Criswell College

Criswell is a Christian college in Dallas, Texas, offering degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Since its establishment in 1970, the college has played a unique and important role in Baptist and church life. Thankful for that legacy, we continue to build an institution of higher learning, with a diverse community of Christian, evangelical believers, that is devoted to academic excellence and spiritual vitality.

Criswell maintains a credentialed and experienced faculty who are dedicated to ministry and to the church. The college’s relatively small size enables professors not only to instruct but also to mentor, providing students the opportunity to explore theological issues both safely and deeply, and obtain the skills necessary to influence society.

The college is devoted to student development, seeking to shape a student’s character and knowledge in many ways. At the same time our students shape our community with their presence as they test their ideas and challenge and learn from their peers and mentors. We, therefore, choose our students carefully, for we are invested in their academic and spiritual development and the contributions they will offer to society.

On October 5, 1969, his twenty-fifth anniversary as the pastor of First Baptist Dallas, Dr. W. A. Criswell presented to the church his vision for an institute that would provide biblical teaching for lay people that would be both intellectually and spiritually sound. The church enthusiastically approved the recommendation on October 7, 1970, and began developing the curriculum that would reflect the nature of the lifelong ministry of W. A. Criswell: teaching centered on the Bible, with an evangelical theology and evangelistic passion.

Mission

The college’s mission statement drives our institutional planning, affecting both curricular and co-curricular activities. It shapes everything from our financial goals and plans, to our hiring decisions, and  our marketing strategies, and provides purpose and vision to our everyday tasks. Most importantly, however, it shapes the Criswell student experience, equipping all our students – whether their plans are to serve in traditional paid ministry, in some other career, or a combination of both – to influence the culture for Christ.

The mission of Criswell College is to provide ministerial and professional higher education for men and women preparing to serve as Christian leaders throughout society, while maintaining an institutional commitment to biblical inerrancy.

Core Values

Certain values have been at the core of Criswell College throughout its history, driving not only what we do but why we do it. The emphases and applications have adapted as culture has changed, but they have always provided a baseline for the college’s mission.