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Doctor of Philosophy (course-based Ph.D.)
- Theological Studies
- Pastoral Psychology
- Franklian Psychology
- Islamic Studies
- Jewish Studies
- Buddhist Studies
Description
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy as the accepted terminal academic degree is related to specific fields of specialization, including Islam, Judaism, psychology, biblical, historical and theological studies. The Foundation program seeks to address specialty concerns in the context of overarching perspectives whereby specialties are removed from potential isolation and located in the large-scale dynamics of religious traditions and their ministries. Candidates for Foundation degrees thus seek a two-fold academic identification: as specialists in various fields and as those who undertake to relate such fields to the multiple dimensions of religion, religious experience, and religious traditions.
Time Frame and Tuition
The Ph.D. takes a minimum of two years to complete and must be completed within no more than seven years.
Tuition: $8,750.00
Thesis Supervision: $1,200.00
Thesis Processing: $550.00
Graduation: $100.00
Admission Requirements
- Baccalaureate degree or equivalent validated by a transcript.
- Graduate degree or equivalent training in an appropriate field validated by documentation.
- Professional doctorate (Ed.D., D.Min., Psy.D.) or equivalent from a recognized institution or the M.Th. from the Foundation. (At the discretion of the Director of Islamic Studies at the Foundation, this requirement for admission to the Ph.D. in Islamic Studies may be waived.)
- Five years of accumulated experience in a cognate field of ministry.
- Completion of the Application Procedure.
Residency and Response Papers
The student completes eight Units of Study at approved educational venues. Each Unit of Study must consist of 40 contact hours or three semester credits. All courses must be graduate-level, and sponsored by a graduate, professional, or denominationally approved institution with academically qualified faculty. A response paper of 1,750-2,500 words (7-10 pages) must be submitted for each Unit of Study. Response papers should be analytically reflective regarding the relevance of each Unit’s content to the exercise of the student’s ministry. Papers are evaluated by the Foundation’s faculty and an acknowledgement letter is sent to the student. If further development of the paper is deemed necessary, the student will be notified. All academic work must be completed before the dissertation can be defended.
NOTE: For Paper Guidelines, please Click Here.
Transfer Credit
Transfer credit does not require a paper.
Language Requirement
In instances where the doctoral thesis topic requires competency in one or more languages as determined by the Thesis Supervisor, the student must produce either a transcript of two academic semesters of language courses or some other means of demonstrated competency to the satisfaction of the Thesis Supervisor and the Office of the President.
Thesis Proposal
The candidate will submit a thesis proposal to the Foundation. This will be the first working document generated from the relationship between the candidate and the Thesis Supervisor. The proposal will include a brief description of the proposed thesis, a working title, and an exemplary bibliography. A form for this proposal is provided by the Foundation.
Thesis
After completing all coursework, candi¬dates undertake the research and writing of a doctoral thesis of 45,000-60,000 words (180-240 pages) in their field of specialization. It must be clearly a work of original academic scholarship making a contribution to the field of specialty. Upon receiving Thesis Supervisor endorsement, the candidate must submit one electronic copy of the thesis to the Foundation. After receiving both the completed thesis and the Thesis Supervisor Report Form, the Foundation will appoint two additional readers, as the thesis is a demonstration of the capacity of the candidate to engage in significant professional scholarship and thus be a peer to other scholars in the field.
The basic commitment of the Graduate Theological Foundation is to serve the ministries of the various ecclesial traditions through programs of advanced professional education. The thesis, as the culminating work of the highest academic degree, must always relate significantly to some aspect of ministry and be an original and distinct contribution to the knowledge of a specific discipline or area of inquiry.
The thesis is shaped as a written work of original systematic research, which includes the substantive exposition of the theoretical basis and rationale of the subject, together with a demonstration of familiarity with the appropriate scholarly and professional literature. It should be noted that the written form of theses is to be in the style of actual scholarly publications; that is, the thesis as finally submitted is to be suitable for publication without being rewritten.
Thesis Style Statement
There are several internationally recognized thesis styles acceptable in the academic community. In light of the fact that the Foundation has a rather large international student body, the Foundation has not adopted a single style form acceptable for thesis writing. The Foundation will, rather, accept any of the internationally recognized styles, given that the student consistently employs the same style throughout the writing of the thesis. Those most commonly used but not required include Turabian, MLA, APA, as well as others known and recognized universally.
Doctoral Abstract
The Ph.D. candidate must submit a 750-1,250 word (3-5 page) overview of the Ph.D. thesis at least three months prior to sitting for the oral defense. A one-page biographical statement should accompany the abstract.
Thesis Supervision
When degrees first began to be awarded by universities in the twelfth century in Bologna, Paris, and Oxford, the doctor’s degree was recognized as a universal authentication of scholarship. The doctorate was not earned by attending classes but by sustained residency and demonstrated scholarship. The credential was awarded by the faculty of the university on the basis of a thesis which was submitted by the candidate and followed by an oral defense of the document before the gathered academic community.
