The academic year is divided into two semesters of 16 teaching weeks, during which students should take a minimum of 22 hours of classes per week. The year begins on 1st September and runs to 30th June the following year. 

1. Required Courses

All required courses must be successfully completed, and a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.0 or above must be attained for graduation. This includes all Foundations Courses, electives in a major, Practicum, Internships, and all courses which are evaluated with a grade. The course of study (incl. submission of the thesis) must be completed within five years of the first registration at ETS.
In case of serious illness, an extension may be granted by application in writing to the Academic Dean.
If a student fails a course, a re-sit examination, which covers the entire course content has to be taken, within one month of the end of the semester when the failed course was offered. Alternatively, the course must be re-taken the following year, or when it is offered again, and completed successfully.

2. Electives

In addition to the required subjects, the student may also choose certain electives. Within the first week of a semester, the elective may be dropped without penalty. Should a student drop an elective after the second week of the semester, a grade of “W” (Withdrawal) is given and there is no refund of any fees applicable to that course. This does not apply to courses canceled by the Seminary. The minimum number of students for whom electives will be offered is four. 
Elective courses may be audited by those who agree to abide by the same absence and financial policy as all other students. The examinations are not taken and no credit is given, only a grade of participation will be recorded. Music courses (voice and instrumental) may not be audited.

3. Advanced Placement

Advanced placement is possible in two ways:

• ETS-approved credit transfer from other schools and extensions.
• By proficiency examination for which course credit is given in a limited number of courses on the following basis:
  i. Credit earned by testing becomes part of the student‘s permanent academic record, designated by the grade of „P“ (Pass) but is not computed as part of the student‘s grade point average. 
  ii. Students achieve the minimum passing grade on the proficiency examination in order to earn credit for the course.
  iii. Proficiency credit may be earned only for first-level courses, provided that the total course load does not drop below the 20-hour minimum
  iv. Proficiency exams must be taken before the last day for adding or dropping courses.

All advanced placement must receive the approval of the Academic Dean.