Leave of Absence

A request for a “Leave of Absence” is a temporary suspension of the student’s academic time clock due to an emergency or crisis situation in the student’s life that prevents him or her from continuing with studies.  A leave of absence applies only to the student’s academic clock before his or her time of study expires.  Time expiration is determined by the number of years a student has been enrolled in the various programs of ABGTS.  According to the By-Laws of the Seminary, Article VIII-7, the period of study shall not ordinarily exceed three years for the Th.M. and Ph.D. degrees or four years for the D.Min., D.Miss., D.R.E., and Th.D. degrees.
  • A leave of absence is granted by the Faculty of the Area Learning Center for six-month periods at a time and may be renewed for one additional six-month period not to exceed a twelve-month periods in total.  No student shall be granted more than twelve months of a leave of absence in his or her study program.
  • A leave of absence is not granted during an extension period.  This means that for the Th.M. and Ph.D. degrees, a leave of absence may be granted between the first and third year of study.  For the D.Min., D.Miss., D.R.E., and Th.D. degrees, a leave of absence may be granted between the first and fourth year of study.
  • During the leave of absence period, the student is expected to continue to pay his or her annual registration.
  • The student’s academic time clock will not continue to run while the student is under a leave of absence.  The academic time clock with resume once the period granted for a leave of absence has elapsed.
  • Extenuating circumstances which lead to a leave of absence may be considered by the Area Learning Center in granting an extension to a student once his or her normal time of study has expired (three years for Th.M. and Ph.D. or four years for D.Min., D.Miss., D.R.E. , and Th.D. )
  • The Associate Dean should report a leave of absence granted by the faculty of the Area Learning Center to the Dean's Office.  This will be recorded in the student's permanent record.