undergradly.
Major · Theology

A vocational credential for ministry and faith-based work

Theology/Theological Studies (CIP 39.0601) prepares students for ordained ministry and faith-based teaching from inside a particular religious tradition. About 938 students complete it across 169 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning around $47,414 in tracked five-year wages.

Schools offering
169
Annual completions
938
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$47k

About this major

Theology/Theological Studies (CIP 39.0601) is a vocational credential preparing students for ordained ministry, faith-based teaching, and lay leadership from inside a particular religious tradition. The CIP definition organizes coursework around systematic theology, historical theology, moral theology, doctrinal studies, dogmatics, apologetics, and applications to specific questions of ecclesiastical polity and religious life. Programs are tradition-specific: Catholic theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Benedictine College, Reformed and evangelical theology at the Master’s University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, rabbinical study at the Rabbinical Colleges in New York, Pentecostal theology at SUM Bible College, and broadly evangelical work at Moody Bible Institute. Coursework typically includes original-language work (Greek, Hebrew, or Latin) and substantial reading in the tradition’s primary texts.

The major fits students with a settled or seriously developing religious commitment, drawn to careful reading and argument within their tradition, and considering ministry, religious-education work, or graduate seminary study. It rewards careful textual reading, comfort with theological argument and disagreement, and the patience to work through long primary sources in original languages. The career path runs from lay-staff and entry ministry roles into ordained pastoral or rabbinic leadership, with senior teaching and academic posts arriving after seminary or doctoral work.

One grounded observation about scale and credential ceiling: 938 students complete this CIP across 169 institutions — a high college count reflecting the tradition diversity and the small enrollment per program. Two named labor-market destinations show different credential gates: clergy ($60,820, 1% growth) lists a bachelor’s as typical entry, while philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary ($78,050, 0.7% growth) requires a doctoral or professional degree. Bachelor’s graduates earn $47,414 in five-year tracked wages — below the BLS clergy median, reflecting the share of graduates in entry-level ministry, lay-staff, parachurch, and stipended early-career roles. Most mainline Protestant and Catholic ordination paths add a three-year M.Div. on top of the bachelor’s.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Clergy $61k +1.0% Bachelor's degree
Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary $78k +0.7% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$47k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$45k

Bachelor's

$47k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you have a settled or seriously developing religious commitment and want to study your own tradition deeply, you’re drawn to careful textual reading in primary sources and comfortable with original-language work in Greek, Hebrew, or Latin, you’re considering ordained ministry, religious-education work, or seminary study after the bachelor’s, you’ve identified a school whose tradition matches your own (the curriculum is faith-internal, so the institution’s tradition shapes everything), and you’re realistic that the bachelor’s opens entry ministry and lay-staff roles while ordination and senior teaching require graduate-level study.

Think twice if you’re drawn to religion as an academic topic from the outside rather than from within a faith — Religious Studies (typically CIP 38.02xx) is taught at most major universities and prepares you for academic, journalism, nonprofit, and government work where religion is the subject of analysis. Reconsider if your call is primarily practitioner-focused pastoral or church-leadership work; Divinity/Ministry (CIP 39.0602, 705 completions) leans toward pastoral care, preaching, and applied ministry skills. Also pause if your goal is postsecondary religion teaching — that path requires a doctoral degree, with $78,050 median pay and only 0.7% growth in a small academic job market.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Theology/Theological Studies

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Franciscan University of Steubenville Steubenville, OH 24 89 113
Rabbinical College of Ohr Shimon Yisroel Brooklyn, NY 0 58 58
Rabbinical Seminary of America Flushing, NY 0 53 53
SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary El Dorado Hills, CA 6 45 51
The Master's University and Seminary Santa Clarita, CA 0 45 45
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, KY 6 35 41
Benedictine College Atchison, KS 0 33 33
Faith Theological Seminary and Christian College Tampa, FL 7 26 33
Moody Bible Institute Chicago, IL 0 20 20
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 0 20 20
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Divinity/Ministry

705 completions/yr

Theological and Ministerial Studies, Other

492 completions/yr

Pastoral Studies/Counseling

394 completions/yr

Pre-Theology/Pre-Ministerial Studies

122 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Theology majors actually study?
The CIP definition organizes coursework around the beliefs and doctrine of a particular religious faith from inside that faith: systematic theology, historical theology, moral theology, doctrinal studies, dogmatics, apologetics, and applications to ecclesiastical polity and religious life. Programs are tradition-specific — Catholic theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Reformed and evangelical theology at the Master’s University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, rabbinical study at the Rabbinical Colleges, Pentecostal theology at SUM Bible College. Coursework typically includes original-language work (Greek, Hebrew, or Latin) and substantial reading in the tradition’s primary texts.
What jobs do graduates land — and at what pay?
Named destinations are clergy ($60,820, 1% growth, bachelor’s typical) and philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary ($78,050, 0.7% growth, doctoral typical). Bachelor’s graduates in this packet earn $47,414 in five-year tracked wages — below the BLS clergy median, reflecting the substantial share of graduates serving in entry-level ministry, lay-staff, parachurch, and unpaid or stipended early-career roles. Common positions include associate pastor, youth or family minister, religious-education director, missionary, and faith-based-nonprofit staff.
Do I need a graduate degree to be ordained or to teach religion?
It depends on tradition and role. Most mainline Protestant and Catholic ordination paths require a Master of Divinity (M.Div., typically three years of seminary). Evangelical and nondenominational traditions are more variable — some ordain on a bachelor’s, some require an M.Div. Postsecondary religion teaching ($78,050, 0.7% growth) typically requires a doctorate (Ph.D. or Th.D.), and tenure-track posts are scarce. Plan the bachelor’s as preparation for seminary or graduate study unless your tradition explicitly ordains at the bachelor’s level.
Why is the institution list almost entirely religious schools?
Theology is a faith-internal discipline, so it’s taught primarily at religiously affiliated institutions. The top producers reflect the tradition diversity: Franciscan University of Steubenville (Catholic, 113 graduates), Rabbinical College of Ohr Shimon Yisroel and Rabbinical Seminary of America (Orthodox Jewish, 111 combined), SUM Bible College (Pentecostal), Master’s University (Reformed/evangelical), Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Benedictine College (Catholic), Moody Bible Institute, Notre Dame. Self-selection by religious affiliation drives both the program list and the curriculum at each school.
How does this compare to Religious Studies?
Religious Studies (typically CIP 38.02xx) is the secular academic study of religion from the outside — comparative, historical, and sociological — and is taught at most major universities. Theology/Theological Studies (39.0601) is the study of a particular faith from inside that faith. The career paths differ accordingly: religious studies prepares you for academic, journalism, nonprofit, and government roles where religion is a topic of analysis; theology prepares you for ministry and faith-based work within your tradition.
What about Divinity/Ministry as a related undergraduate track?
Divinity/Ministry (CIP 39.0602, 705 completions) is the more practitioner-focused undergraduate path — emphasizing pastoral care, preaching, ministry leadership, and applied ministry skills. Theology/Theological Studies (39.0601) leans more academic and doctrinal. Many seminaries combine the two at the graduate (M.Div.) level. If your call is primarily to pastoral or church-leadership work, Divinity/Ministry may fit better; if you’re drawn to deep doctrinal study and possibly graduate teaching, Theology fits better.