Winterim

*This article first appeared in Ќηρυξαтε magazine

Since 2004 Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary has conducted a Winterim between the first and second semesters of its academic year. This two-week January session provides students with opportunities for additional work in areas of personal interest, as well as allowing them to work in subjects which are not normally part of the seminary curriculum. All on-campus students are involved in Winterim.

The WLS faculty and guest instructors offer a variety of courses on-campus. Although these courses cover many academic disciplines, they tend to be more practical than theoretical in scope. Students also have the option of taking courses off-campus, including SPICE (Spanish immersion program in Mexico) and urban outreach (ethnographic surveying in a home mission field). Other students opt to develop their own program of study. Directed research allows students to do translating work, research an area of personal interest, or develop an overseas study program.

When class space is available, Winterim courses are open to WELS/ELS pastors and students from WELS/ELS seminaries. Credits earned by pastors in Winterim may be applied to summer quarter degree programs, providing another continuing education opportunity.

In recent years students from the satellite seminaries of the PSI program have also included Winterim in their schedule, coming to Mequon as a group for a period of concentrated study. Having these non-traditional students on-campus also allows for a healthy cross-cultural interchange with our traditional seminary students.

Professor James F. Korthals coordinates Winterim.