Established 1871 Dean LeAnn Snow Flesher Phone +1 510-841-1905 Academic staff 12 | President vacant Total enrollment 58 (2011) Founded 1871 | |
Former names Berkeley Baptist Divinity School Type Graduate Theological Seminary Affiliation American Baptist Churches USA, Progressive National Baptist Convention Address 2606 Dwight Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA Similar Church Divinity School of, Dominican School of Philosop, Graduate Theological Union, Pacific School of Religion, Pacific Lutheran Theologic Profiles | ||
Presentation of honorary doctorate degree to eldon g ernst by american baptist seminary of the west
The American Baptist Seminary of the West (ABSW) is a theological school affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. It is located in Berkeley, California, United States. It is part of the Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of theological schools and centers in the Berkeley area. Formerly, the ABSW was called Berkeley Baptist Divinity School.
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History
The earliest roots of the American Baptist Seminary of the West lie in the chartering of California College, Vacaville, in 1871. In 1887 the college moved to Oakland, and in 1912 to Berkeley, at which time it changed its name to Berkeley Baptist Divinity School (BBDS), keeping this name until 1968. In 1915 BBDS merged with the Pacific Coast Baptist Theological Seminary, which had begun in Oakland in 1890 and had moved to Berkeley in 1904. In 1968 BBDS merged with California Baptist Theological Seminary (founded in 1944 in Los Angeles, and located in Covina since 1951). To reflect the fact that the school was no longer wholly in Berkeley, it was renamed the American Baptist Seminary of the West, but six years later the Covina faculty moved to the Berkeley campus, effecting considerable cost savings and at the same time availing themselves of the resources of the Graduate Theological Union.
Degree programs
ABSW offers accredited Master of Divinity and Master of Arts degrees. Through the Graduate Theological Union, ABSW students have access to accredited Th.D. and Ph.D. programs, as well as two joint Ph.D. programs with the University of California, Berkeley. ABSW has entered into a cooperative relationship with the Bakke Graduate University (formerly in Seattle, now headquartered in Dallas) that gives ABSW students access to a Doctor of Ministry degree program at Bakke.