Master's · Kansas City, Missouri

Is Theological and Ministerial Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $59,505; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $73,997; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $30,750; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $33k (likely $33k – $33k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $13k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in MO; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6 years (likely 4.4–8.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$58k (likely −$120k – $3k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $143k (likely −$5k – $298k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.