FAQs

Interns don't meet the criteria for Part-Time Graduate Study. Therefore, graduate courses are not reimbursable for interns nor are courses approved for organizational time. Interns who finish CORE Training are encouraged to take IBS classes.


The simplest way to pay for your course work is to increase your salary (assuming you are under your salary cap). If you are at your cap, you can reimburse your classes (as taxable income) through a reimbursement; however, you name must be on listed of “approved” staff with the reimbursement department.

If you are going full-time, the answer is no. Therefore the best thing to do is to increase your salary. As long as you are under your cap, you will have no problem. If you are going part-time (taking one or two classes), see question four. [If you are an intern please see question one).

Yes, it does say this; however, this does not apply to the person going to school full-time. Someone going part-time (i.e., taking one or two classes) could reimburse one class as a ministry expense. (If someone is taking two courses, he or she would need to take additional salary for the second course.) Along with their reimbursement, an individual must attach a letter from someone on the HR team indicating they are taking this course as a part of their professional development.

Full-time and hourly staff do not need permission to take classes on their own time, though New Staff are encouraged to focus on CORE training before begining any personal study on their own time. Any organizational time given to graduate study needs approval.

Interns are encouraged to focus on their CORE training and so will generally not be approved to take graduate study classes. Any graduate studies for Interns would have to be approved by their Intern Coordinator.

If you planning on working with a different ministry (or even region) when you finish your graduate study, you must seek sponsorship from the ministry with which you will serve when you finish.

You cannot begin your course work until you have achieved “Level Two” support and your support coach has certified this.

Yes, it does. Even if you are not using ministry funds to pay your tuition, Cru is paying your salary. The IRS considers your salary to be directed toward your education inasmuch as you are being paid to go to school full-time. (See “Explanation of Year-for-Year Payback.")

Master of Divinity programs typically require about 100 semester hours while some other master’s degrees require only about 50 semester hours. (Most staff do not need all the content included in a typical Master of Divinity program.) You may find it helpful to ask yourself the following questions: “What do I hope to gain from this study?” “Do I want to learn Greek and Hebrew?” “What areas do I want to grow deeper in biblically and theologically?” One advantage to pursuing graduate theological study part-time is that it allows you more time to decide what program to enroll in. When you begin your graduate theological study, stick with core courses that apply to every degree program at the institution you are enrolled at. This will give you more flexibility if you decide to switch. You may also find it helpful to talk with other staff who have pursued formal theological training in order to find out why they chose the degree they did.