Alstork Hall at Lomax-Hannon College in Greenville, Alabama houses
state of the art distance learning classrooms. Students commute to Lomax-Hannon on Friday nights
and Saturdays for fully accredited seminary courses.

This page contains information specific to the Extension Program in Greenville, Alabama. Because many details are the same for students on both campuses, Extension students will also find other useful information throughout the main web site.

ABOUT THE EXTENSION PROGRAM

History of the Extension Program.
For the general history of Hood Theological Seminary, click here.

In 2005, Bishop James McCoy of the Alabama-Florida Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Zion Church invited Hood Theological Seminary to establish an extension program in his area. The A.M.E. Zion Church made space available on the campus of Lomax-Hannon Jr. College, and the Alabama-Florida Episcopal District underwrote the expense of renovating rooms in the Alstork Administration Building to the seminary’s specifications.

In 2006, Hood welcomed thirteen new students to the first class of its extension program. Our students enjoy the use of two large classrooms equipped with state-of-the-art interactive video conferencing (IVC) technology and wireless Internet access. In addition, they have their own chapel and theological library.

Affiliation and Accreditation

Hood Theological Seminary was founded by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and operates under the sponsorship of that communion. Hood operates its extension program on the campus of Lomax-Hannon Jr., College, which is maintained by the Alabama-Florida Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Zion Church.

Hood Theological Seminary is accredited by The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (10 Summit Park Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Telephone 412-788-6505) to offer the Master of Divinity degree program at its extension site in Alabama.

Hood Theological Seminary has been approved by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education to offer the Master of Divinity degree in Alabama.

ADMISSIONS

For questions about admission requirements, click here.

Application Form

FINANCIAL AID

For questions about student loans and scholarships, click here.

Note that most student loan programs and scholarships carry a requirement that the student remain in good standing in the seminary and carry a full-time academic load. For this purpose, a full-time load is defined as nine (9) credit hours per semester. In some cases, a student may count a summer term course as part of the load for the previous spring semester. Likewise, a J-term course may be counted as part of the load either for the previous fall or the following spring semester.

WHY CHOOSE THE HOOD EXTENSION PROGRAM?

Our track record with second-career seminarians. Hood has experience training not only traditional, first-career students, but also second-career students. Since 1995, we have offered our Track II weekend program, tailored to the needs of second-career students. Many of these have already been serving their churches for years as lay leaders or ordained clergy. Most of them juggle theological education with these church commitments as well as family obligations and full-time, secular employment. Our Track II allows students to take a full M.Div. program on Friday evenings and Saturdays, spread over four years. This is the model we have adapted to our extension program in Alabama.

Program design. Students take 60 credit hours in Greenville. Extension students also travel to Salisbury for the remaining 30 credit hours, which they take as one-week intensive courses during J-term and Summer term. For a detailed overview of the program design, click here.

Our emphasis on a community of learning. Hood is committed to the value of community as integral to theological education. We do not regard independent study at one’s private computer as sufficient for theological formation. We aim, therefore, to create a community of learning for our students in Greenville. We do this in four ways.

• First, all of our Greenville students gather in classrooms at the same time each week. Most courses are taught by the full-time faculty on our Salisbury campus using IVC technology that allows students on both campuses to participate fully in the discussion at the same time. Some courses are taught live by qualified adjunct instructors in Alabama. Either way, we want our students to engage in conversation with one another about the topics they are studying.
• Second, our extension students worship together every week in their own chapel on the Greenville campus.
• Third, our Extension students have their own library where they may study together.
• Fourth, our Extension students enjoy weekly fellowship, including shared meals most Saturdays.

Our commitment to diversity. For over 100 years, we have been the seminary of the A.M.E. Zion  Church, but we have always welcomed students from any denomination. Our faculty and staff represent some ten denominations, and our student body some seventeen denominations, including a strong pan-Methodist presence. In addition, we are highly diverse in terms of race/ethnicity and in the ages and backgrounds of our students. Many of our students hold advanced degrees and/or have significant experience in other fields before they came to seminary. We think that diversity enriches our theological conversations, and we want to foster that same diversity on the Greenville campus.

Hood is committed to working with local leaders of various denominations to meet the needs of students in Alabama. We do not assume that one size fits all in theological education, but we attempt to respond to the local denominational needs of our students.

PROGRAM DESIGN

For additional information about the M.Div. program, click here.
For the complete seminary catalogue, click here.

Curriculum
The M.Div. is a 90-credit program. Students in our Track II (weekend) program can complete this degree in four years. Some students find that juggling full-time academic work with the demands of job, family and church service can be difficult, and they opt to stretch the program over a longer time. We allow a student up to eight years to complete the program.

Courses are delivered in three ways. First, the majority of required courses are taught by the faculty on our home campus in Salisbury, via Interactive Video Conferencing (IVC) links to the Lomax-Hannon campus in Greenville. This allows extension students to participate in live instruction along with their counterparts on the home campus. Students at each end can see and hear one another, and Extension students are always encouraged to participate fully in classroom discussions.

Second, some required courses are taught by qualified adjunct professors in Greenville.

Third, the ATS requires that all Extension students take at least thirty (30) credit hours of instruction on our home campus in Salisbury. We offer a wide variety of elective courses in week-long, intensive format in Salisbury, usually two weeks in early January, and the first three weeks of June. These intensive courses meet six hours per day for five days. Some require some advance reading, and most require a paper or other written assignment that is due usually 3-4 weeks after the course meets. Extension students typically attend one week in January and two weeks in June, but they may choose to attend whichever courses suit their schedules and interests each year, as long as they eventually earn at least 30 credit hours in Salisbury.

Recommended Sequence of Courses
Students who deviate from the recommended sequence may encounter schedule conflicts and will most likely take longer than four years to finish. Students are encouraged to consult with their academic advisor about course selections each semester, especially if they deviate from the recommended sequence.

a Students must take either OT Exegesis or NT Exegesis. If a student chooses to take both, then one will count as an elective toward the degree, but that will not affect the requirement to take 30 credit-hours in Salisbury.

b Students may opt to write a thesis instead of taking the Theology of Ministry Seminar. A student who so chooses will take the course Thesis Tutorial in the spring of the year prior to expected graduation (usually 3rd year) and will take Thesis Writing in the fall of the year of expected graduation (usually 4th year). Students who wish to explore this option should consult with their academic advisor.

Supervised Ministry
All M.Div. students are required to spend two semesters in Supervised Ministry, usually during their third year of studies. We work with students to identify placements that will be especially beneficial in preparing them for specific aspects of ministry that are of interest to them. Most students spend one semester in a parish placement and one in a non-parish placement.

In parish placements, our students work with seasoned pastors from various denominations, including A.M.E. Zion , Baptist, C.M.E., Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and United Methodist.

In non-parish placements, our students work with experienced leaders in various types of social services agencies, including battered women’s shelters, college chaplaincies, emergency services, hospice, hospital chaplaincies, and prison ministry.

For information about Supervised Ministry in the Extension Program, contact the Associate Director of Supervised Ministry,Dr. Sondra Coleman.

LIBRARY

Mrs. Ida Mae Brinson is the Associate Director of the Library with responsibility for the Extension library in Greenville. She works with Rev. Cynthia Keever, Director of the Library in Salisbury, to maintain a collection that is up to date and professionally managed. For more information about the Salisbury library, click here.