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.
- Registration questions – Ryan Thomas
- Financial Aid / Loan questions – Barbara Clark
- Academic questions – Dr. Ryan Glomsrud
Orientation Schedules
Summer Greek Orientation (July 19-20)
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)
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),
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.
