A new Bible college in central Florida has been established by Reformed theologian Dr. R.C. Sproul and his teaching fellowship, according an announcement this past week.

Ligonier Academy of Biblical and Theological Studies in Sanford, Fla., was established as a "premier center for discipleship and for in-depth instruction and fellowship," announced Sproul's Ligonier Ministries on Tuesday.

"Ligonier Academy is a Bible college for the next generation that offers a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies, a Bachelor of Arts in Theological Studies, and an Associate of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies," commented Sproul, Ligonier's founder and president. "I am convinced that if you ground students in biblical truth at the college level, it will capture their thinking for the rest of their lives and enrich the church, and enrich the culture in which we live."

According to Ligonier Ministries, Ligonier Academy will welcome students with a range of educational goals. Some will prepare for seminary, graduate school, or further undergraduate work by first laying a foundation in biblical and theological studies. Others will complete their college education begun at another institution. Still others will seek personal enrichment and development through structured learning opportunities.

"Our degree programs are designed to give graduates a thorough knowledge of the Bible, a firm grounding in theology, and a conversance with the classic works of literature, philosophy, and music that shaped the intellectual world within which the great theologians of the church lived and wrote," remarked Dr. Fowler White, vice president for academic affairs.

The college, like Sproul's ministry, maintains a commitment to the historic Reformed faith as expressed in the “solas” of the Reformation and in the consensus of confessional standards from the Reformation era. The institution's doctrinal commitments also include endorsements of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and the Cambridge Declaration of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

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"The student body of the Academy will represent a broad range of evangelical affiliations," Ligonier Ministries announced. "Ligonier Academy is a natural expansion from the ministry's nearly four decades of teaching Christians to think deeply, critically, and obediently about every aspect of their faith."

Presently, the college is accepting applications for its first two- and four-year undergraduate degree programs, which will begin in the fall of 2011.

Faculty includes Christian leaders such as Dr. Fowler White, Dr. Keith Mathison, the Rev. Michael Morales, and Sproul, himself. Other teachers include Dr. Paul Helm, Dr. Stephen Nichols, Dr. Duncan Rankin, and Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr.