Ph. D. Degree
Areas of Concentration
The Nature of the Degree
The doctoral degree is the sign of accredited membership in the scholarly community of the theological academy. Its attainment represents the judgment of the faculty, as representatives of that academy, that the recipient is qualified to perform the essential functions and duties of a professional theologian.
As a university degree, the doctorate of philosophy signifies orientation to the ideals of the university as a community of learning. Not all graduates will eventually function in a university setting; but all are formed by a university environment, and are expected to be committed to what the university stands for:not for simply passing on a body of knowledge, but the advance of learning through personal and communal enterprises.
Upon entering the PhD program, a student will be assigned an advisor working in the student’s intended Field of Study.This advisor will assist in the selection of courses, monitor the progress of language acquisition, and fill all additional roles necessary for good progress. By the conclusion of the first year of coursework, students may choose another member of the department to fulfill this role.All advisors are expected to keep track of the progress of their advisees and submit year-end summaries of progress to the chair. Students certainly may, but are not required to, ask their advisor to serve as the mentor for the dissertation. Some students, through graduate assistantships, will have the opportunity to work closely with individual members of the faculty in some of the everyday tasks of the academy. All students are invited not only to seek advice on their studies, but even more to get to know additionalfaculty members on a personal and informal basis and to engage with them in theological discussion.
Coursework
With the consultation of an advisor students will take responsibility for planning a curriculum of study that is both broad and specialized. Coursework at the doctoral level, even outside seminars, demands a more active role of the student: rather than simply absorbing information, the student is expected to contribute to the encounter with texts and ideas, to design projects, and to pursue independent study.
Students are required to take 12 courses to fulfill the requirement for doctoral coursework. Additional ancient language courses may be required for students in appropriate Fields of Study. Individual fields of study will have specific regulations concerning specific courses within the field as well as general rules about the number of courses to be taken within the field. Ordinarily, these courses will be completed during the first four semesters (including, possibly, the summer between the second and third semester) of doctoral study. In addition to the specific requirements within the field of study, students must complete a zero credit course,
Teaching Theology before they are permitted to teach courses for the department.
Language Proficiency
In the course of doctoral studies, all students will be called upon to demonstrate reading proficiency in two modern languages and will be expected to use these linguistic skills in reading for classes and papers. The possibilities for modern language (e.g. French, German, and/or Spanish) are set by the individual Fields of Study. For some students, a similar knowledge of ancient languages such as Greek and Latin will need to be demonstrated.
Proficiency in one modern language is required by the conclusion of the first semester of course work. Students who have obtained their language skills at other institutions must complete the department’s exam. Students must have successfully demonstrated proficiency in these languages before sitting for their comprehensive exams.
The Ph.D. Comprehensive Exams
The Ph.D. comprehensive exams represent a significant step beyond the course work and before the dissertation. They are not intended to test specific knowledge gained in any particular courses, but to demonstrate that the student has a sufficient understanding of the field. The student is required to choose two general areas of research within his or her primary Field of Study and one area in a related Field of Study, which will constitute the minor exam. The fourth exam will be more narrowly focused and should reflect the student’s intended subfield of dissertation research.
The exams should provide the student with an opportunity to achieve the following goals:(1) work toward a personal synthesis of theological studies; (2) demonstrate mastery of the methods of a theological discipline; (3) foster reflection on the relation of a student’s area of specialization to the whole of theology; (4) demonstrate capacity for planning research, writing, and critical thought.
Dissertation
A doctoral dissertation is the literary exposition of a thesis. The thesis is the theological proposition for which one marshals evidence and arguments. Ideally, one should be able to formulate the thesis in a declarative sentence: “my thesis is that..."
The writing of the dissertation is at the same time the last part of one’s formal education and the first major work of independent scholarship. It is meant to train the student in the skills needed to be a competent and productive member of the academic community, and to develop expertise in some limited area. The finished product is meant to demonstrate a number of things: that you can do scholarly research; that you have the ability to ask significant questions; that you have something original to contribute; that you can communicate intelligibly and in accepted academic form; that you can perform a task within an allotted time framework; that you have competence in your field, and are familiar with the relevant literature; that you can defend a position against objections that may be raised; and that you know and can use appropriate theological methods.
Your thesis is not simply a test of your competence, but is also meant to be a contribution to the field you are entering. It should add something new to scholarship: for example, the uncovering of new data; or a new interpretation or theory or synthesis regarding data already at hand; or a new evaluation or judgment of data or theories or their results; or the proposal of a new method or course of action to be followed.
Dissertation Defense
The purpose of the dissertation defense is twofold. First, the defense gives the student the opportunity to justify the written thesis: its presuppositions, methodology, use of sources, argumentation, and conclusions. Second, it is an opportunity for the student to explain the context and significance of the thesis, that is, to show how the thesis relates to other aspects of theology, to different views, and wider perspectives.
Expected Schedule of Progress
| Semester |
Coursework |
Languages |
Teaching |
Exams |
Dissertation |
| 1st (1st year) |
3 courses |
1st Modern |
no |
no |
no |
2nd (1st year)
|
3 courses
|
ancient if neccessary |
no |
no |
no |
| summer (1st) |
if desired |
as necessary |
no |
no |
no |
3rd (2nd year)
|
3 courses |
2nd Modern |
no |
no |
no |
4th (2nd year)
|
3 courses |
ancient if neccessary |
shadow |
proposal |
no |
summer (2nd)
|
no |
ancient if neccessary |
prep |
prep |
no |
| 5th (3rd year) |
no |
ancient if neccessary |
yes |
prep |
no |
6th (3rd year)
|
no |
ancient retention |
yes |
taken |
no |
summer (3rd)
|
no |
ancient retention |
possible |
no |
proposal |
| 7th (4th year) |
no |
ancient retention |
yes |
no |
accepted |
8th (4th year)
|
no |
ancient retention |
yes |
no |
research |
To view the entire Graduate Student Handbook, click here.
