Admission Policies

Anyone may apply for admission whether he wishes to become a member of the diocesan clergy or of a religious order.

Application

Documentation Requirements

The applicant must provide the following documents to the Rector of the Seminary:

1. Certificate of Baptism
2. Certificate of Confirmation
3. Parents’ Marriage Certificate (copy)
4. A report from a doctor after a recent medical checkup with a description of any serious present or past health problems.
5. Transcript of secondary school and of all post-secondary academic work.
6. Testimonial letter from pastor.
7. Letter of recommendation by (arch)bishop, if sponsored by diocese.
8. Curriculum vitae:
   1. Employment history with dates and places of employment along with phone numbers and addresses of employers.
   2. A few pages of information about yourself touching on family background, significant childhood and youth experiences, educational interests, religious practices and attitudes, character strengths and weaknesses, reasons for considering the priesthood, so as to give an accurate picture of the candidate’s readiness for seminary life.
9. English Proficiency Certificate (for ESL Students): See English Proficiency Policy.

Tuition/ Room & Board Fees Policy

Current Fees Schedule

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Founding Principle of Funding

From its inception in 1931, the Seminary has been following the principle that no promising student is denied entrance because of insufficient funds.  Eligible students, their families, and their sponsoring dioceses have the primary responsibility for bearing the cost of an individual’s fees and expenses. If a promising student exhausts the financial resources available to him, the Seminary will assess whether it will provide financial support in view of his suitability to the priestly vocation (See Financial Aid).  Among the criteria used by the members of the board to evaluate the suitability of the student for continued priestly formation are his human qualities and academic performance as specified in the Program for Priestly Formation approved by the Conference of Canadian Catholic Bishops.

Responsibility For Payment:

The seminary accepts students in two different categories: those who are affiliated to a diocese or religious congregation as well as those who enter the academic program as independent students (not affiliated to a diocese or religious congregation).

Seminarians not affiliated with a diocese and pursuing an academic program in the Faculty of Arts are responsible for their seminary fees and personal expenses associated with their studies.

Seminarians beginning their studies in the Faculty of Theology are financially supported by the diocese or religious congregation which sponsors them. The seminary directly bills the ecclesial institution which sponsors the seminarian for tuition, room and board, student association fees and textbooks purchased from the Seminary Bookstore. The ecclesial institution (diocese or religious congregation) then pays the seminary.

Seminary fees are payable at the beginning of September and January respectively.  Payment can be made by cheque, cash, or electronic transfer. The Seminary of Christ the King is a qualified institution for Canada Student Loans.

After consulting with the seminary financial officer, the student may pay his current semester fees in four monthly installments on a date to be mutually agreed upon.  Students with outstanding fees at the end of a semester will not be issued academic transcripts nor be permitted to register for subsequent studies at the Seminary of Christ the King until their accounts with SCK are cleared.  Students who decide to leave on their own volition or are dismissed receive a pro-rated refund of their fees.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS also fall under the same two categories above and may or may not be supported by a diocese or religious congregation.

English Proficiency Policy

English is the official language of instruction at SCK. Consequently, any student who lacks proficiency in the English language will have difficulty studying at SCK. In the interest of ensuring that all students of SCK have sufficient English language skills to cope with the rigors of the academic curriculum, SCK has adopted the following English Language Proficiency policy:

1. All applicants are required to demonstrate proficiency in both spoken and written English before their acceptance to SCK.Written proficiency may be shown by completing one of the following:
   • BC English 12 or equivalent (minimum grade: 60%)
   • A paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam (min. score: 560)
   • A paper-based TOEFL exam (min. score: 550) plus the Test of Written English (TWE) exam (min. score: 50)
   • A computer-based TOEFL exam (minimum score: 220)
   • Internet based TOEFL iBT testing: overall score of 86 points, with a minimum score of 21 points in each of the four testing areas—reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
   • IELTS (International English Language Testing System); a score of at least 6.5 with no band less than 5.0.
   • Additional ways to meet the requirement.
2. All students are expected to maintain an acceptable standard of English language proficiency in all their coursework at Seminary of Christ the King. A student who consistently demonstrates deficient skills in English may be advised to discontinue their studies until they receive remedial help in the language. Such a student may resume studies at SCK upon receipt of official documentation attesting to improvement (i.e. official transcripts, acceptable TOEFL scores etc.).

Please note that SCK reserves the right to use discretion in determining English language proficiency.