Theological & Ministerial Studies is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #124 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 4 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 310 bachelor's degrees in theological & ministerial studies to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Theological & Ministerial Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree
Your choice of theological & ministerial studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality theology program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on theological & ministerial studies students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - How many other theological & ministerial studies students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt theological & ministerial studies students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized theological & ministerial studies related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for theological & ministerial studies students working on their bachelor's degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Theological & Ministerial Studies in the Plains States Region
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for theological & ministerial studies students seeking a a bachelor's degree.
Top Plains States Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Theology
Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in theological & ministerial studies needs to look into University of Northwestern - St Paul. Northwestern is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Paul.
Theological & Ministerial Studies bachelor's degree recipients from University of Northwestern - St Paul receive an earnings boost of around $7,900 above the average income of theological & ministerial studies majors.
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in theological & ministerial studies has to check out Martin Luther College. Located in the distant town of New Ulm, MLC is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the theology program report average early career wages of $15,327.
It's hard to beat Benedictine College if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in theological & ministerial studies. Located in the town of Atchison, Benedictine College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the theological & ministerial studies program at Benedictine College get $7,287 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).