Policies

The following section outlines important policies of the Graduate Theological Foundation of which students should make themselves aware.

Tuition Payment 

  • Tuition payment schedule for Professional Doctorates/Masters/Bachelors degrees
Activation fee due within 30 days of acceptance
$1,200 due at the time of Registration for each course
Completion fee due prior to April 1 of the year of graduation
 
  • Tuition payment schedule for Academic Doctorates
 Activation fee due within 30 days of acceptance
$1,200 due at time of registration for each course
Completion fee due prior to scheduling of the doctoral defense
 
  • Payment Plan Option
Students who are unable to make the initial activation fee may break that initial payment into 3 equal installments.  If a student requests a mailed invoice as a reminder to make payment, there is a ten-dollar fee per invoice.
 
Students may make payments by check, money order or credit card.  To make tuition and fee payments online, please contact the Bursar’s office (bursar@gtfeducation.org)   
 
If you have a question for the Bursar please contact our office
 

Tuition Reimbursement

Any student choosing to withdraw from a degree program within 90 days of acceptance will receive 80% reimbursement of any portion of tuition paid within those 90 days.

Transfer Credit
Any student wishing to have previously completed academic work evaluated for possible transfer credit or wishing to complete coursework through a venue other than the Graduate Theological Foundation for use as transfer credit toward a degree must contact the Office of the Registrar for approval. Students may use transfer credit to fulfill a maximum 50% of their Unit of Study requirements for most degree programs.  Accepted transfer credit has the potential to decrease the total tuition paid by the student. Requests for acceptance of transfer credit are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
 
GTF transfer credit policy allows for a $600 tuition reduction per Unit of Study (3 graduate credits) fulfilled by transfer credit.
 

Degree Program Transfer

Any student wishing to transfer to a different degree program must submit a written request to the Academic Affairs Committee. The student will be assessed a program transfer fee of $200. The student will be subject to the tuition rates, fees, program guidelines and policies of the Student Handbook that is current at the time of transfer. Previously completed coursework will be re-evaluated for applicability to the new degree program.
 

Academic Work

All coursework is due by March 1 of the intended year of graduation. All papers written for the following courses must be submitted within 90 days of completing the course or no course credit will be awarded. (For online courses, all papers written must be submitted within 30 days of completing the course or no course credit will be awarded.)

  • Independent Study
  • Foundation Residential Institutes
  • On-Site Tutorials
  • Online courses (The final online course paper must be received within 30 days of completion of the course in order for the student to receive credit.)
  • Oxford Theology Summer School
    Centro Pro Unione
  • Summer Course in Rome

Documented Use of Sources

Students are held to a high standard of performance at the GTF in the writing of their papers for course requirements. This high standard places the burden of responsibility and accountability upon the student to demonstrate competency in the literature and a capacity to bring critical analysis to the work in hand. If a student has disregarded protocol with respect to primary sources as relates to acceptable documented citations with relevant references, the evaluating faculty has the discretion of returning the work to the student for reworking. No charge of intentional deception is implied in the returning of such work but the student must accept the decision of the evaluating faculty and in turn must resubmit the reworked document for final approval. Failure on the part of the student to rework the document to the evaluating faculty’s satisfaction will result in failure to earn credit for the work in hand. Any student wishing to challenge the decision of the evaluating faculty must submit a letter with a detailed explanation of the student’s position to the Academic Affairs Committee. Rulings by the AAC are final.

 

Thesis Submission

The Graduate Theological Foundation requires all academic doctoral degree students (A.B.D., Th.D., Ph.D.,) to submit one copy of their thesis in electronic form to the Office of the Registrar. The format of the thesis must be either MS Word (.doc) or Adobe Reader (.pdf). The thesis must be in its final form and submitted three months prior to defense.

 

Transcripts

The Office of the Registrar at the GTF maintains all records. Alumni and current students of the GTF should, when requesting a transcript, identify themselves by name, degree program and year of graduation. All requests for transcripts must be received in writing. The transcript reflects all work completed for the degree including all transferred courses.
 
The cost of each transcript is $15.
No transcript may be posted to anyone or to anywhere without prior written request from the student and payment at the time of request.
One unofficial physical copy of the transcript is provided to the student upon graduation.
 
 

Diplomas 

When all academic and financial requirements have been met by the respective deadlines, the student is eligible to receive his/her diploma. Diplomas will be mailed to graduates upon conferral of their degree. These mailings occur four times a year. GTF diplomas reflect the degree earned. Degree concentrations are listed on the student transcript. The graduation ceremony will be a pre-recorded virtual ceremony for students who have met their academic and financial requirements by the deadlines as noted in their degree program description.
 
GTF Diplomas reflect the degree earned.  Degree concentrations are listed on the student transcript.
 
Students needing verification of completion of degree requirements prior to receiving the diploma may request an official transcript by following the transcript request procedure on the GTF website.
 

Credentials and Titles

Credentials and titles (i.e., Dr.) may only be claimed and used after all academic and financial requirements of a degree program have been met. The premature use of a title and degree owing to a failure to fulfill either academic requirements or financial obligations may result in legal charges brought against the student by the institution or members of the general public.  
 
Students of the GTF may legally claim the degree earned as well as the corresponding title associated with that degree under the following circumstances.
 
  • Th.D. and Ph.D. students, for whom a doctoral oral defense is required, may begin to claim the degree as well as the title of Doctor immediately following their successful doctoral oral defense.
  • Undergraduate students, for whom graduation attendance is not required, may claim their degree upon receipt of a letter from the Office of the President formally acknowledging their degree completion.
  • All other degree students may claim their degree and the corresponding title upon conferral of the degree at the yearly graduation ceremony.
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