Application Materials

Admissions Essay

The admissions essay is a significant part of the application and should be typed, double-spaced, and approximately 1000 words in length.  Please consider your response carefully, tending to content, style, grammatical correctness, and coherence. Using the following as a guide, write a reflective essay that addresses:

  • Specific experiences that inform your sense of God, self, church, and/or community
  • Specific academic experiences, if any, (courses, professors, authors, readings, creative expressions, etc.) that influence your thinking, passions, and pursuits
  • What part of the mission statement is most applicable, compelling, and interesting to you as you consider your own sense of vocation and theological studies?
  • Your reason for applying to Wake Forest University School of Divinity and why it could be a good fit for you

The mission statement of the School of Divinity of Wake Forest University reads, “The School of Divinity of Wake Forest is a graduate, professional school that is Christian by tradition, Baptist in heritage, and ecumenical in outlook. Consistent with Wake Forest’s commitment to academic excellence and in the spirit of the University motto, Pro Humanitate, the School of Divinity prepares leaders informed by a theological understanding of vocation. Through imaginative courses and diverse programs of community engagement, students are equipped to be agents of justice, reconciliation, and compassion in Christian churches and other ministries.”

Resume/CV

Submit a well-organized resume that provides a brief summary of your educational background, job experience, vocational aspirations, leadership goals and accomplishments, professional affiliations, honors and awards, extracurricular activities, skills, personal qualities, and interests and hobbies.

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants for degree programs are required to submit three (3) letters of recommendation – at least two academic references are required; others may include church-, community- or business-related references that speak to your character. Give careful consideration to each recommender that you select. These individuals should have personal knowledge of your academic qualifications, work-related ethics, or experience interacting with you in a congregational-, volunteer-, or community-related activity.

Electronic Recommendations

Upon successful entry of recommenders on your online application, recommenders will receive notification via email stating that you have selected them to write a letter of recommendation. The email will contain instructions for the electronic submission.  It is encouraged that you contact your recommenders to verify receipt of this email.

Paper Recommendations

Recommenders have the option of submitting letters of recommendation by paper if they prefer. Applicants are responsible for notifying recommenders that they have been selected to write a letter of recommendation.  All paper recommendations sent through the mail must arrive completely filled out by the applicant and recommender.  The recommender is encouraged to attach a letter to the completed form, indicating the applicant’s ability to engage graduate-level coursework, leadership ability, and potential for ministry and service.

Official Transcripts

Applicants are required to submit transcripts from each college or university attended (or attending). This includes any coursework taken at a community or technical college, study abroad, or any other school at which the applicant has taken coursework. All transcripts are required from colleges, universities, graduate, and professional schools, even if you did not receive a degree. Transcripts received should match the schools entered on your online application.

Unofficial transcripts will be accepted for the review process and may be attached to the online application. However, an official transcript from the institution is preferred.

If an offer of admission is made and accepted, the official transcript(s) will be required prior to matriculation. Official transcripts must arrive in a sealed institutional envelope. Transcripts must be originals and carrying the official seal of the school.

If you are applying to a dual degree program, please send transcripts to the School of Divinity and the other program office or attach to each online application submitted.

International applicants must submit transcripts that have been translated into English by their university or a credential evaluation service such as World Education Services.

Transcripts must be sent directly to Wake Forest University School of Divinity from the institution in a sealed, signed envelope to the following address:

Office of Admissions
Wake Forest University School of Divinity
PO Box 7719
Winston-Salem, NC 27109

Transcripts can also be sent electronically directly from your school’s selected digital clearinghouse to divapply@wfu.edu.

Application Fee and Waivers

The application fee is waived for applicants who complete their application by the early decision deadline (December 1).

Submitting an application requires a nonrefundable fee of $75.00. The fee is payable online by credit card (VISA or MasterCard) or by mailing a check or money order (drawn from a U.S.A. bank) made payable to “Wake Forest University” and mailed to:

Office of Admissions
Wake Forest University School of Divinity
PO Box 7719
Winston-Salem NC 27109

Applicants are encouraged to use the credit card option in order to facilitate the review process.

Waivers are based on qualified program participation. If you have participated in one of the programs below within the last two years, you are eligible for an application fee waiver. If you believe you qualify, please contact the Office of Admissions and provide a letter verifying your participation (including the dates of your participation) sent directly from your director/coordinator. The letter should arrive in a sealed envelope.

  • AmeriCorps
  • Bonner Scholar Program
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholar
  • Careers Opportunity Research/NIMH (COR/NIHM)
  • Currently enrolled Wake Forest University students
  • Currently serving in the U.S. Military
  • Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT)
  • Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program
  • Ronald McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program
  • Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellows Program
  • National Association of African American Honors Programs (NAAAHP)
  • National College Advising Corps (NCAC)
  • Organization of American States (OAS)
  • Peace Corps
  • Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
  • Teach for America

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Requirement (International Students)

In addition to the items required of all applicants to the MDiv program, international applicants whose native language is not English must submit official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as part of the application process. Official TOEFL scores must be transmitted electronically from the Educational Testing Services (E.T.S.) to Wake Forest. (Use code B362 when requesting a score report be sent to us.) Personal copies are not accepted and TOEFL scores must be less than two years old.   No exceptions will be made if you do not meet the criteria:

  • Will have received an undergraduate degree where the language of instruction was English only (the official language of the country is English) by the time of enrollment.
  • Earned or will earn by the time of enrollment an undergraduate degree from a college or university in the United States

If an applicant successfully graduated from an accredited college or university in the United States, a TOEFL waiver can be requested.   Please note that the Admissions Committee will not make a decision to waive the TOEFL requirement until your application is complete and ready for submission. IELTS Academic test may be submitted as an alternative to the TOEFL examination.