Online Courses and Registration

Frequently asked questions about online courses:

1. Registration periods are the same as those for on-campus courses.

2. Most online courses follow the regular academic calendar.

3. Online courses have very limited enrollment. Registration for online courses occurs in the following priority: 1) currently enrolled Luther Seminary students (by class status - seniors first); 2) currently admitted degree and non-degree Luther Seminary students anticipating enrollment in the upcoming term (including Distributed Learning students required to take courses online); 3) seminary students with guest status from another ELCA or ATS seminary.

4. ALL students and applicants must be admitted to Luther Seminary first. Prospective students may also contact the Office of Admissions for instructions and further details.

5. Procedures and deadlines for adding and dropping online courses are the same as those for on-campus courses.

Limitations exist for the number of courses that can be completed by a combination of online classes and independent study. In the follow policy, "non-resident" means a course that is offered entirely online or as an independent study.

• M.Div. students may take up to 15 of their courses in a non-residential format. Of this number, up to five (5) may be independent studies.
• M.A./M.S.M. students may take up to nine (9) of their courses in a non-residential format. Of this number, up to five (5) may be independent studies.
• Rare exceptions may be made to independent study limits if (a) a course needed for a student's M.A. concentration is not offered except through independent study, or if (b) a student's M.A. thesis project requires additional independent study. Decisions about exceptions will be made by the associate dean for M.A./M.S.M. programs in consultation with the point person for the student's concentration.

This requires the remaining course work to be completed in residence at Luther Seminary.