The Southwest Institute of Religious Studies has a variety of enrollment options to meet a student’s financial needs and educational goals.
Udemy
For students who do not need or want to pursue certificates, they can enroll in the courses through Udemy at a lower fixed price per class (approximately $45, but we also run seasonal discount sales down to $19.99). Udemy courses offer the same video instruction and access to multiple choice tests, but they do not have much instructor interaction and have no essay requirements. They also do not generally count towards the requirements for a certificate or diploma. Note: If a Udemy student decides later that they want to pursue a certificate, they can transfer up to (3) classes MAX from Udemy by requesting and passing the essay tests in addition to have completed the Udemy course with an 85% or better.
Per Course Purchase on SWIRS.org
Courses that count towards certificates and diplomas are available for individual purchase on SWIRS.org for $80 each. A maximum of two courses can be taken at the same time. These courses involve high instructor involvement, one virtual class meeting per term, and research essays. If an entire certificate is completed this way, it would cost a student $640 plus any required textbooks (most are free). A Summative Certificate competed this way would cost between $2560 (Cert 1) to $4800 (Cert 2).
SWIRS.org Subscriptions
In order to make obtaining certificates more affordable, the Southwest Institute of Religious Studies also offers monthly subscriptions to pay for courses at a reduced rate. These subscriptions require a six month contract and if they are ended early, students are required to pay the difference for classes they have enrolled in or completed at the per course purchase rate.
Students who wish to take one course at a time can sign up for the $35 monthly subscription with a 6 month minimum contract, after which students are charged month to month and can cancel at any time with 30 days notice. A certificate completed this way would cost $560 plus any required textbooks (most are free). A Summative Certificate completed this way would cost between $2240 (Cert 1) to $4200 (Cert 2).
Students who wish to take two courses at a time can sign up for the $70 monthly subscription with a 6 month minimum contract, after which students are charged month to month and can cancel at any time with 30 days notice. The cost for completion of a certificate this way is the same as the one course subscription. However, students who sign up for the two course subscription will complete the certificates in half the time.
NOTE: To complete a certificate one course at a time, it will take approximately 16 months. It would take approximately 8 months to complete a certificate when taking two courses at a time. To complete Summative Certificate 1 one course at a time, it would take approximately 5.3 years. It would take approximately 2.6 years to complete it if the student takes two courses at a time. To complete Summative Certificate 2 one course at a time, it would take approximately ten years. To complete it two courses at time, it would take approximately five years.