The short answer
It depends entirely on what you need it to do. For formation, depth, and standing within a faith community, an unaccredited religious degree can be genuinely valuable. For state licensure, credit transfer to an accredited university, or roles that require an accredited degree, it will not work — and no amount of institutional language changes that.
SGTU is not regionally or nationally accredited. We are a Florida-registered religious institution under Florida Statute 1005.06(1)(f), authorised by the Commission for Independent Education to confer religious degrees for religious vocational purposes. That is a legal authorisation to grant religious degrees — it is not accreditation, and we do not present it as such.
What accreditation actually certifies
Accreditation is a peer-review process in which an external body evaluates an institution against shared standards and publishes the result. Its practical effect is portability: accredited credits are more likely to transfer, accredited degrees are accepted as prerequisites for licensure and for many graduate programs, and some employers require them outright.
What accreditation does not do is measure whether a particular course changed how you sit with a dying man's family. It is a statement about institutional process and portability, not a verdict on personal formation. Both things are real; they are simply not the same thing.
Where a religious degree does real work
Within faith communities, theological study is often evaluated on its substance rather than its accreditation status. A denomination ordaining a candidate, a hospice hiring a chaplain into a faith-based role, or a congregation calling a pastor typically weighs formation, references, and demonstrated competence.
For someone already serving — a pastor, a lay leader, a chaplain, a funeral-home family-care worker — structured graduate study in grief and wellness counseling can sharpen practice in ways that show up immediately in the work. That is a legitimate reason to enrol, and it does not depend on accreditation.
Where it will not work, plainly
It will not qualify you for state licensure as a counselor, therapist, or social worker. It will not reliably transfer into a regionally accredited university — transfer is always the receiving institution's decision, and unaccredited credit is frequently declined. It will not satisfy employers or government roles that specifically require an accredited degree.
If any of those are your goal, an unaccredited program is the wrong purchase regardless of its quality, and you should choose an accredited clinical or academic route instead.
How to decide
Write down what you want the credential to do for you in five years, in concrete terms — a specific role, a specific licence, a specific kind of work. Then ask whether an unaccredited religious degree can deliver that. If your answer involves licensure, transfer, or an accreditation requirement, choose an accredited program. If it involves depth, formation, and service within a faith context, an unaccredited religious degree may fit well.
Either way, make the decision with the limitation in full view rather than discovering it afterwards.
Questions we hear a lot
Will my SGTU credits transfer to an accredited university?
What is Florida Statute 1005.06(1)(f)?
Can I become a licensed therapist with an unaccredited degree?
Related answers
Still deciding whether this is your path?
Read how our programs are structured — including what they are and are not designed to do.