Financial Aid

Financial Aid

The purpose of financial aid is to assist students’ preparation for pastoral ministry or lay leadership in the church, and to respond to special financial circumstances. The seminary’s financial aid consists of any or all of the following: grants, recommendations for government loans, recommendations for part-time employment (on or off campus). Further assistance may be available from your home congregation, your District Office, and your relatives.

Financial aid is intended to supplement, not replace, the student’s own resources, and will be administered in such a way as to affirm the financial responsibility and integrity of both the student at the seminary.

Funds for internal financial aid derive from various sources: direct gifts from congregations, groups and individuals; offerings from Opening Service and Reformation Service; and interest from endowment funds.

Normally, financial aid will be offered only to full-time students preparing for pastoral ministry in Lutheran Church-Canada, who are not on academic probation.


Student Loans

At CLS we discourage students from relying on student loans from provincial or federal programs if at all possible. Instead, we hope to provide for students through internal financial aid drawn from endowed funds, our robust Adopt-a-Student program, and other sources. However, there are times and situations where applying for a government supported loan might be necessary. CLS is recognized as a designated institution through the Alberta Institution Divinity Program Designation Contract, and full-time students in the Master of Divinity program are eligible to apply for provincial and federal student loans.

For detailed student loan information and the online application: studentaid.alberta.ca.

If you use a student loan while you are a student at CLS, or if you have previous loans incurred during your undergraduate degree, you should register for online accounts with both the provincial Student Aid Alberta Service Centre and the federal National Student Loans Service Centre.

As you near the end of your program, we encourage you to speak with the Registrar or the Director of Financial Aid about your student loan repayment options.

Director of Financial Aid

financialaid @concordiasem.ab.caphone: (780) 474-1468fax: (780) 479-3067

Adopt-A-Student

A student can be “adopted” by:

  • your church

  • a group within your church

  • a group of friends

  • a family

  • an individual

How does it work?

You will communicate to CLS that you are interested in adopting a student.

CLS will:

  • Choose a student for you to “adopt” for the duration of the Master of Divinity or Graduate Diploma in Parish Service (GDPS) program. (The Canada Revenue Agency requires us, not you, to designate the particular student your gifts will help through this program.)

  • Ask him to send you a picture and a brief biography, along with his contact information, family members’ names and birthdays, etc.

You agree:

  • To pray regularly for the student and his family.

  • To encourage the student and his family in appropriate ways (e.g. writing occasionally, sending a card at Christmas and on birthdays, etc.)

  • You may also want to help support the student (and his family) financially and with gifts.

If so, remember:

  • When you as a group directly support a student, you are responsible for issuing a T4A slip at calendar year-end.

  • It is generally easiest for everyone if funds are channelled through CLS; we will then issue a T4A slip to the student.

CLS pledges:

  • That before we admit a student to the Master of Divinity program, he has declared his intention to enter the ministry of our church and has shown promise of his ability to do so.

  • That we will do our best to form students into “servants for Jesus’ sake” through academic study, practical experience, and personal formation.

  • That we will encourage students in every way possible toward the goal of full-time service in the Office of the Holy Ministry.

  • That we will forward 100% of your Adopt-a-Student donations to your “adopted” student for his living expenses, promptly upon receiving each gift.

Some Facts to Remember

Most students have completed at least four years of university education before entering the Master of Divinity program. In some cases, they come to the seminary with sizeable educational loans.

Many students are second career men with families. They left homes, jobs, and familiar communities and congregations in order to re-establish themselves in Edmonton. After two years here, they move again for their one-year vicarage. Then they move back to Edmonton again for their last year of studies – followed by a final move to their first pastoral call!

Some students’ wives are able to work and help with the family’s finances. Others are busy caring for small children. All are supportive of their husbands’ commitment to prepare for the Holy Ministry.

Typical costs for Master of Divinity students are:

  • $1,200 per course (3-credit hours)

  • $6,355 for a typical semester’s tuition and fees

  • $40,640 for the entire four-year M.Div. program (tuition and fees)

  • $800-$1,050 for rent (1-BR apartment) per month (source: study.alberta.ca)

  • $1005+ for food (family of 4), per month (source: AB Agric., July 2016)