The candidacy committee maintains contact with the student and receives progress reports. Final evaluation is completed during the last year of studies, with a decision to approve a candidate for ordination or commissioning or consecration. Faculty are involved in the candidacy procedures, participating in review panels.

Church Endorsements – Applicants from other traditions must comply with procedures of their churches or judicatories. If there is no official endorsement procedure, a reference from one's pastor or a church official who knows the applicant is sufficient.

Entry at Mid-Year – The academic program of the seminary makes it advisable to enter in the fall. Full-time M.Div. students who enter at the spring semester (mid-January) must plan on five semesters of academic work prior to internship. Required senior courses presuppose internship experience or considerable exposure to supervised ministry.

Affiliated Students – ELCA students attending non-ELCA seminaries must affiliate with an ELCA seminary. Persons wanting to affiliate with Southern Seminary must complete the usual application process, the ELCA affiliation form, and remit to the seminary a one-time $500 affiliation fee. Candidacy committees may prescribe additional courses for students with insufficient background in Lutheran confessions, history, theology or worship. For more information, see the ELCA Division for Ministry Candidacy Manual, p. B-5ff.

Transfer Students – Students who wish to transfer from other theological schools must provide a letter of honorable dismissal from their previous institution and complete the application process to Southern (including all official transcripts). Pursuant to acceptance, students meet with the Academic Dean who determines which courses are acceptable for credit transfer to this seminary.

Applicants from Unaccredited Undergraduate Institutions – Southern Seminary does not accept students from undergrad- uate institutions lacking regional accreditation (by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, for example). However, the Admissions Committee is authorized to decide if an applicant from an unaccredited institution may enter Southern Seminary according to specific criteria:

• demonstrated academic excellence through at least a 3.0 average on a 4.0 scale;
• completion of additional undergraduate courses as may be required by the committee;
• initial acceptance as a non-degree student on academic probationary status.

After satisfactory completion of two full semesters of academic course work, students may then transfer into the degree program of their choice.