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New Student Orientations

Dean of Students Welcome

Dear Westminster Seminary California Students – Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus!

Welcome to your first semester at WSC. We are delighted that you will be joining us, and we welcome you into our community. We thank the Lord for his providence and goodness in leading you here. We look forward to learning, living, and loving together. Our hope and prayer is that we will all grow in our love for Christ, His Gospel, His Church, and our neighbors.

One of our desires is that you will ‘land’ well at seminary and get off to a good start. We know that there are many questions and changes on the horizon. In the hopes of making the landing as clear and smooth as possible we are providing the information included here.

Our two orientations are intended to introduce you to various aspects of learning and life at WSC. For those of you arriving in July for language study, the Summer Greek Orientation schedule is included below. All new students are encouraged to become familiar with the Fall Semester Orientation to be held from August 30 to September 1. There are several documents that will be referenced during the orientation. Please find PDFs or links to these documents below the signature line of this letter. 

Finally, there is a team of people eager to assist you. Sometimes I like to note that ‘seminary is not an individual event, but a team sport.’ We are here to serve you. Please feel free to contact me directly if there is any way in which I can be of service to you. In addition, please feel free to contact the following people with respect to their areas of expertise and service.
On behalf of the entire WSC family, welcome! We look forward to seeing you soon.
 
Yours in Christ,
 
Rev. Chuck Tedrick
Dean of Students

Orientation Schedules

Summer Greek Orientation (July 19-20)

Download PDF Schedule

Monday, July 19 

  • 9am               Greek Placement Exam (by appointment with Registrar)
  • 12pm            “It’s All Greek to Me” Fellowship Lunch
  • 1pm               Greek Study Skills

Tuesday, July 20

  • 8am                  First day of Summer Greek I 
  • 12.45pm          Pizza Lunch

Fall Orientation (August 30 – September 1)

Download PDF Schedule

Monday, August 30 

  • 9am             Registration / Check-In                                                                          
  • 9.30am       Welcome and Devotions (Dean of Students and President)                        
  • 10am           Coffee Break                                             
  • 10.30am     Enrollment (V.P. for Enrollment, Registrar, Financial Aid Coordinator)   
  • 12pm           New Student and Faculty Fellowship Lunch                                         
  • 1.30pm       Comprehensive Entrance Exam          
  • 7pm             New Student Reception (Spouses & Families Invited)**  

**Traditionally, one of the highlights of New Student Orientation is the opening night reception. This is really a wonderful opportunity for us to learn a little more about one another before our classes begin. Please plan to briefly introduce yourself and your family (if applicable). If you can share (in approximately 2-3 minutes) your name, hometown, college, why WSC, and church, plus anything you wish to share, we would be grateful We hope you enjoy this evening as much as we do. All of the students, faculty, staff, Board, and many friends of the seminary are invited to this reception. Thank you in advance for your participation.

Tuesday, August 31 

  • 9am             Academic Expectations and Academic Dean’s Coffee            
  • 10am           How to Survive Seminary Workshop (Student Association)
  • 12pm           Student Life and Dean of Student’s Lunch   
  • 1.30-           MDiv Speeches by Appointment (for waiver of PT410)
    3.00pm
  • 2.30pm       Greek Placement Exam  
  • 6pm             International Student & Spouse Dinner with faculty 

Wednesday, September 1 

  • 9am              Coffee & Donuts 
  • 9.15am         The Spiritual Life of a Seminarian (Dr. Troxel, Professor of Practical Theology)    
  • 9.45am        Break-Out Sessions by Degree Program
    • ​Master of Divinity: Field Education Orientation
    • MA Theological Studies / MA Historical Theology
    • MA Biblical Studies
  • 11:15am-       MDiv Speeches by Appointment (for waiver of PT410)
    12:30pm
  • 2.00pm        English Bible Survey Exam
  • 7pm              WSC Village Ice Cream Social                    

Thursday, September 2

  •  8am               First Day of Fall Semester 
  •  10am             Fall Convocation 

Summer Greek Welcome

Welcome to Westminster Seminary California!

If you are enrolling in NT400 (Greek I), please keep reading.

Χαίρετε! (Greetings!) My name is Brad Bitner and I will be your professor for Summer Greek. I am eager to meet you soon and to get to know you. Until then, please find below some resources that you may find helpful in preparing for our five-week summer course. Don’t worry if you aren’t going to be able to dedicate much time to Greek preparation before the start of class. And don’t be anxious! We will begin together at the beginning. But if you are someone who is eager to have a peek or excited to get a bit of a head start, you might like to tap into some of these resources. 

ἐν Χριστῷ (In Christ),

Dr. Brad Bitner
Associate Professor of New Testament

 greek welcome packet

Arriving at Seminary 

We hope all of the preceding information has been helpful in getting you oriented with respect to your academic endeavors. In addition, our desire is to help you get oriented and land well in the community.  WSC, Escondido, San Diego and beyond all have much to offer with respect to spiritual and material blessings. To that end we welcome you to explore our WSC Community.