Times have changed but much of the doctoral process has endured. The Graduate Theological Foundation requires a demonstration of academic research considered by the faculty to be an original work of scholarship and a contribution to the field. After the doctoral candidate has completed residency and language requirements (if required), the development of the thesis is initiated under the direct supervision of the Thesis Supervisor.
The Thesis Supervisor, in this style of learning, is specifically mandated to work closely with the candidate in the development of the thesis topic and through its evolving refinements leading to the finished product. The Thesis Supervisor is nominated by the candidate and approved by the faculty on the basis of academic qualifications at the doctoral level of training and experience. Though candidates are encouraged to look within the Foundation’s own faculty for thesis supervision, the Foundation honors the request of candidates who wish to select a Thesis Supervisor from outside our institution.
Option A: Students may select a faculty member of the Foundation to serve as Thesis Supervisor. This option enables the student to receive helpful and pragmatic evaluative feedback from a member of the faculty in the developmental process of producing the doctoral thesis. The role of the faculty Thesis Supervisor is responsive and suggestive. The faculty person is encouraged to limit feedback to pragmatically helpful hints and suggestions and not to attempt any censorship of the thesis. The exercise of discretion with respect to time demands is very important for both the student and faculty member. The faculty Thesis Supervisor must give final approval of the student’s work by submitting the Thesis Supervisor Report Form.
Selection of Faculty Thesis Supervisor and Nomination Procedure:
- The student peruses the Faculty Details page and makes a selection.
- The student completes the Faculty Thesis Supervisor Nomination Form 106 (Forms).
- Academic Affairs provides the nominated faculty member with Form 106.
- The selected faculty member notifies Academic Affairs of acceptance of student nomination.
- Academic Affairs informs the student and faculty member of relationship approval and contact information is provided.
Option B: Students are at liberty to select a Thesis Supervisor who is not on the faculty of the Foundation. In that event, the Thesis Supervisor must hold a comparable degree to that being pursued by the student. The student must nominate the Thesis Supervisor by submitting a letter of nomination to the Foundation along with a C.V. of the nominee. The student is notified upon approval of the Thesis Supervisor by the Academic Affairs Committee. The Thesis Supervisor must give final approval of the student’s work by submitting the Thesis Supervisor’s Report Form.
Doctoral Oral Defense
After the doctoral thesis has finally reached a state of completion under supervision such that the Thesis Supervisor is in full agreement that the research has demonstrated original scholarship and is a genuine contribution to the field, the candidate submits three physical copies of the thesis along with the thesis supervisor’s written affirmation of approval to the Foundation faculty. Upon receipt of the thesis by the Foundation, the candidate is required to book a date selected from the roster of available defense dates provided by the Foundation. The student must schedule the oral defense no sooner than three months and no later than six months from the date the doctoral thesis is submitted. The candidate must sit for a ninety minute oral defense before Foundation faculty. Following the successful defense, the degree is awarded by the faculty to the candidate. Defenses may, by arrangement, also be scheduled in Oxford through the Office of Student Services in consultation with the Dean of Studies at Foundation House, Oxford. Defenses are also hosted in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to accommodate our Spanish-speaking students. Defenses may also be held at other approved venues in locations such as Chicago, Honolulu, Hong Kong, New York, Rome or Singapore.
Graduation Requirements
- Viewing of the Foundation's instructional Orientation video. The Orientation video is available in English, Spanish and Arabic.
- Completion of eight Units of Study and submission of a response paper of 1,750-2,500 words (7-10 pages) on the topic or theme of each Unit of Study.
- Fulfillment of language requirements if such have been determined by the Thesis Supervisor.
- Approval of the Candidate’s choice of a Thesis Supervisor.
- Submission of an electronic copy of a doctoral thesis of 45,000-60,000 words (180-240 pages), with written approval of the Thesis Supervisor, and fulfillment of the Dissertation On Disc (DOD) requirement.
- Submission of a doctoral thesis abstract and biographical statement.
- Successful defense of the thesis before Foundation faculty in
Indiana or at Oxford during the Summer Programme in Theology.
(Students in the course-based Ph.D. program are not required to
attend graduation.)
Doctor of Philosophy in Franklian Psychology
The Doctor of Philosophy in Franklian Psychology is designed for counseling practitioners who would benefit from an academic study of Viktor Frankl and his logotherapeutic theory and methodology. This degree is for the experienced practitioner who desires to teach or write at the highest professional level of scholarship. At the time of application, students planning to enter the Ph.D. in Franklian Psychology program must hold either a D.Min. or a Psy.D. in a cognate field of counseling that is not logotherapy. In order to complete this Ph.D. program, the student must have earned the Diplomate Certification from the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy and must present a letter indicating that the applicant is in good standing with the Institute, write a research-based thesis under faculty supervision, and defend before the Foundation faculty. Please see the P.R.I.M.E. section for information on this degree and the Viktor Frankl Institute for Logotherapy.
Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy
Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Studies
The Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Studies is designed for those in ministry who are engaged in advanced study and research in the academic field of Islamic studies as this reflects the dynamics of analysis, theory and application of the various dimensions of the practice of faith in the Muslim world. The student is required to have a fully functioning use of the Arabic language and must be involved in some form of educational ministry within the faith community of Islam. The required doctoral Units of Study are pursued through approved academic programs in graduate institutions of the student’s choice. The Foundation particularly encourages the use of Oxford as a mechanism to involve the student in the study of Islam within that scholarly community. In addition to the Foundation’s special relationship with the Islamic Society of North America, a formal arrangement has been made with the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies which provides the Foundation’s Muslim doctoral students with the opportunity to take advantage of the Centre’s hospitality during their time of study in Oxford. This arrangement provides an opportunity for Muslim students of the Foundation to utilize the research library, the place of worship, and a community of fellowship while in England. A developing list of Islamic institutions offering courses of which the Foundation approves is found here. Foundation students in Islamic Studies are welcomed to participate in the Life of the Oxford Centre of Islamic Studies in worship, fellowship, and study.
Track A: This program is curriculum-selective and provides an opportunity for the student to personally select relevant courses in Islamic Studies from a range of courses located on the Venue Study Options and the Approved Venue Sites rosters. This track requires the completion of eight courses and a research-based thesis for the Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Studies.
Track B: This program is curriculum-specific and provides an opportunity for the student to work under the direct oversight of Dr. Omar Shahin, Director of Islamic Studies and Professor of Islamic Law at the Foundation. It requires Arabic language proficiency. This track requires the completion of eight courses from the specialized curriculum and a research-based thesis for the Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Studies. Membership in the North American Imams Federation is a requirement.
English/Arabic Curriculum of the Foundation
NOTE: For both Track A and Track B, thesis supervision is under the jurisdiction and oversight of Dr. Omar Shahin, Director of Islamic Studies and Professor of Islamic Law. The nomination of a thesis supervisor in Islamic Studies must be approved by Dr. Shahin.
Doctor of Philosophy in Jewish Studies
The Doctor of Philosophy in Jewish Studies is designed for those in ministry who are engaged in advanced study and research in the academic field of Jewish studies as reflected in the dynamics of analysis, theory and application of the various dimensions of the practice of faith within the Jewish community. The student is required to have a fully functioning use of the Hebrew language and must be involved in some sort of education ministry within the Jewish faith community. The required doctoral Units of Study are to be pursued through approved academic programs in graduate institutions of the student’s choice. The Foundation has designated Lev Shomea as a P.R.I.M.E. institution (see P.R.I.M.E. section), and a developing list of Recognized and Endorsed Affiliations (R & E) as well as Approved Venue Sites (A.V.S.) may be examined for a roster of educational venues offering programs relevant to the Ph.D. in Jewish Studies. (For a listing of Recognized and Endorsed Institutions and Approved Venue Sites, please Click Here.) Short-term Visiting Scholars application forms are available from the Foundation for the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies upon request.
Doctor of Philosophy in Buddhist Studies
Venue Specific: Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies in Ithaca, NY http://www.namgyal.org/
The Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies requires both the bachelors and masters degrees for admission. This is a completely residential program requiring three years of residence at the Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies in Ithaca, NY. Acquaintance with the Tibetan language before completing this course of study is a requirement of the Namgyal Monastery Institute. To earn the Ph.D., students must provide verification of completion of the 3-year residency program, submit a doctoral thesis of 45,000 to 60,000 words that has been written under supervision, and successfully defend the thesis before Foundation faculty.
Doctor of Philosophy in Pastoral Psychology
The Doctor of Philosophy in Pastoral Psychology is designed for those in ministry who are engaged in advanced study and research in the academic field of psychology as this reflects pastoral concerns of individuals and communities. The program involves graduate Units of Study designed to develop overarching perspectives on significant areas of theology and psychology, further graduate coursework in the candidate's specialized interest, a research thesis of creative scholarship, and an oral defense demonstrating professional competence in the chosen specialty. Doctoral studies in the field of specialization are pursued through approved academic programs in other graduate institutions.
Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies
The Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies is designed for those in ministry who are engaged in advanced study and research in the academic field of theology as this reflects the dynamics of analysis, theory and application of the various dimensions of religious traditions. The program involves graduate Units of Study designed to develop overarching perspectives on significant areas of theology, further graduate coursework in the candidate's specialized interest, a research thesis of creative scholarship and an oral defense demonstrating professional competence in the chosen specialty. Doctoral studies in the field of specialization are pursued through approved academic programs in other graduate institutions.
Thesis Supervisor Roster