Idaho is a small but unusually varied state for religious education. Boise Bible College is the only dedicated accredited Bible college, Northwest Nazarene in Nampa is the state's evangelical university and its lone graduate theology center, New Saint Andrews in Moscow is nationally known for classical Reformed education, and BYU–Idaho in Rexburg is the largest religiously affiliated school in the state. This guide profiles 11 Idaho institutions with accreditation, tuition, formats, and state aid.
How this guide is organized
Idaho's religious schools fall into four groups, and they are less interchangeable than in most states:
A dedicated Bible college — Boise Bible College, where a Bible and theology core is required of every student.
Christian universities — Northwest Nazarene, New Saint Andrews, and The College of Idaho, each with a very different theological posture.
Latter-day Saint institutions — BYU–Idaho and the statewide Institutes of Religion, which serve a large share of Idaho students but teach LDS doctrine rather than historic Christian theology.
Church-based ministry training — Greyfriars Hall in Moscow and Calvary Chapel Boise's school of ministry, which are formation programs, not accredited degrees.
Because Idaho has so few accredited options, students here frequently mix in online study. Read our accreditation guide before enrolling anywhere that does not appear in a federal accreditation database.
Bible colleges and Christian universities in Idaho (undergraduate)
Undergraduate options concentrate in the Treasure Valley — Boise, Nampa, and Caldwell within a half hour of one another — with Moscow in the north and Rexburg in the east as the two outliers.
Boise Bible College
Location
Boise (northwest Boise)
Accreditation
ABHE
Denomination
Christian Church / Churches of Christ (Restoration Movement)
Programs
Bachelor's degrees in Biblical Studies, Preaching Ministry, Youth Ministry, Worship Ministry, Intercultural Studies, and Christian Education, plus associate degrees and certificates. Every degree is built on a required Bible and theology core.
Online
Limited — primarily residential, with some flexible and evening coursework
Tuition
Among the lowest four-year tuition in Idaho, typically in the low-to-mid teens before aid.
Why students choose it: Idaho's only dedicated Bible college and the anchor of Restoration Movement ministry training in the Intermountain West. Small class sizes, required weekly ministry placement in Treasure Valley churches, and an ABHE accreditation that keeps federal aid available make it the most direct path from Idaho to a church staff role.
Ideal for: Students committed to vocational ministry, Restoration Movement churches, and anyone wanting an affordable, Bible-centered bachelor's without leaving Idaho.
Bachelor's degrees in Christian Ministry, Biblical Studies, Youth Ministry, and Worship Arts, plus graduate degrees in Ministry, Spiritual Formation, and Theology, and a wide professional catalog in education, nursing, business, and counseling.
Online
Yes — extensive online and hybrid undergraduate and graduate programs
Tuition
Published undergraduate tuition in the $30,000s before aid; most students receive substantial institutional grants.
Why students choose it: The largest evangelical Christian university in Idaho and the state's main center for graduate ministry study. Founded in 1913, it serves as the Nazarene higher-education hub for the Northwest region and pairs ministry degrees with a full university's programs and campus life.
Ideal for: Nazarene and Wesleyan students, ministry students who want a university rather than a Bible-only curriculum, and working adults using online graduate tracks.
A single integrated Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Culture built on Scripture, classical languages, logic, rhetoric, and the Western canon, plus graduate programs in theology and classical Christian studies.
Online
Limited — primarily residential and cohort-based
Tuition
Well below typical private liberal-arts pricing, generally in the teens before aid.
Why students choose it: One of the best-known classical Christian colleges in the United States and a distinctive alternative to conventional Bible-college training. Students read primary texts across the whole curriculum, work in Latin and Greek, and defend an oral thesis. The college's ties to Christ Church in Moscow give it a strongly confessional Reformed identity.
Ideal for: Classically homeschooled students, future classical-school teachers, and Reformed students who want theology inside a rigorous great-books program.
Bachelor's and associate degrees across a broad catalog, with required religion coursework in scripture, doctrine, and church history for every student. Not a Christian Bible college in the evangelical sense — religious instruction is LDS.
Online
Yes — extensive online degrees through BYU-Pathway Worldwide
Tuition
The lowest four-year tuition in the state, a few thousand dollars per year, with reduced rates for church members.
