British Reformed International
Theological Seminary.

(The United Kingdom Supplement to the R.I.T.S. Catalogue.)

"STUDY to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING the word of truth". (2. Timothy 2:15).
"give attendance to READING, to exhortation, to DOCTRINE"
(1. Timothy 4:13)

A: An Introduction and overview:
1. For details of Courses, Degrees, and general Administration please study the main RITS catalogue pages carefully. All Courses and Degrees are available to U.K. students.
2. As R.I.T.S. is a truly international Seminary, and most courses are completed via taped or CD lectures and email contact, students may choose to work with either the 'parent' Seminary located in Fellsmere, Florida, or the 'branch' Seminary in Britain. The difference is purely administrative, intended to minimise currency transfers, airmail postage etc. for the student. (Similar arrangements will be arranged for planned branch Seminaries Denmark, France, and Australia).
3. The United Kingdom, however, had played a special role in developing R.I.T.S., and the current Chairman of the Doctoral Committee is English.
4. The U.K. office will be available to offer advice, and help, plus oversight and 'mentoring' where appropriate (via email or telephone), and for students registered with R.I.T.S. U.K. all marking and grading of work is done in Britain.
5. Fees may be paid within the U.K. in £s sterling.
6. Degree Diplomas, where granted, will be authorised in Fellsmere and forwarded with the appropriate signatures to the U.K. office, where they will be signed by the U.K. Board member, and either posted to the successful candidate, or may be collected in person by the student.
7. Degrees granted (as stated in the main Catalogue) are monitored by a 'Peer Group' of Independent Colleges and Schools, and approved by the State Education Authorities in Florida. In general terms a R.I.T.S. Master's Degree in Divinity (M.Div.) would be accepted as fulfilling theological education requirements for Presbytery examination in denominations such as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (O.P.C.) or Presbyterian Church in America (P.C.A.).
8. The Westminster Standards are the theological basis of all tuition, and all faculty members pledge allegiance to those standards as the expression of their own personal faith and doctrinal stance.

B: Enrolment, Course work, Graduation:
1. Initial enquiry (via email please), to discuss eligibility, course choices, etc. If necessary R.I.T.S. U.K. will consult with R.I.T.S. admin. in Fellsmere. When approval is gained,
2. All enrolment forms may be downloaded and printed from the website. These may be posted to the U.K. Office, with the appropriate application fee in £s sterling. Official student status notification will be forwarded directly from Fellsmere, Florida.
3. Course material (lectures on audio cassette or CD, printed Course 'Outlines', Examination Question sets) will be mailed directly to the student from Fellmere, but all submissions of written work, (examination questions,) dissertations etc., are submitted (via mail or file transfer) to the U.K. office. It is also required that all 'undergraduate' students (i.e. all those except Doctoral candidates) report via email to the U.K. Seminary once per fortnight. This is simply to record progress, but may also be used to raise and questions or difficulties, or seek tutorial help.
4. Degree Graduation occurs when all the courses for the degree have been completed 'pass' grades achieved on all examination papers and written dissertations, and all fees have been paid in full.

C: Fee structure (all 'Undergraduate' candidates):
All courses are structured around their constituent units or subjects, which may be taken individually, or built up towards a degree goal. Each individual course subject is graded by its size and content with one, two, three, or four 'credits'. For example, a non-degree student simply wishing to take the 'New Testament Greek' course as a 'one-off' takes 'Greek I' and 'Greek II' at 4 credits each, a total of eight credits. Hermeneutics (Biblical Interpretation) as a 'one-off' carries 3 credits. On the other hands a full, pastoral training (equivalent to a three- year 'on campus') Master of Divinity (M.Div.) course required 100 credits to complete. Master of Arts (Granted in 'Christian Studies') requires 90 credits, and may be taken with either a 'Bible & Theology' or a 'Bible & Church History' major. (For other degrees see the main R.I.T.S. catalogue). All courses include three elements: a) A taped (or CD) recorded lecture series, b) A printed 'Student's Outline' of the entire course, c) set reading requiring stated textbooks. Costs to the student for these are as follows:- a) Each 'credit' is priced at £35= when paid in the U.K. b) All written Outlines are 'free', that is included in the fees for that particular course. c) Lecture sets are purchased by the student, and remain his property. It is necessary to check with R.I.T.S. on the current price of each set required in turn. Lecture tape sets range from 8 tapes (New Testament Greek I), through to 81 tapes (Calvin's Institutes), with suitably graded 'credits' towards a degree goal. A rough 'working average' across the spread of courses available would be approximately £62 per lecture set (including printed 'Outline'). n.b. this is assuming that the lecture series are boxed audio-tape format. As courses become available on CD they will become proportionately cheaper. Any other costs? Yes: a) postage of materials from the U.S. is chargeable at cost. b) an enrollment fee of £35 is payable to establish 'student' status.

D: Books and materials: Set textbooks may be obtained by the student himself from Christian bookstores in the U.K. (new or used!) In cases of difficulty all books are available from the Seminary Bookstore in Fellsmere, Florida. Certain rare texts are privately printed by the Seminary, and available from our Bookstore. Postage on books ordered from the Seminary Bookstore is charged as cost.

E: Doctoral candidates: Proceed exactly as listed in the 'Advanced or Doctorate Degee' section of the R.I.T.S. catalogue, with the exception that fees may be paid within the U.K. in £s sterling. The Doctoral candidates required 'mentor' will normally be U.K. based.

F: Fee structure (Doctoral and higher degree candidates): As Doctoral and higher Degrees are completed mainly via written thesis, rather than a set course of study, fees are to be paid in one or two portions, and must be paid in full before a diploma can be issued. Fees are as follows: Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) £ 1,400. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) £ 1,600. Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) £ 2,000. Master of Theology (Th.M.) £ 1,000. Plus Application/ Administration fee of £ 35 in all cases.

G: Contributions and Bursaries: a) Contributions/ donations: There may be friends who do not require training and education themselves, but who are led of the Lord to aid the training of others, especially with a view to the forming and gathering of new Reformed Churches in mainland Britain, and the provision of pastoral ministry for them. Any donations made for this purpose will be acknowledged and used 100% to off-set fees for approved students. b) Bursaries: are reductions in course fees, granted to approved students (especially those seeking to minister within newly forming Presbyterian-Reformed Churches in Britain) subject to the availability of funds from donations contributed for this purpose.

H: Addresses: email: ReformationUK@aol.com
mail: R.I.T.S. (U.K.),
17, Longton Grove Road,
Weston-super-Mare,
North Somerset,
BS23 1LS.
Tel: 01934-415894.
Contact: Dr. Stephen P. Westcott.

Website: http://www.refcm.org

"While it is useful that a man know and teach the original languages of Scripture and have some philosophy, his true test of usefulness is whether he is wholeheartedly devoted to God. For no man can be sincere in the means of serving God if he does not sincerely have the ends in mind. So a man must heartily love God above all, before he can serve him above all."
Richard Baxter,
'The Reformed Pastor', 1656.