to the travel associated with the Graduate Ancient Israel Summer Program, admission may be contingent upon current U.S. State Department travel advisories for the Middle East.