Why students choose it: By enrollment, the largest religiously affiliated institution in Idaho by a wide margin, and one of the least expensive accredited universities in the country. Every student takes religion classes each semester, and the year-round track system makes degree completion fast.
Ideal for: Latter-day Saint students, and anyone comparing religious universities in Idaho on cost — note that its religious content is LDS, not evangelical or Catholic.
Bachelor's degrees with a Religious Studies major and minor, plus a distinctive four-minor PEAK curriculum that lets students pair religion with a professional field.
Online
Limited — primarily residential
Tuition
Published undergraduate tuition in the $30,000s before aid, with strong merit scholarships.
Why students choose it: Idaho's oldest private college, founded in 1891 by a Presbyterian minister. It is not a Bible college — the approach is academic religious studies rather than ministry formation — but it is the state's strongest liberal-arts route for students headed to seminary or graduate work in religion.
Ideal for: Students who want an academic study of religion, pre-seminary applicants building a strong liberal-arts transcript, and Treasure Valley residents seeking a selective small college.
Certificate-level ministry and expository Bible training delivered through the local church, with verse-by-verse study, homiletics, and hands-on ministry service.
Online
Varies by term — confirm current format with the church
Tuition
Church-based pricing, far below any degree program.
Why students choose it: A practical, low-cost option for Treasure Valley believers who want serious Bible training without a degree. Program offerings at church-based schools change from year to year, so confirm current enrollment directly.
Ideal for: Lay leaders, volunteers, and prospective church planters who value expository training over transferable academic credit.
Boise, Pocatello, Moscow, Twin Falls, and other campuses
Accreditation
Not a degree-granting accredited institution
Denomination
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Programs
Non-degree scripture, doctrine, and church-history courses offered adjacent to Idaho's public universities, with some credit transferable into BYU system schools.
Online
Yes — many courses offered remotely
Tuition
Free to participants.
Why students choose it: Included because it accounts for a large share of religious instruction in Idaho. It is a supplement to a secular degree rather than a Bible college, but it is often what Idaho families mean when they ask about religious study near a state university.
Ideal for: LDS students attending Boise State, Idaho State, or the University of Idaho who want structured scripture study alongside their major.
Northwest Nazarene University graduate theology programs
Location
Nampa
Accreditation
NWCCU (verify ATS status for specific degrees)
Denomination
Church of the Nazarene
Programs
Master of Divinity, M.A. in Spiritual Formation, M.A. in Youth Ministry, and graduate certificates in ministry and leadership, with ordination advising for the Church of the Nazarene.
Online
Yes — online and hybrid delivery across most graduate ministry degrees
Tuition
Graduate per-credit pricing below most West Coast seminaries, with denominational discounts for Nazarene ministers.
Why students choose it: The only accredited graduate theology program based in Idaho. Its online and cohort formats make it the practical choice for Idaho pastors who cannot relocate, and its Wesleyan-holiness curriculum is the ordination pathway for Nazarene clergy in the Northwest.
Ideal for: Working Idaho pastors, Nazarene ordination candidates, and spiritual-direction students.
A multi-year ministerial training program in biblical languages, systematic theology, church history, and preaching, culminating in examination for ordination in the CREC.
Online
No — residential apprenticeship model
Tuition
Low, church-supported cost; students typically work or serve locally while training.
Why students choose it: The Reformed ministerial pipeline attached to Christ Church in Moscow, closely tied to New Saint Andrews College. It is an apprenticeship rather than a degree program, so it is best suited to men pursuing ordination within the CREC or allied Reformed bodies.
Ideal for: CREC ordination candidates and Reformed students already embedded in the Moscow church community.
Students attend ATS/NWCCU-accredited seminaries elsewhere
Denomination
Roman Catholic
Programs
Diocesan discernment, pre-theology, and full priestly formation, with seminarians placed at Bishop White Seminary in Spokane, Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon, and other regional houses of formation.
Online
Not applicable — residential formation
Tuition
Costs are typically underwritten by the diocese for sponsored seminarians.
Why students choose it: Idaho has no Catholic seminary of its own, so the Diocese of Boise sponsors and places its seminarians regionally. Lay ministry formation, diaconate preparation, and catechist certification are run in-state through diocesan offices.
Ideal for: Idaho Catholics discerning priesthood or the permanent diaconate, and lay ministry candidates.
