Updated: 22 March 2010
THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in Systematic or Historical Theology
Nature and Goals
The degree “Doctor of Philosophy” (Ph.D.) in historical/systematic theology represents an achievement in theological scholarship and research. The Ph.D. program is designed to prepare graduate students to make significant contributions to knowledge in a major area of historical or systematic inquiry while broadening their understanding of other areas of theology. By means of research seminars, advanced level courses, language skills, comprehensives, and an extensive research project, the program is designed to develop graduates who are capable of thorough theological understanding and careful research.
Prerequisites for Admission
1. At least twelve credit hours of undergraduate or graduate philosophy. Normally, these credits should be in four of the following areas: ancient philosophy, medieval philosophy, modern philosophy, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics.
2. At least fifteen credit hours of undergraduate and/or graduate courses in theology of religious studies at a B grade level or above. These should include courses in the Old and New Testaments, church history, and systematic and moral theology. Upon review of an applicant’s previous studies, some prerequisite courses may be required at the discretion of the admissions committee.
Course Requirements
The Ph.D. degree requires:
1. A minimum of thirty-six hours of course work after the M.A. degree:
1. Eighteen hours (including TRS 760A: Theological Foundations) are to be taken in the student's area of concentration (historical or systematic theology) in courses at the 700-level (lecture) and 800-level (seminars). At least twelve of these eighteen hours are to be taken in 800-level seminars which require major research papers.
2. Twelve hours of electives that may be taken in any of the academic areas of the School of Theology and Religious Studies.
3. Six hours in a minor area outside the major area of concentration (see below). With the approval of the academic area director, these courses may be taken in other graduate schools of the University.
4. Students who enter the Ph.D. program with an inadequate background are encouraged to audit 600 level courses in order to complement their courses at the 700- and 800-level.
Language Requirements
Candidates for the Ph.D. must demonstrate a reading knowledge of the following languages: [1] Latin, [2] Greek, [3] German, and [4] a major Romance language.
[1] Reading knowledge of Latin must be demonstrated by successful completion of the Latin Proficiency Exam administered by the Historical/Systematic area or by a course in Patristic or Medieval Latin. Ordinarily, the Latin requirement should be satisfied during a student's first fall semester in the program.
[2] Reading knowledge of either biblical or patristic Greek must be demonstrated either by the successful completion of a reading course in biblical or patristic Greek—depending upon the student's area of concentration—or by an examination administered by the Historical/Systematic area.
[3] Reading knowledge of theological German must be demonstrated either by passing an examination administered by the Historical/Systematic area or by passing TRS 504 “Theological German”.
[4] Reading knowledge of a modern Romance language (French, Italian, Spanish) must be demonstrated by passing an examination administered by the Historical/Systematic area
Minor Area
Ph.D. students, in consultation with their faculty advisors, are to choose a minor area of concentration outside the major area of concentration. While students are not expected to have the depth or extent of knowledge in the minor area which is expected in the principal area of concentration, they are expected to know how this other area relates and contributes to the principal area of concentration, in particular, to the more specialized field within a student’s principal area of concentration.
Appropriate minor areas of concentration include systematic theology, moral theology, historical theology, biblical theology, spiritual theology, liturgical theology, comparative theology, canon law, church history, religious education/catechesis, and religion and culture. A student may choose another area for a minor with the approval of the area director. Students in historical theology should ordinarily take church history as the minor area of concentration. A minor area must be fulfilled by six hours of course work.
Comprehensive Examinations
A comprehensive examination is required for the Ph.D. degree. This examination is intended to demonstrate a student's knowledge in the principal area of concentration (historical or systematic)—in particular, the area within that concentration in which a student intends to write a dissertation. The examination will take place on three days according to the examination period specified by the University calendar.
The purpose of the comprehensive examination is not simply to examine students about knowledge acquired through course work, but also to provide an opportunity to study areas not treated in their courses, as well as to deepen knowledge of areas already studied, and to synthesize and interrelate areas of theological knowledge. Consequently, it would be a misuse of the comprehensives if they were used primarily to examine students on reading lists that were used in particular courses, or if no attempt were made to take the student beyond course work. The time for comprehensives should be seen as a time for independent study in collaboration and consultation with faculty members.
Procedure for forming a Comprehensive Board:
1. When ready to begin preparation for Comprehensives, a student, after consultation with his/her faculty advisor, will meet with the area director to discuss the appointment of three faculty members to serve on the board.
2. The board will include faculty members representative of the different subjects under examination; one member of the examining board will be designated as chair of the examining board.
3. After consultation with the student and the prospective faculty members of the board, the area director will appoint the members of the board.
4. The student will then meet with each member of the board and draw up a reading list on which the examination will be based.
5. In composing the reading list, the examining board is to follow the general guidelines given below.
6. After the reading lists have been approved by each of the three members of the board, electronic copies of the three lists will be submitted to the area director for approval.
7. Once the reading lists have been approved, the student will submit to the area director copies of the reading list signed by the respective faculty members; the signed copies are to be placed in the student’s file.
Guidelines for the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination
The examination will be based upon a reading list drawn up by the student in consultation with the three members of the examining board. The list should include approximately fifty substantive titles drawn from both primary and secondary sources as well as works by authors in other Christian traditions. Titles may be books, or a combination of articles by a single author, equivalent to book length.
The reading list in systematic theology should consist of approximately twenty books in the student’s area of concentration and five books in each of six collateral areas.
The reading list in historical theology should consist of fifteen books in the student’s major historical period, ten books in each of the two other historical periods, and fifteen books in the student’s theological area.
The chair of the examining board will send the finalized reading lists of the board to the area director for review. The area director may request revision of reading lists. After receiving the area director's approval of the reading list, the student will distribute copies of it to all three professors on the board (and to the student's advisor, if the advisor is not on the board). The area director will see that a copy of the approved reading list is placed in the student's file.
The examination questions will be drawn up by the examining board and a copy submitted to the area director.
The PhD comprehensive exam in systematic theology has the following format:
1. Major Area: three responses chosen from a list of six questions.
2. Collateral Areas: six responses—each chosen from six sets of two questions.
The PhD comprehensive exam in historical theology has the following format:
1. Major Historical Period (Patristics, Medieval, Modern): three responses chosen from a list of six questions.
2. Minor Historical Periods: one response from the first set of
three questions; one response from the second set of three questions; one at the student’s option.
3. Theological Area: three responses chosen from a list of six questions.
Registration
PhD comprehensive examinations are administered in the spring, summer, and fall according to the dates indicated by the office of the Dean of Graduate Studies; the dates may be obtained from the Assistant Director for Graduate Admissions. A student who wishes to take comprehensives must register on line through Cardinal Station (TRS 598D: Doctoral Comprehensives with classes, or TRS 599D: Doctoral Comprehensives without classes) and also submit a written application (which is available on the STRS website) to the area director .
The comprehensive examination may be taken only after any provisional elements attached to the student's status have been regularized and after all language requirements for the degree have been satisfied.
Preparation for the comprehensive examination should normally be six to eight months of study. The time allowed for preparation may not exceed twelve calendar months, without the written approval of the area director.
Grading
The comprehensive examination will be graded by the examination board on a pass-fail basis. After each board member has read the entire examination, the board will meet to discuss the examination and then will communicate the results of this discussion to the area director who may, at his discretion, bring the matter to the entire area faculty. The area director will communicate the results to the student, as well as the Dean and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.
If a student fails a comprehensive examination, it may be repeated only once. However, the retake should be scheduled for the following semester at the earliest, and may not occur during the semester in which the failure occurred. A second failure in the same examination automatically terminates a student's enrollment in the Ph.D. program.
Systematic Theology
For the purpose of the comprehensive examination, the major branches of systematic theology are considered to be:
1. Foundational Theology (Method, Hermeneutics, Religious Language)
2. Theology of God
3. Revelation and Faith
4. Christology and Soteriology
5. Ecclesiology
6. Sacramental Theology
7. Christian Anthropology
8. Eschatology and Theology of History
9. Ecumenical Theology
10. Theology of Religions
From these areas, six collateral areas must be chosen by the student; these six areas will constitute the subject matter for the first two days of the comprehensive examination. Within these areas, the student should focus upon certain specific themes, problems, or topics in greater depth. These foci should be listed on the reading lists.
On each of the three days of the examination the student will be required to answer three of six questions within four hours. On the first two days, the student must answer one of two questions from each of the six areas of systematics selected.
The major area in which a student intends to specialize and anticipates writing a dissertation will be the matter for the third day of the comprehensive examination. The major area may not be one of the six branches on the first two days of the examination.
Historical Theology
1. For the purposes of the doctoral comprehensive examination, the Christian tradition is divided into three historical periods: early Christian (patristic), medieval, and modern. Study is to be done in each of the three periods.
2. A student will choose to specialize in one of these historical periods and will also choose a particular theological topic in its development through all three periods (e.g., Christology in the patristic period, anthropology in the medieval period, ecclesiology in the modern period).
3. On each of the three days of the examination the student will be required to answer three of six questions within four hours.
The matter for the first day of the examination will be the historical period in which the student has chosen to specialize. The second day will be devoted to the other two historical periods, and the third day will focus on the topic the student has chosen in its development.
Admission to Candidacy
A PhD student may apply for admission to candidacy when the following requirements have been successfully completed:
[1] all language requirements;
[2] all course work, including one minor area (6 credits);
[3] doctoral comprehensive examination .
The application for candidacy should be submitted to the area director, who forwards a recommendation of the candidate to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.
Doctoral Dissertation Proposals
Even though a dissertation proposal can not be submitted until a doctoral student has passed doctoral comprehensives and has been admitted to candidacy, doctoral students are encouraged to begin considering possible dissertation projects as early as possible in their doctoral studies. For example, students are encouraged to explore possible dissertation topics in their research papers and doctoral seminars. As part of the process of exploring possible topics for dissertations, students are encouraged to consult with prospective dissertation directors.
1. Dissertation Director
The director of a dissertation should be a full-time faculty member of the School of Theology and Religious Studies (STRS); in exceptional circumstances, a dissertation director from outside STRS may be approved by the area director. In case a dissertation director is not a full-time STRS faculty member, a co-director who is a full-time STRS faculty member needs to be appointed. A co-director is responsible for processing the proposal through the various levels of approval in STRS; the co-director is also responsible for assuming direction of the dissertation in case the extern director is not available. At least one member of the dissertation committee must be a tenured STRS faculty member.
2. Dissertation Board
Once a faculty member has agreed to serve as the director of a student’s dissertation, the dissertation director and the student will collaborate with the area director in the selection of two readers to assist with the preparation of the proposal. The student works in conjunction with the dissertation director and the two readers in preparaton of a doctoral dissertation proposal. Since a proposal ordinarily goes through several drafts, a student usually needs a month or more to write and refine an acceptable proposal.