Frequently
Asked Questions
 When Jesus called his disciples, he simply
said, "Follow me" (Mark 1:17). When he sent them out, he
advised them to "take nothing for the journey, no staff,
nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics"
(Luke 9:3). The disciples responded in faith.
Although the decision to come to seminary
does not require such a radical economic discipline, it
is just as much a step in faith. At the University of Dubuque
Theological Seminary you will not take that step alone;
we are committed to helping you answer the practical questions
connected with a decision to come to seminary.
Here are some answers to the most frequently
asked questions about seminary education at Dubuque:
Do I need to have a call
to come to seminary?
Can I afford seminary?
How well will Dubuque prepare me for ministry?
Will I fit into the seminary community?
What arrangements are there for commuters?
What about the city of Dubuque?
Q: Do I need to have a call to come to seminary?
A: The Christian Church has traditionally
believed that people entering ordained ministry should be
called by God. A call can take many forms. For some, it
is a single, life-changing experience like the apostle Paul's.
Others experience God's call gradually, a steady nudging
that ministry is right for them. For still others, recognizing
God's call is a difficult process of stops and starts,
of experimentation and questioning. Some come to seminary
to test the waters - to see if their sense of calling is
confirmed by the experience of living in community,
working with faculty who are both pastors and teachers,
and focusing on ministry full-time.
As there is an inner call, those preparing
for ministry in the Church should also have an outer call
- the affirming voice of the church community saying,
"We believe you have the gifts for ministry." While Dubuque
Seminary does not necessarily require you to have formal
candidacy with your sponsoring denomination prior to your
acceptance, we are committed to working in coordination
with your sponsoring denomination in providing you the preparation
you need for ministry.
Q: Can I afford seminary?
A: We realize that it can be daunting
to consider having to pay for three or four years of seminary
knowing that pastors often do not have large salaries. The
Financial Planning office at UDTS is committed to
making seminary as affordable as possible for each student.
Tuition grants are available to those who show need. Additional
aid is available to cover both academic and living expenses,
in the form of federal work/study employment on campus,
Stafford Loans (guaranteed student loans) and scholarships
from sources outside the seminary.
Off-campus employment is also a significant
source of income. Many supervised practice of ministry
(SPM) positions pay stipends, and the seminary assists students
to locate student pastorates in which compensation generally
includes not only a salary but also housing.
Students who choose to live off campus
find Dubuque a pleasant and very affordable community.
Housing and other costs in Eastern Iowa are much lower than
in most other cities where seminaries are located.
For more information, please see the
Financial Planning section of this catalog.
Q: How well will Dubuque prepare me
for ministry?
A: UDTS is above all a place of training
for pastoral ministry. While most of our M.Div. students
become pastors of congregations, many become associate pastors,
pastoral counselors, or enter specialized ministries. Yet
even those who enter teaching or specialized ministry appreciate
the broad, scripturally-based foundation of their Dubuque
degree. Historically, the placement rate for Dubuque graduates
seeking calls to pastoral ministry is virtually 100%. Presbyterian
students consistently score at or above the national average
on the denomination's standard ordination exams and our
graduates demonstrate exceptional longevity in pastoral
ministry.
Q: Will I fit into the seminary
community?
A: Those who know Dubuque Seminary speak
often of the close Christian community on campus. We are
smaller than many seminary communities and value the intimacy
that comes with our size. Students know each other well.
Faculty members are highly accessible.
We are a community of men and women,
young and old, professors and students, from a variety of
Christian denominations. In short, preparation for ministry
takes place in a community that is a cross-section of the
church. The contributions of Native Americans and international
students in our student body enrich our community.
The seminary's common life begins with
chapel services and extends through classes and informal
conversations to the various ministries in which we are
engaged. Community is at the center of all that we do; it
is a vital part of Dubuque's preparation for ministry. A
typical seminary social event, in fact, looks much like
a local congregation gathering: men, women, children, students,
professors, and staff of different ages and backgrounds.
Q: What arrangements are there for commuters?
A: A large number of UDTS students are
commuters. Some commute
because they are student pastors, serving a church part-time,
while they pursue seminary classes; others simply
make their permanent home in another city. The seminary provides
a flexible course schedule, offering many courses for
degree programs through attendance on Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
and Thursdays. Commuter students also have the option of renting
a furnished room in our townhouses if they choose to stay
on campus a few nights a week.
Q: What about the city of Dubuque?
A: Dubuque's identity is shaped by its
location beside the Mississippi River. The hilly countryside
is covered with farms, streams, and woods.
Dubuque's geography and climate are ideal
for many recreational activities, with each season creating
new outdoor opportunities. The steep bluffs and rolling hills
surrounding Dubuque provide a nice terrain for hiking in the
summertime and alpine and nordic skiing in the winter. Several
small neighborhood parks in addition to four large parks provide
prime locations for family picnics. These parks also welcome
the trampling of feet from Dubuque's very active youth soccer
organization.
For an entertaining and informative journey on the Mississippi, one can tour the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Here visitors can spend hours enjoying the large aquariums, historical exhibits, and strolling through the wetlands.
The Five Flags Center plays host to a number
of drama, music and sporting events. The Dubuque Symphony
Orchestra, performs regularly in the splendor of the center's
vaudevillian theater.
Iowa was recently named as "the best state
in the nation to raise a child" by the Children's Rights Council,
a national child advisory organization. Dubuque community
schools are committed to academic excellence. Schools offer
individualized instruction to qualified students with
a number of special programs designed to meet the needs of
the gifted and challenged. Elementary age children of most
seminarians attend nearby Irving School. Washington Junior
High School and Senior High School are also nearby and provide
excellent instruction and extracurricular activities.
Local facilities make Dubuque the hub of
a regional health team, providing hospitals and physicians
to the tri-states of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The community's
two hospitals - Mercy Health Center and Finley Hospital -
boast state-of-the-art equipment and between the two have
exceptional capabilities in neonatal intensive care for high-risk
newborns, and trauma services.
Many seminarians spend Saturday morning
in the summer and the fall at the Farmer's Market, the oldest
continuous outdoor market in the Midwest. With the addition
of handicrafts, the market has grown to cover an eight-block
area offering both colorful items and produce.
Dubuque is easily accessible by air and
is serviced by the Dubuque Regional Airport.
Miles from Dubuque:
Chicago, Illinois...183
Denver, Colorado...856
Des Moines, Iowa...167
Indianapolis, Indiana...380
Kansas City, Missouri...375
Louisville, Kentucky...492
Milwaukee, Wisconsin...160
Minneapolis, Minnesota...260
Omaha, Nebraska...330
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...691
Rochester, Minnesota...176
St. Louis, Missouri...330
Seattle, Washington...1,985
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