Doctoral Program

Program of Study

Download the complete policies and regulations for the Ph.D. program >
Ph.D. Student Handbook (.pdf)

The Ph.D. Requirements for Degree

The doctoral program requires 42 credit hours of course work and takes a minimum of four years, more often five years, to complete. In the best interest of the student as well as the program, each student is evaluated at the end of each semester. If there is serious doubt about the student's ability to complete the Ph.D., he or she may be asked to leave the program.

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Residency

Two years of course work in residency are required. A student who enters the program without sufficient background ordinarily will spend one or two further semesters in course work before taking candidacy examinations.

Those students who enter with a master's degree or its equivalent may seek immediate admission to residency.

Students are also required to take courses outside their major field. They are strongly urged to take courses in fields that are methodologically distinct.

Language Requirements

Students are required to pass examinations showing the ability to read with the aid of a dictionary of standard theological sources in French, German, and either New Testament Greek or Latin. Students in liturgical studies are required to know four languages, and students in CJA, five. The language requirement should be fulfilled as soon as possible and must be fulfilled by the fall of the third year.

Candidacy Examinations

Download deadlines for the candidacy exam and dissertation processes > (.pdf)

Candidacy examinations usually are taken in the second semester following the two years of residency and the completion of all language requirements. These examinations are offered twice a year, in October and March. The topics for the examinations are meant to expand students' intellectual breadth and skills and involve matters of inquiry which extend beyond their course work.

Content of Candidacy Examination

• Seven topics in the major field. (One of the topics should be on the subject to be explored in the dissertation.)
• Three topics outside the major field, to be chosen by the student.
• Topics are prepared by the student in consultation with his or her adviser.

Length of Examination

Three days of written examinations are required, followed by a 90-minute oral examination to which the student is admitted after successfully passing the written examinations.

Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal is to be submitted by the beginning of the semester following candidacy examinations.

The completed dissertation must be submitted within eight years of matriculation.