Best online New Testament courses

You can study the New Testament online at almost any level — from a free seminary lecture series you finish in a month, to an accredited three-credit course that counts toward a degree and an ordination file. The right pick depends on one question: do you need credit?

Below are twelve courses worth your time in 2026, split by free versus for-credit, plus what each covers, what it costs, and how long it takes.

Best online New Testament courses at a glance

Tuition figures are approximate published per-credit rates for online students and exclude fees. Confirm current pricing with each school before enrolling.

Best free online New Testament courses

Free courses are the fastest way to get a serious grounding in the text without spending anything. None of them carry academic credit, but the lecturers are the same faculty teaching the paid seminary versions.

• BiblicalTraining — New Testament Survey: the closest thing to auditing a seminary classroom for free, with full transcripts and reading plans. Best overall free starting point for church leaders.
• Open Yale Courses — Introduction to the New Testament: 26 lectures from a historical-critical standpoint. Valuable even if you hold a high view of Scripture, because it shows you the questions the academy is asking.
• Dallas Theological Seminary free courses: evangelical, book-by-book modules on the Gospels, Acts, and Paul's letters.
• Wheaton College — Biblical Exegesis (Coursera): free to audit, and the single most useful course here if you want a repeatable method rather than content.

Accredited New Testament courses you can take for credit

If the course needs to count — for a degree, a denominational credentialing committee, or a chaplaincy application — it has to come from an accredited institution. Most schools admit non-degree students into single online courses.

• Undergraduate survey: Liberty, Moody, and most online Bible colleges run 8-week New Testament survey courses at roughly $390–$450 per credit, so about $1,200–$1,400 for three credits.
• Graduate survey and exegesis: Gordon-Conwell Semlink+, RTS Global, and online seminaries offer ATS-accredited graduate courses at roughly $350–$700 per credit that apply directly to an MDiv or MA.
• Greek track: Elementary Greek I and II are the gateway to real exegesis courses. Budget two terms before your first exegesis class.

Before you pay for credit, confirm the school's status on our accreditation hub or directly in the U.S. Department of Education database. Credits from an ABHE- or ATS-accredited school transfer far more reliably than credits from an unaccredited provider.

How to choose the right course

• Teaching a class this fall? Take a free survey plus the Wheaton exegesis course.
• Testing a call to ministry? Take one accredited three-credit course as a non-degree student; it transfers if you continue.
• Heading for ordination? Enroll in a degree instead of stacking single courses — see seminaries by denomination.
• Aiming at graduate study? Start Greek now; it is the bottleneck in every serious program.

What a strong New Testament course covers

1. Second Temple Judaism and the Greco-Roman world
2. The Synoptic Gospels and the Synoptic problem
3. The Gospel and letters of John
4. Acts and the shape of the early church
5. Paul: chronology, theology, and the disputed letters
6. Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation
7. Canon, manuscripts, and textual criticism
8. Hermeneutics: moving from exegesis to teaching

Next steps

If a single course confirms you want to go further, compare full programs on our degree programs directory, check what a degree costs on the online Bible college cost guide, and look up accredited schools in your state in the state directory.