Idaho State University and University of Idaho religious studies
Location
Pocatello and Moscow
Accreditation
NWCCU
Denomination
Public / non-sectarian
Programs
Academic religious studies coursework and minors within public university curricula, alongside active campus ministries and religious centers.
Online
Varies by course
Tuition
In-state public tuition, the lowest of any four-year route in this guide apart from BYU–Idaho.
Why students choose it: Included for students who want inexpensive general-education and religion credits before transferring into a Bible degree or seminary. Public-university religious studies is descriptive and comparative rather than formational — plan on a Bible college or seminary afterward if you are preparing for ministry.
Ideal for: Cost-conscious students building transferable credits, and future seminarians wanting a research-oriented undergraduate base.
Published annual undergraduate tuition before institutional aid, with graduate and church-based programs noted separately. Net prices after grants are typically far lower.
School
City
Published tuition
Accreditation
Brigham Young University–Idaho
Rexburg
A few thousand per year
NWCCU
Boise Bible College
Boise
Low-to-mid teens
ABHE
New Saint Andrews College
Moscow
Teens
TRACS
University of Idaho (religious studies)
Moscow
In-state public rates
NWCCU
Northwest Nazarene University
Nampa
$30,000s
NWCCU
The College of Idaho
Caldwell
$30,000s
NWCCU
NNU graduate theology
Nampa
Graduate, per credit
NWCCU
Greyfriars Hall
Moscow
Church-supported
Not accredited
Figures reflect publicly published rates as of mid-2026 and are rounded. Confirm current tuition on each school's official site.
Boise Bible College's accreditor — verify any Bible college's status here.
Idaho region by region
Treasure Valley — Boise, Nampa, and Caldwell
Nearly all of Idaho's evangelical higher education sits inside a thirty-minute drive. Boise Bible College trains ministers in northwest Boise, Northwest Nazarene anchors Nampa with the state's only graduate theology programs, and The College of Idaho in Caldwell offers academic religious studies. Students often combine coursework at one school with a ministry internship at a church in another city in the valley, and Boise's growth has created steady demand for youth, worship, and church-plant staff.
North Idaho — Moscow and Coeur d'Alene
Moscow is the most theologically distinctive town in the state: New Saint Andrews College and Greyfriars Hall have made it a national center of classical and Reformed Christian education, sitting alongside the University of Idaho. Coeur d'Alene and the panhandle have no Bible college of their own; students there typically look west to Northwest University or Whitworth in the Spokane area, which is closer than Boise.
Eastern Idaho — Rexburg, Idaho Falls, and Pocatello
Eastern Idaho is dominated by BYU–Idaho in Rexburg and its Latter-day Saint student population, with Idaho State University in Pocatello nearby. Evangelical and Catholic students in this corner of the state usually study online or travel to the Treasure Valley.
Rural and central Idaho
Between the mountains, distance is the deciding factor. Students in Twin Falls, Salmon, and the Magic Valley most often enroll in accredited distance programs. Our online Bible degree hub covers programs designed for exactly this situation.
How to choose a Bible school in Idaho
1. Accreditation
Institutional accreditation (NWCCU). The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredits Northwest Nazarene, The College of Idaho, BYU–Idaho, and the public universities. Credits from these schools transfer most easily.
Bible college accreditation (ABHE). Boise Bible College is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education, a federally recognized accreditor. Federal aid applies, though transfer into a secular university can require course-by-course review.
Unaccredited church programs. Greyfriars Hall and church schools of ministry offer real training but no recognized credential, so credits generally will not transfer and federal aid does not apply. Confirm any school's authorization with the Idaho State Board of Education.
Idaho's schools sit at genuinely different points on the theological map. Boise Bible College is Restoration Movement, Northwest Nazarene is Wesleyan-holiness with an Arminian view of salvation, New Saint Andrews and Greyfriars Hall are confessionally Reformed and postmillennial in emphasis, The College of Idaho is academically independent of its Presbyterian founding, and BYU–Idaho teaches Latter-day Saint doctrine, which historic Christian denominations do not recognize as equivalent training for ministry. Read each doctrinal statement in full and confirm your denomination accepts the school for ordination before enrolling.
3. Format and life stage
Traditional undergraduate: Boise Bible College, Northwest Nazarene, New Saint Andrews, The College of Idaho.
Working adults: Northwest Nazarene's online undergraduate and graduate tracks.
Bivocational and current ministers: NNU graduate ministry online, or an out-of-state online seminary.
