Applying to ESR

As you complete your application, you will enter your recommenders contact info and our application system will notify them that a letter is being requested by you.

• If you are a recent graduate, the reference should ideally be from someone familiar with your academic work.
• Residential degree-seeking applicants applying for Cooper Scholarships and the Master of Arts in Peace and Social Transformation, the referenc should ideally come from your monthly and yearly meeting when you are a member of the Religious Society of Friends. If not, it should come from a member of your faith communities.
• Residential degree-seeking candidates applying for the Leadership and Service Program, the letter of recommendation should from either your service project supervisor, a Quaker College Leadership Program, or The Bonner Program along with certification of completion.
• Admissions may request an additional recommendation depending on the applicant’s experience and education

The academic writing sample is requested of those who apply in the conditional, special or international categories above. Please submit a piece of your own writing that highlights your ability to think critically and to correctly reference the ideas of other writers.

Official transcripts are needed for the admission file. Contact your undergraduate and graduate college(s) or universities by mail, website or phone to request that your transcript be sent directly from their registrar to the ESR Director of Admissions.

You will designate which scholarship you wish to apply for during the application process. No other application is needed.

For ESR Access students, limited need-based aid of up to 50 percent is available. You will also need to complete the FAFSA.

Please write a 250-750 word essay on each of the following questions. Either upload a document following the instructions below or enter your responses in the text fields provided (if the latter, please write out your responses in a document before copying and pasting them into the text fields, in case of a technological glitch).

• Describe how you have discerned a calling to ministry and to seminary, and what forms you think your ministry will take.
• Tell us about your spiritual journey. What is your understanding of God and how God is at work in the world?
• Tell us how you first heard about ESR, why you have chosen to apply, and how ESR can contribute to your ministerial formation.
• How would you describe the church (broadly defined) and its ministry? How does this view relate to your faith tradition and your relationship with the religious and spiritual communities in your life?
• Tell us about an instance when you were met with a barrier or a challenge to living in or creating a diverse learning environment.