Voluntary Service Scholarship

We appreciate the ways you’re already joining in God’s work in the world as Voluntary Service (VS) workers, and we’d love for you to be part of our learning community at AMBS.

Seminary is a wonderful place to strengthen the biblical and theological foundation for your work as you learn with and from people from around the world. Our students like that seminary gives them opportunities to reflect on their work and apply what they’re learning for the good of the church and their communities.

For current VSers: Voluntary Service tuition discount

AMBS offers a 75% tuition discount to active participants in and local program coordinators for Mennonite Voluntary Service or the Shalom Project. It’s our way of saying Thanks for volunteering! and Come try seminary!

This discount is available to VSers who have a baccalaureate degree, have not yet been admitted to AMBS, and are taking a course for credit for the first time. Students will need to purchase their course textbooks.

Active Mennonite Voluntary Service workers who take AMBS courses receive an additional benefit from Mennonite Mission Network — beyond AMBS’s 75% tuition discount! MVS workers can receive reimbursement from MMN of $250 for a three- or four-credit-hour course; $175 for a two-credit-hour course; and $100 for a one-credit-hour course. MVSers should contact their representative at Mennonite Mission Network to inquire about the process for obtaining reimbursement. (Mennonite Mission Network reserves the right to change the reimbursement amounts.)

Take a course as a way to learn with your housemates or on your own!

Registration and more info

For course descriptions and information on instructors, see our Upcoming courses page. You’re expected to spend 10–12 hours each week on a three-credit-hour course. The credit you earn can be applied toward a degree at AMBS or transferred elsewhere. We hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity!

• Visit our VS Course registration page to sign up. (Please do not use the “Guest registration form” on the Upcoming courses page; it will not calculate the appropriate VS discount.)
• Questions? Contact Teresa Thompson Sherrill, MDiv, Financial Aid Manager and Enrollment Coordinator.

For former VSers: Voluntary Service Scholarship

Thank you for giving your time and energy to participate in a Voluntary Service program! AMBS partners with Christian voluntary service programs to offer scholarships to former VSers.

The Voluntary Service Scholarship was created to affirm people’s decision to participate in a voluntary service program and to increase access to theological education for existing and emerging leaders in the church.

• Recipient: Awarded to former participants in an approved VS program who completed the program in good standing. Any VS program that has an agreement in place with AMBS is an approved program.
• Amount: $1,500 to be applied toward graduate-level tuition at AMBS (for a program of study or for-credit courses) 
• Application deadline: None, but recipients must enroll at AMBS within five years of completing their VS assignment

Other VS scholarship information

• Scholarship type: Program
• Duration: Scholarship funds can only be disbursed during one academic year. However, if former VSers enroll in an academic program, they can renew the scholarship if they maintain full-time student status. Recipients are eligible to receive the scholarship for the stated length of their program of study.
• Recipient’s program: Master of Divinity Campus; Master of Divinity Connect; MA in Christian Formation Campus; MA in Christian Formation Connect; MA: Theology and Global Anabaptism; MA: Theology and Peace Studies; Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies; Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction; guest students taking one course
• Recipient’s location of study: On campus or from a distance
• Recipient’s enrollment status: Full time or part time
• Recipient’s permanent residence: U.S., Canada or International
• Recipient’s church affiliation: None specified
• Note: If students take an AMBS course while serving in a VS program, they will only be eligible to receive the VS Scholarship for a future course if they earn a grade of B- or higher in the course.
• Note: Scholarships and financial aid given by AMBS will not exceed 100 percent of tuition.

Apply for the Voluntary Service Scholarship

To apply: Check the “Voluntary Service” box on your Scholarship Application, and the Financial Aid Office will verify your participation in the program. There is no application deadline.