Applicant Requirements


  • You must be a citizen of the United States of America. 
  • You must be a resident of:

Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee or West Virginia.
Students must have lived in one of these states for a minimum of twelve months immediately prior to entering any educational institution (including online courses).  You cannot establish residency while you are a student.  The Trustees reserve the right to determine residency. 

  • Applicants must have the necessary academic qualifications required to be admitted by the Keesee beneficiary school to which he/she is applying.
  • See eligible schools tab.
  • A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 is required of applicants. If you are already enrolled in a Master's or Doctoral program the transcript uploaded to your application should include grades for all semesters completed at the time you apply.
  • See eligible degree programs tab. 
  • You must be preparing to enter the Baptist ministry or religious work in the Baptist denomination as defined in the application and as determined by the Board of Trustees.  
  • You must be a member of a Baptist church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Convention of Virginia, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Baptist General Association of Virginia, a state or national Baptist Convention, or a member of a church that identifies as Original Free Will Baptist. Applicants are required to provide contact information for their church pastor or other ministerial staff member to verify the applicant is a member of an eligible Baptist church, the date the applicant joined the church, the convention or association with which the church cooperates. Applicants are not considered for a Keesee grant without a third-party providing this information.
  • You must attend at least one class on the main campus of the eligible institution, a hybrid class, an equip class, class at an extension center, practicum or mentored internship class each semester. A hybrid class must meet on-campus at least once during the semester to qualify. Zoom or other virtual platforms are not considered as on-campus time for Keesee grant purposes. Equip and extension center classes must be endorsed by the eligible school, taught in person by a professor approved by the eligible school and at a location approved by the eligible school in order to be considered. Practicum/Mentored internships must be endorsed by the eligible school.
  • Grants are available for fall and spring break intensives. Grants are also available for J-term/winter term hours. J-term/winter term hours should be counted with spring semester hours.
  • Grants are not available for independent courses, conferences, workshops, seminars, colloquium classes, Competency Based Theological Education (CBTE) classes, synchronous classes in which you are virtually attending or individualized courses. Grants are not available for fully on-line students.
  • Required hours for students in eligible Master’s degree programs:

Full-time students (9 hours or more per semester) may take all courses on-campus, hybrid classes, classes at an extension center, equip classes, practicum or mentored internship courses OR students may take two online courses (6 hours) per semester to be counted toward the 9 hours required to receive the Keesee grant as a full-time student. The remaining course (3 hours) must be taken on-campus, a hybrid class, class at an extension center, equip class, practicum or mentored internship course as defined above. Only required courses toward an eligible degree from an eligible school count as credit for a Keesee grant.

Part-time students may take one online course (3 hours) AND one on-campus course, hybrid course, class at an extension center, equip class, practicum or mentored internship course to receive the Keesee grant. Only required courses toward an eligible degree from an eligible school count as credit for a Keesee grant.

  • You must reapply each year you wish to receive a grant. Grants are available for a maximum of 8 semesters for an eligible Master's degree, 6 semesters for Doctoral degrees and 4 semesters for the BA degree at Judson College (Formerly The College at Southeastern. Please see separate tabs).
  • Students must complete the number of hours for which a grant was awarded. Failure to complete your courses (dropping a course) may result in a grant refund being due Keesee Educational Fund.
  • Grants are not available for Master's students enrolled for less than 5 hours.
  • Grants are not available for fully online degrees.
  • Submitting an application does not guarantee approval of a grant.  
  • See separate tabs for Doctor of Ministry/Doctor of Educational Ministry/Doctor of Education/Doctor of Philosophy and students enrolled at Judson College (Formerly The College at Southeastern).