Residential Learning
Time and time again students tell us that they choose to attend Pittsburgh Seminary because of the sense of community. Whether it’s in the conversations that continue outside the classroom, during dinner at a faculty member’s home, while worshiping in chapel, or in library group study sessions, PTS offers students on campus the opportunity learn and live in community.
Because our degree and certificate programs are offered in a hybrid format, classes can be taken in-person, hybrid, or online. The schedule is planned years in advance, so students can elect which delivery format best fits their needs. Students who prefer in-person learning and have the schedule flexibility can choose to do so. Learn more about the Seminary's hybrid program.
The in-person community at PTS is one of my favorite experiences. Whether the casual nod and wave or a deep conversation, engaging with students on campus and forming a community introduces another level to seminary by genuinely learning from others outside of the classroom.
I appreciate most the way we meld as a community during events, lunches, and everything in between. We get to know well our professors, staff, and PTS community as a whole on a much deeper level when we get the chance to be in fellowship with one another.
PTS is enabling students the freedom to choose what is best for them without sacrificing the core of our community. Whether you're hybrid or residential, it's clear that we want all of the members of our community to be involved with each other.
Have questions about the hybrid program format? Learn more.
Wondering what it's like to be formed in in-person community? See below.
What's it like to live in Pittsburgh?
Pittsburgh is home to 90 unique cultural neighborhoods. Within a short drive from campus, students can serve in urban, suburban, and rural ministry contexts. PTS is affiliated with the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education (PCHE), which allows students cross-registration opportunities in graduate programs at University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Chatham University, and more.
Pittsburgh offers the Carnegie and Warhol museums, the Pittsburgh Symphony, professional football, hockey, and baseball teams, and amazing food from the city's expansive culinary scene. In a place this size, there’s always something happening!
Athletic and recreational activities supplement an on-campus fitness center for workouts and exercise. The Seminary’s sports court provides opportunities for tennis matches or a pick-up game of basketball. Highland Park, within walking and biking distance, offers trails, open fields, and playgrounds.
Is housing available on campus?
A variety of living facilities are available on campus and offer students the opportunity to live in community with one another. Housing is affordable, offers a range of floor plans, and is conveniently located. Students who receive need-based aid also qualify for a housing grant to further subsidize the cost. Learn more about student housing.
What are the food service options?
Students often join with faculty, staff, and fellow students in Kadel Dining Room for lunch and other community meals. Additionally, students living in Calian Residence Hall have kitchenettes in their rooms and access to a shared kitchen in the building. Students in apartments have full-size kitchens in their units.
What is worship life like at PTS?
The Worship Program offers exposure to varied worship practices of different denominations, traditions, and cultures with the awareness that God transcends each of these practices. During on-campus worship services, including weekly Communion, we come to know God more deeply and embody Christ’s body more fully as we engage a diversity of worship practices. Learn more about worship at PTS.
What about class size and faculty interaction?
A low student-to-faculty ratio encourages interaction and facilitates mentoring relationships in our community of scholars. Our faculty are known to invite small groups and classes to their homes for fellowship and further theological reflection. Additionally, our faculty supervise students in a variety of individualized research opportunities. Get to know our faculty.
What student organizations are on campus?
The Student Association commits itself to the formation of a community of seminarians dedicated to the ministry of preparation and scholarship—conducting its own program of a wide range of extracurricular events. Current groups are organized around denomination, identity, and shared interests. Check out more on student groups.
What resources do you offer for denominational formation?
For those with the call to parish, congregational, and denominational ministry, the Seminary provides an opportunity to deepen ecclesial identity and formation in the unique habits and practices of a student’s own tradition. The Houses of Study are co-curricular learning environments where students can deepen their capacity to reflect theologically upon their denominational tradition (or explore new ones). The houses are rooted in the rich and vital relationships that exist between PTS and local denominational (and ecumenical) partners and are tailored to the ongoing needs of the judicatories that entrust their candidates into our care. Currently there are three Houses on the Seminary campus: Presbyterian and Ecumenical/Non-denominational.