Chaplaincy candidates: plan on an ATS-accredited M.Div. — Western Seminary or Portland Seminary in Oregon are the closest, both with distance formats.
Catholic seminarians: apply through the Diocese of Boise for sponsorship and out-of-state placement.
Cost and financial aid for Idaho Bible students
Every accredited school in this guide participates in federal student aid. Start with the FAFSA, then apply for the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship, the state's primary need- and merit-based award, which is usable at eligible Idaho institutions including private nonprofit colleges. Idaho's state deadline falls earlier than most school deadlines, so apply in the winter rather than the spring. The Idaho Launch grant targets in-demand career fields and generally will not cover a ministry degree.
Denominational and church aid does a lot of work here: Christian Churches across the Northwest routinely fund Boise Bible College students, Nazarene districts support NNU ministry students, and the Diocese of Boise underwrites sponsored seminarians completely. Ask your church about matching funds before assuming a school is out of reach.
Boise Bible College is the state's only dedicated, accredited Bible college, training ministers in the Christian Church/Churches of Christ tradition. Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa is the largest evangelical Christian university in Idaho and the strongest choice for a full university experience with ministry and graduate theology programs. New Saint Andrews College in Moscow is the standout for classical Reformed liberal arts, and Brigham Young University–Idaho in Rexburg is by far the largest religiously affiliated school in the state, serving Latter-day Saint students.
Does Idaho have a seminary?
Idaho has no large ATS-accredited seminary campus. Graduate theological study in the state runs mainly through Northwest Nazarene University's graduate ministry and spiritual formation programs in Nampa, and through Greyfriars Hall, an unaccredited ministerial training program in Moscow. Most Idaho students pursuing a full M.Div. either study online or cross into Oregon, Washington, or Utah — Western Seminary and Portland Seminary in Portland, and Bishop White Seminary in Spokane for Catholic seminarians, are the usual destinations.
Is Boise Bible College accredited?
Yes. Boise Bible College is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), the recognized accreditor for Bible colleges. That means federal student aid is available and credits generally transfer to other ABHE and many regionally accredited institutions, though you should always confirm transfer with the receiving school in advance.
What is the cheapest Bible college in Idaho?
Brigham Young University–Idaho posts the lowest published tuition of any four-year religious institution in the state by a wide margin because the LDS Church subsidizes it heavily, with lower rates still for church members. Among evangelical schools, Boise Bible College is markedly less expensive than the private universities, and New Saint Andrews keeps tuition well below typical private liberal-arts pricing.
Can I use Idaho state aid at a Bible college?
Yes, in limited amounts. The Idaho Opportunity Scholarship is the state's main need- and merit-based award and can be used at eligible Idaho institutions including private nonprofit colleges. The Idaho Launch grant is aimed at in-demand career training and generally does not cover ministry degrees. Start with the FAFSA, then apply through the Idaho State Board of Education by the state deadline, which is earlier than most schools' own deadlines.
Are there online Bible degrees from Idaho schools?
Yes. Northwest Nazarene University runs a substantial online and hybrid catalog including graduate ministry and spiritual formation degrees, and Boise Bible College offers select coursework in flexible formats. BYU–Idaho's online BYU-Pathway Worldwide program is one of the largest low-cost online degree pipelines in the country for Latter-day Saint students. For a wider set of accredited distance options, our online hub compares programs nationwide.
What denominations are represented among Idaho Bible schools?
Boise Bible College is Christian Church/Churches of Christ, Northwest Nazarene is Church of the Nazarene (Wesleyan-holiness), New Saint Andrews and Greyfriars Hall are Reformed and confessional, The College of Idaho carries a historic Presbyterian founding, BYU–Idaho is Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Catholic formation runs through the Diocese of Boise with seminarians sent out of state.
How much does Bible school cost in Idaho?
Idaho is one of the least expensive states in the country for religious higher education. BYU–Idaho tuition runs a few thousand dollars per year, Boise Bible College is typically in the low-to-mid teens, New Saint Andrews in the teens, and Northwest Nazarene and The College of Idaho in the $30,000s before aid. Almost no student at the private schools pays sticker price once institutional grants and church matching are applied.
Tuition figures reflect official school publications and published rates as of mid-2026 and are subject to change. Always confirm current costs, program availability, and accreditation status on each school's official website before applying.
