Wartburg Theological Seminary (WTS) educates graduates for leadership roles in church and society: pastors, diaconal ministers, chaplains, youth workers, missionaries, teachers, and other vocations.
Assessment of learning-both quantitative and qualitative-establishes a baseline during the admissions process, continues throughout all stages of student learning in the school’s curriculum, and includes evaluation by 3-year graduates. This assessment demonstrates the effectiveness of the school’s educational processes in preparing graduates for securing employment in church and society. The degree programs of WTS prepare leaders with requisite theological understanding and ministerial skills, and our assessment of student learning includes both course-based assessment, based on clearly stated degree outcomes, and course evaluations.
Other measures of our educational effectiveness include graduation and placement rates, as well as indirect measures of student experiences and learning, such as student surveys.
Wartburg Theological Seminary
In the 2025 ATS Strategic Information Report data available, WTS’s graduation rate within the ATS reporting window was 78% for the Master of Divinity degree, compared to 56% for all ATS schools, and 77% for the Master of Arts and Master of Arts in Diaconal Ministry, compared to 50% for all ATS schools.
ATS collects data that shows the percentage of graduates that within one year of graduation either received a vocational placement, received a non-vocational placement, or went on for further study. Positive placement rates are an important measure of our school's mission because they reflect the percentage of our graduates actually using their degrees in ministry, non-ministerial work, or further study. WTS has a strong record of placing graduates in congregations and a variety of other ministry settings.
Our overall placement rate in 2025 was 91%, which compares to the following: All ATS Schools 89% ; Evangelical Schools 87%; Mainline Schools 89%; and Roman Catholic/Orthodox Schools 94%.
One way that seminaries measure students’ satisfaction with their education is to collect the Graduating Student Questionnaire developed by the Association of Theological Schools. In that survey, students are asked to respond to several prompts on a scale of 1-5, from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (5). Three prompts are highlighted here to illustrate student satisfaction with their educational experience at Wartburg Theological Seminary
“I have been satisfied with my academic experience here.”
The average response of WTS graduates across degree programs for the past three survey years was 4.6 out of a possible 5.
“I have been able to integrate the theology and practice of ministry.”
The average response of WTS graduates across degree programs for the past three survey years was 4.7 out of a possible 5.
“If I had to do it over, I would still come here.”
The average response of WTS graduates across degree programs for the past three survey years was 4.6 out of a possible 5.
For questions about Wartburg’s mission, program of assessment, and educational effectiveness, please contact the Office of the Academic Dean.
Rev. Dr. Cheryl Peterson (She/Her)
Academic Dean and Professor of Ecumenical Theology
cmpeterson@wartburgseminary.edu 563-589-0326