Grants and Writing Resources for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College recognized 44 students for academic excellence at the annual student awards luncheon on April 15, 2026, with honorees ranging from bachelor's students to PhD and DMA candidates. Doctoral students present off campus too. At the August 2026 Research Doctoral Studies orientation, seven were recognized for presenting papers at conferences or meetings during the previous academic year. PhD, EdD and DMA students who are active members of a Southern Baptist church and hold a 3.75 GPA can receive the Southwestern Research Doctoral Scholarship, $2,800 toward tuition and fees.

Academic Awards

Faculty in each of Southwestern's schools nominate and vote on most honorees at the student awards luncheon, and faculty choose a President's Scholar in every school and in Texas Baptist College for character and scholarship. Several awards follow coursework closely. The Janet Copeland Hebrew Language Student Award goes to the top first-year Hebrew student, the Marian Vaughan Award to the best record in New Testament Greek, and the Walter Thomas Conner Memorial Award to exceptional work in theology.

History and research have their own prizes. The Robert A. Baker Award in Church History recognizes the top church history student, while the James Leo and Myrta Ann Garrett Award in Historical Theology goes for the best performance in historical theology courses. In educational ministries, the R. Othal Feather Award in Educational Evangelism is given to a doctoral student interested in administration and research in that field.

Doctoral Study and Funding

Research Doctoral Studies oversees the PhD, the PhD in World Christian Studies, the EdD and the DMA in Church Music. Flex Access PhD students can join seminars live online. The Southwestern Research Doctoral Scholarship provides $2,800 toward tuition and fees, split between fall and spring, for PhD, EdD and DMA students who are active members of a Southern Baptist church and hold a 3.75 GPA.

The 2026 doctoral orientation brought 83 research doctoral students together on campus for two days, with remote students from across the U.S. and other countries among them. Faculty led the breakout sessions. They covered preparing for seminars, comprehensive exams and prospectus papers, along with forming research questions and developing a dissertation thesis.

Help With Writing and Research

The Center for Writing and Rhetoric works with Southwestern students and faculty on research and writing skills. Its consultations look for patterns across a paper so writers learn to proofread and edit their own work over time. Papers are submitted through the Center's Canvas course.

For sources, Roberts Library takes research assistance requests by form, where students can state a topic or ask for an appointment or Zoom meeting. The library classifies Southwestern theses and dissertations by degree. Its guide to finding dissertations walks through searching ProQuest for PhD dissertations and master's theses and finding scanned Southwestern dissertations through the library's own search; DMin and DEdMin dissertations can be downloaded from TREN after signing in through Canvas.

When a paper, thesis, or dissertation is ready for a final edit, our editors can help. See our Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary dissertation and thesis editing and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.