United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is an ecumenical graduate school of the United Church of Christ located in New Brighton, MN. The school was formed in 1960 with the merger of Mission House Seminary of Plymouth, Wisconsin, and Yankton School of Theology in Yankton, South Dakota. Like the UCC itself, UTS reflects the merging of two denominational backgrounds: Mission House was related to the Evangelical and Reformed Church, while Yankton was one of the numerous schools affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches. The UCC was formed from the merger of those two bodies, which took place between 1957 and 1961, and UTS was the premier institutional expression of that landmark in ecumenical relations among American Protestants. Despite being formally affiliated with the UCC, the UTS charter states that the school is ecumenical, independent, and multi-denominational. Nonetheless, this is in keeping with the generally liberal, tolerant stands of the UCC tradition. UTS offers degrees in Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Religious Leadership, and Doctor of Ministry.