Studying at LTS-A
2027 enrolments at Lutheran Theological Seminary Australia now open
Lutheran Theological Seminary - Australia (LTS-A) will begin teaching in January 2027, in partnership with Australian College of Ministries, while we work towards becoming a member college of the Australian University College of Divinity in 2028.
Students, including laypeople seeking a formal theological education, will have the option to study for one year and exit with a Diploma of Ministry, or continue on for a three-year Bachelor of Theology. A graduate diploma, including a full year vicarage or internship, will complete training and formation for pastoral and deaconess students.
Study Options at LTS-A
There will be two main kinds of students at LTS-A: General Admission and LM-A Sponsored Students. In preparing for enrolments to open, please read the following information closely and begin whatever preparations you require.
Preparing to study at LTS-A
It is important for students to realise that tertiary study at LTS-A is conducted at the bachelor's level. If you have questions about academic requirements, please contact the Registrar.
There will be two main kinds of students at LTS-A: General Admission and LM-A Sponsored Students. In preparing for enrolments to open, please read the following information closely and begin whatever preparations you require.
Please ensure that you register your interest in studying at LTS-A with our Registrar, Deaconess Kathleen ASAP.
International Students
As Confessional Lutherans in Australia, we are uniquely placed to serve not only our own churches, but also the churches of Southeast Asia as they seek faithful education of their future pastors and church workers. We are actively planning for postgraduate courses to serve those international students from 2029.
LM-A Sponsored Students
LM-A Sponsored Students are those preparing for service in LM-A as pastors or deaconesses.
Students will receive scholarships to cover their tuition fees. They are expected to study in person and preferably full-time. Pastoral and deaconess students will complete a Bachelor of Theology (3 years full-time), a Graduate Diploma in Ministry (2 years including a 1-year practicuum) and formational activities.
Those wishing to apply to be LM-A sponsored students must meet specific criteria. They should be
a member of an LM-A congregation
have an endorsement from their pastor
have memorised Luther’s Small Catechism
have completed reading of the entire Bible and Book of Concord
Prospective students are encouraged to complete the required reading and memorisation, and to ensure that they have become members of an LM-A congregation. Those students who do not live near an LM-A congregation may join St Paul’s Lutheran Mission Circuit (please contact Pastor Martin Scharnke at martinscharnke@lutheranmissionaustralia.org.au if you are interested in joining the Mission Circuit).
Registering your interest
You can register your interest in becoming an LM-A sponsored student by emailing our Registrar, Deaconess Kathleen. Kathleen will then contact you to guide you through the sponsorship and enrolment process. Please register your interest before the end of November 2026.
This will allow enough time for you to get sponsorship approval from LM-A before academic enrolments close in January 2027.
Please note that while LTS-A is working towards membership of the Australian University College of Divinity (AUCD) students will officially enrol with the Australian College of Ministries (ACOM). LTS-A will still be facilitating the learning for our students next year. Once we are members of AUCD, you will enrol through LTS-A in the future. But for administrative purposes in 2027, you'll technically be ACOM students. If you have any questions about this process, please contact Deaconess Kathleen.
Curriculum
The first-year curriculum includes the following.
Trimester 1
Hebrew 1
Introduction to Christian History (not for credit)
Introduction to Worship and Spirituality (not for credit)
Trimester 2
Hebrew 2
Reformation History
Introduction to the New Testament
Trimester 3
Hebrew 2 (continuing)
The Lutheran Confessions
Introduction to the Old Testament
Hermeneutics (the interpretation of the Bible).
Extracurricular Requirements
In addition to their academic work, LM-A sponsored students will also be expected to participate in care groups during the week, and you'll be assigned to a local LMA congregation for fieldwork throughout the year.
Pastoral Program
We are committed to in-person instruction by experienced, confessional pastors, which provides the best environment to train pastors in the faithful proclamation of the Word of God and the care of souls. Pastoral students will gain extensive experience in congregational and other settings during their studies.
Deaconess Program
Alongside the pastoral students, LTS-A will run a Deaconess Program, training women for service in the church using their gifts and talents to support pastors and congregations, especially in areas like education, administration, pastoral care and acts of mercy. Deaconess students will study the core curriculum alongside the pastoral students before engaging in specific electives and fieldwork to equip them for service.
Guidance for sponsored students
If you don’t have a preferred Bible translation, LM-A generally uses the ESV (English Standard Version). Otherwise, any of the major English translations are fine, but paraphrases aren’t recommended (see https://witness.lcms.org/2010/all-those-translations-11-2010/ for more detail).
Any of the recent English Translations of the Book of Concord are acceptable, but the most popular is probably the “Reader’s Edition” published by CPH (https://www.cph.org/concordia-the-lutheran-confessions-a-readers-edition-of-the-book-of-concord-2nd-edition). A copy of this edition (without explanatory notes) is available at: https://bookofconcord.cph.org/
The Small Catechism can be found here: https://catechism.cph.org/ . If you are an audial learner, you can also find it set to music on YouTube.
General Admission Students
LTS-A welcomes students who are interested in studying for personal interest or in preparation for service in another church body, on the understanding that all students will receive Confessional Lutheran instruction. Students studying for personal interest do not need endorsement. If you are a member of another church body, please check with your church whether they will endorse your study with LTS-A.
General Admission students may choose to study for a Bachelor of Theology (3 years full-time), or study for the one-year Diploma of Christian Studies. It is also possible to study individual units. General Admission students may study in person or online, and on either a part-time or a full-time basis.
Study Options
General admission students have a number of options for enrolment.
Bachelor of Theology
If you're interested in a three-year Bachelor of Theology, then you'll take the same subjects as the LM-A sponsored students. The main differences are that you can study either in-person or online, either full-time or part-time, and you won't be required to do fieldwork. You're still welcome to participate in care groups if you wish, as we'll be accommodating both in-person and online students for those groups. In terms of fees, the fee structure for general admission students is determined by ACOM. In 2026, the fee was $2,570 per bachelor level unit. For ACOM's fee schedule, please see: https://acom.edu.au/study/fees/
Diploma of Christian Studies
I you aren't able to commit to a three-year full-time course of study, general admission students also have the possibility of taking the first year as a standalone Diploma of Christian Studies. Your options are similar to the Bachelor of Theology with the added possibility of swapping Hebrew for other subjects. We offer this option because we recognize that learning languages takes a big investment of time and energy and that our diploma students may not have the time to make that investment. However, if you do have the time and especially if you think you might continue studying after the first year, we recommend you enrol in Hebrew. Not only is it a wonderful privilege to learn one of the languages the Bible was written in, but Hebrew is a prerequisite for Old Testament subjects in subsequent years.
Individual Subjects
Finally, general admission students have the option of simply enrolling in the subjects that interest them. You can take whichever subjects you want each trimester simply to increase your theological knowledge or to see if you're suited to tertiary study. Then if you decide God is calling you to study further, those individual subjects will count towards whatever degree you enrol in in the future. Note, however, that some subjects build on each other. For example, Introduction to Church History is a prerequisite for Reformation History. Additionally, individual subjects may not be eligible for the government's Fee Help program.