ADMISSIONS

BGST is a Christian graduate school. The minimum requirement for entry is a Bachelor’s Degree from a recognised institution or the equivalent with a minimum Grade Point Average of 2.5 out of a possible 4.0. The personal and spiritual aspects of the applicant will also be considered. Decisions made will be based upon the whole application.

Those who do not possess a first degree may audit most classes or take most courses for credit under “Special Studies”.

CATEGORIES OF STUDENTS

Students are classified as follows:

1. Programme Students. These are students who wish to take up studies leading to the graduate diploma or degrees. Students may enroll on a full-time or a part-time basis.
    
2. Special Studies Students. These are students who wish to take courses for credit or audit* without enrolling in the graduate diploma or degree programmes. Special studies students may focus on areas of study that are of particular interest to them. They may gain programme status by going through the regular application process.
   
   * Audit students do not have to fulfill the assessment requirements such as examinations. However, they are encouraged to do class exercises and assignments to get maximum benefit from the course.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE  

Applications for admission to any of the Academic Programmes will be considered when all of the following items have been received:

1. Completed “Request for Admission Form” (Download form) Upon approval, the “Admission Form for Programme Studies” will be sent to you.
2. Completed “Admission Form for Programme Studies"
3. A non-refundable application fee of S$50
4. Two recent passport size photographs
5. Photocopy of highest academic certificate
6. Testimony of Conversion

• Applicants are to arrange for an appointment with the Director of Admissions.
• Applicants for the Grad Dip CS, MCS or M Div are to obtain two confidential reference forms from the office. Send these to two referees (one of whom should include a pastor or church leader) and ask that they mail the completed form to the Director of Admissions.

ADMISSION TO THE DEGREE PROGRAMMES 

MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAMMES
MCS and M Div

The entrance qualification is an undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and completion of the Grad Dip CS (or equivalent) with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 out of 4.0 at the graduate level.

Students who have completed the MCS may if they wish proceed to the M Div. All 60 credits from the MCS may in principle be counted towards the M Div. This permission is subject to the following conditions:

1. All the required courses for the MCS must be completed, including the MCS thesis or research project (for students taking the thesis/research project option).
2. If a MCS thesis/research project (6 credits) has been completed, this and any guided study or seminar work done in preparation for the MCS thesis/research project (1.5 credits) will be counted as equivalent to 6 or 7.5 credits’ worth of electives under the M Div programme.
3. Students will not be permitted to produce a thesis for M Div which overlaps in any significant way with an MCS thesis/research project.

ACCEPTANCE

As soon as ALL application papers are received, the application will be processed and potential students will be notified of their admission status. A student whose application is incomplete may enroll in a first course but should make every effort to complete the application process as soon as possible. If the student is not admitted into a programme, the student will be considered a Special Studies Student.

ADMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

The term “international student” refers to any individual from countries other than Singapore intending to study at BGST.

There are two requirements:

1. Before admission to studies at BGST all international applicants who are not native speakers of English must submit, with their application, an official International English Language Testing System (Academic English) (IELTS) or Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score. Applicants must obtain a minimum score of 5.5 for IELTS and 213/550 (computer based/paper-pencil) for TOEFL. Scores, not more than two years old, should be submitted to the Director of Admissions from the Test Centre. Information about the tests and the location of test centres may be obtained from http://www.ielts.org and http://toefl.org
    
2. Upon acceptance, we will send a set of the Student Pass Application Forms to the student. Acceptance into BGST does not include automatic issue of a student pass by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority. A student pass will only be granted to a student enrolled full-time at an institution. The Student's Pass application must be submitted at least two months and not more than six months from the course commencement date.

FINANCING YOUR EDUCATION 

The school is not responsible for assisting applicants in finding financial sponsors.

COURSE REGISTRATION POLICY

REGISTRATION

Applicants accepted into BGST need to register for courses. For class study, registration should preferably be done at least a week before the course begins. Private Study students may register any time during the year. Full-time students must register in person.

Before registering for courses, students should consult their faculty advisors concerning programme requirements and course offerings. However, the responsibility remains solely upon the student to ensure all Graduate Diploma and Degree programme requirements are fulfilled.

COURSE FEES

The course fees for 1.5 credit and 3 credit courses are $187.50 and $375 respectively. There will be an administrative fee of $50 for Private Study tutorials. Some courses may be taken on audit basis and the audit fees will be $130 (1.5 credits) and $260 (3 credits).

For same church group registration of 5 or more persons, there will be a 20% discount. To be eligible for the discount, registration form for each member must be submitted as a group with due payment before commencement of course.

COURSE CHANGES

The last day to add or drop class study courses is the fourth lecture for a 3 credit course and the second lecture for a 1.5 credit course.

Refund Policy: full refund up to one week will be given before the course begins; 60% before the third lecture and no refund thereafter.

Students may change from credit to audit and vice versa but this must be done by the second lecture.

All course changes are to be made through the Admin Office with a Course Change Slip.

CHANGE FROM CLASS TO PRIVATE STUDY

Students may convert from class study to private study by submitting a course change slip, giving reason(s) for change. Such students will need to pay an administrative fee of $50 for the Private Study tutorials.

The final deadline for submission of assignments is 1 month from the date of the last class for all international students who are at BGST on Student’s Pass, and 3 months from the date of the last class for all other credit students.