Harding School of Theology

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Harding School of Theology challenges Christian leaders to a deeper faith in God and higher ministry and scholarship standards. Combining academic rigor and interpersonal connections, HST operates in an urban context and online, allowing students to engage in ministry as they study.

HST is associated with Churches of Christ, part of the American Restoration Movement, and is a branch campus of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. HST has been equipping ministers on the Cherry Road campus since 1958.

HST challenges Christian leaders to develop a deeper faith in God and higher standards of ministry and scholarship. Theological education at HST is characterized by:

• Integration: HST challenges Christian leaders to integrate spiritual growth, ministry experience, and rigorous scholarship.
• Formation: HST challenges Christian leaders to pursue spiritual maturity and the virtues and skills required for theological reflection.
• Faithfulness: HST is challenging Christian leaders to seek and follow God through the careful study of scripture, and to pursue truth in the context of the historic Christian faith.
• Community: HST is committed to serving Churches of Christ, and the broader faith community, by providing ministerial training and scholarly resources.
• Witness: HST challenges Christian leaders to proclaim and live out the diverse ministry opportunities available in an urban and global context.

All students at Harding School of Theology share a passion for serving in God's kingdom. The academic and seminary resources at HST focus on student success in scholarly and practical endeavors, fueling that passion for kingdom service.

Harding School of Theology offers you graduate-level seminary studies to equip you for ministry leadership better and theological studies. You will join students from all walks of life – some are just out of college, others well experienced. All students, faculty, and staff share the common goal of glorifying God through rigorous academics and passionate engagement in the world.

Theology and ministry students from across the nation study at Harding School of Theology by combining online courses and occasional, brief Memphis trips. This combination of local and distance learning assures your degree program will be both accessible and academically rigorous.

HST Master's degrees are available through the HST LIVE (Live Interactive Video Education) format with minimal residential requirements. In streaming live interactive classes, you virtually attend a meeting on campus using a two-way streaming platform. You participate in the class in real-time, along with students who are physically in the classroom.

Online courses do not require travel. Class discussions are held via Canvas, a course management website that gives class notes and lectures access. It also keeps you connected to your professors and classmates, so you have rich personal experience with your online community.

HST offers courses that combine online classes and HST LIVE meetings. These hybrid courses typically operate as a standard online course but include several HST LIVE meetings over the semester. Occasionally we offer a hybrid class that includes an on-campus weekend.

You will not have to sacrifice the networking and relationships that can only form with person-to-person interaction. But you will not have to sacrifice your ministry either. By taking advantage of one-week intensive courses on-campus, you earn full credit for your course, but you are only on campus for one week during the semester. You will have reading and assignments both before coming to class and after class, so the course lasts the whole semester. You are on campus; however, only one week per class.

Harding University offers the MS/EdS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree on the HST campus located in Memphis, TN. This 68-hour, CACREP-accredited degree allows graduates to pursue licensure as an LPC. Additionally, with just a few additional courses offered on the Memphis campus, students will have the option to pursue dual licensure as an LMFT.

This CACREP-accredited degree is offered by the Professional Counseling Graduate Program in the College of Education at our parent institution, Harding University, in Searcy, AR. All courses required for the degree are offered on the HST campus.

Harding School of Theology is a branch school of Harding University in Searcy; Ark. Harding began as a senior college when two junior colleges merged in 1924. The college moved to its present location in Searcy in 1934, and it was renamed Harding University in 1979. The University now has 44 buildings on its 275-acre campus, which, in conjunction with the Memphis, Tenn., campus, are valued at approximately $249 million.

Harding School of Theology is an outgrowth of graduate studies in religion that began on the Searcy campus in 1952. An extension program offering such courses in Memphis was begun in 1955. In 1958, the Board of Trustees of Harding University officially expanded the Memphis program into Harding University. It appointed Dr. W.B. West, Jr. as dean, a position he held until 1972.

The name was changed from Harding University Graduate School of Religion on July 1, 2011, to reflect the School's theological commitments better.

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