Finding Equivalent Courses

There are eight IBS courses that can be completed by taking an equivalent course from an accredited seminary. In order to apply a course toward your IBS requirements, the following conditions must obtain:

  1. The course must be taken from an accredited seminary.
  2. The course must be a graduate level course. (Undergraduate courses are not acceptable, except for Intro to Mission)
  3. The course must cover the same content as the IBS course.  Contact your theological development leader or send an email to ibs.info@cru.org to verify your proposed course will fit.
    (See IBS core course descriptions.)
  4. The course must be taken for a grade. (Audited courses do not count.)
  5. You must pass the course with a grade of C or better.
  6. You must submit a transcript showing that you completed the course. Upon completion, scan your transcript and email a copy as well to ibs.info@cru.org. Along with a copy of your transcript, please explain the courses you wish to be exempt from.

Where can I find equivalent courses?

You can take equivalent courses to fulfill IBS requirements through any accredited seminary or graduate school. Our national seminary partners offer a number of courses that can be applied toward IBS requirements. You will find sample equivalencies listed below. Any seminary course listed as an equivalent for a particular IBS course will satisfy that IBS requirement. (For example:  If you complete RTS' OT 510 course, that would satisfy your OT Survey IBS requirement.)

IBS Course Trinity   RTS DTS Bethel Talbot
 Intro to Mission** ME5000 ME5050  MS518 WM101 ML842, GC512 ISCL555, ISCL742
Bible Study Methods ID 5010 NT 524 BE 101 BT 510 TTBE 517
 God/Bible/HS ST 5201 ST 5150 ST 102 TS 512 TTTH 511
 OT Survey OT 5000 OT 508, 510, 512, or 514 BE 102, 103 or 104 OT 516 or 518  TTBE: 519
 Apologetics PR 5500 ST 530 ST 605 TS 606 TTPH 602
Christian Worldview & Ethics PR 5600 CE614 or ST 504 ST 415 TS 516 no equiv
Global Church History** CH 5051 CH 5052 CH 5060 HT 502, 504 or 506 HT 200 HS 510 TTHT 514
 Humanity/Christ/Salvation ST 5202 ST 514 (Orlando), ST 520 (ATL and DC), ST 517 (Online and Jackson) ST 104 TS 513 TTTH 613


**NOTE: The "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement," course developed by U.S. Center for World Missions, can be applied toward the "Global Church History" or "Intro to Mission" requirement. To count toward IBS requirements, the Perspectives course must be taken for graduate credit.

Download PDF Version of this table. The download version has far more detail with class titles. Please note that it may be out of date compared to the table above.

Download Course equivalency table