Foundation House Degree Programs

Foundation House is an educational program which began in 2000 that leads to venue-based degrees (all courses are taken on-site). Students may earn the Doctor of Philosophy or the Doctor of Ministry offered by the Graduate Theological Foundation under the administrative oversight of the Deans of Studies (senior administrative officers of the venue-based degree programs) and selected faculty in historic venues of study located in Oxford, England, and Rome, Italy.

Jurisdiction over Foundation House programs is held by the Graduate Theological Foundation under a charter from the State of Indiana as an educational research and study institution with power to award professional and academic degrees in the cognate fields of ministry education.

Awarding of Degrees

Foundation House degrees are awarded by the Graduate Theological Foundation in consultation with the Dean of Studies of each of the educational venues and as authorized by the Academic Affairs Committee of the Graduate Theological Foundation.

The Graduate Theological Foundation is the degree-granting entity. Both the transcript and diploma for Foundation House degrees will display the educational venue as Foundation House/Oxford or Foundation House/Rome.

Venues

The venues for Foundation House degree programs are Oxford, England, and Rome, Italy.

Degrees Offered

Only the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Ministry are offered by Foundation House, with concentrations in theological, philosophical, historical, and biblical studies. The Doctor of Philosophy may be earned in Oxford or Rome.
The Doctor of Ministry may only be earned in Rome.

Advanced Standing

This is available to those who hold a Ph.D. at the time of application. For information, please see the end of Foundation House Degree Program section.

Admission Requirements (D.Min. and Ph.D.)

1. Baccalaureate degree or equivalent validated by a transcript.

2. Master's degree validated by a transcript.

3. Five years of accumulated experience in a cognate field of ministry.

4. Application Procedure.

Completion Requirements

Foundation House degrees must be completed in no fewer than twentyfour months and no more than sixty months. For information on advanced standing (applicants with Ph.D. only), please see end of Foundation House Degree Program section. The D.Min. requires 30 graduate credit hours and the Ph.D. requires 24 graduate credit hours. The Dean of Studies at each Foundation House location may, at his discretion, serve as the Tutor and/or as the Thesis Supervisor. Students wishing to attend graduation at the Foundation must have all academic work completed by February 1 of the intended year of graduation.

Foundation House/Oxford

The Ph.D. candidate is required to complete the following:

Two 2-week summer sessions at the Oxford University Summer Programme in Theology thereby accumulating 8 courses.
Four tutorials from the Dean of Studies or a designated tutor approved by the Dean of Studies.
Nomination of a Thesis Supervisor. Approval must be received from the Dean of Studies prior to proceeding with thesis research.
Submission of a thesis proposal. Approval must be received from the Dean of Studies prior to submitting the thesis.
Submission of three unbound copies of a doctoral thesis of 45,000-60,000 words (180-240 pages) with the signed approval of the Dean of Studies to the Graduate Theological Foundation, and fulfillment of the Dissertation On Disc requirement.
Successful defense of the thesis before Foundation faculty in Indiana or Oxford. (Students in the Foundation House/Oxford Ph.D. program are not required to attend graduation.)

CREDITS

24 cr. (two 2-week summer sessions)
12 cr. (four tutorials in Oxford)
6 cr. (thesis, supervised and successfully defended)
42 total credit hours earned for the Ph.D. from Foundation House/Oxford

Requirements for Courses and Tutorials

Each course and each tutorial requires a paper of 3,000-4,000 words (12-16 pages) to be submitted to the Foundation for approval.

NOTE: For Paper Guidelines, Click Here.

Required Tutorials

Four tutorials are required for this program, each taken in the form of a "Personalized Tutorial." These tutorials may be completed with the Dean of Studies or a designated tutor approved by the Dean of Studies.

Personalized Tutorial. The Foundation House/Oxford Ph.D. student may develop a tutorial topic in collaboration with, and the approval of, the Dean of Studies of Foundation House/Oxford. The responsibility for proposing a tutorial topic is that of the student.

Requirements for the Doctoral Thesis

The length of the doctoral thesis for the Ph.D. from Foundation House/Oxford must be 45,000- 60,000 words (180-240 pages). (This degree assumes two summer trips and two tutorial trips to Oxford.)

Foundation House/Rome

The D.Min. candidate is required to complete the following:

One 3-week summer session at the Centro Pro Unione in Rome.
Three tutorials from the Dean of Studies or a designated tutor approved by the Dean of Studies.
Two independent study courses approved by the Dean of Studies.
Submission to the Foundation of one unbound copy of a doctoral thesis of 35,000-40,000 words (140-160 pages) with the signed approval of the Dean of Studies. (Students in the Foundation House/Rome D.Min. program are not required to attend graduation.)

CREDITS

9 cr. (one 3-week summer session)
9 cr. (three tutorials in Rome)
6 cr. (two independent study courses)
6 cr. (doctoral thesis, supervised and approved)
30 total credit hours earned for the D.Min. from

Foundation House/Rome Requirements for Courses and Tutorials

Each course and each tutorial requires a paper of 3,000-4,000 words (12-16 pages) to be submitted to the Foundation for approval.

NOTE: For Paper Guidelines please Click Here.

Tutorials Offered

Tutorials offered to Foundation House/Rome students change throughout the year and are listed on this web page

Requirements for the Doctoral Thesis

The length of the doctoral thesis for the D.Min. from Foundation House/Rome must be 35,000- 40,000 words (140-160 pages), in consultation with the Dean of Studies. (This degree assumes one summer trip and two tutorial trips to Rome.)

The Ph.D. candidate is required to complete the following:

One 3-week summer session at the Centro Pro Unione in Rome.
Six tutorials from the Dean of Studies or a designated tutor approved by the Dean of Studies.
Three independent study courses approved by the Dean of Studies.
Nomination of a Thesis Supervisor. Approval must be received from the Dean of Studies prior to proceeding with thesis research.
Submission of a thesis proposal. Approval must be received from the Dean of Studies prior to submitting the thesis.
Submission of three unbound copies of a doctoral thesis of 45,000-60,000 words (180-240 pages) with the signed approval of the Dean of Studies to the Graduate Theological Foundation, and fulfillment of the Dissertation On Disc requirement.
Successful defense of the thesis before Foundation faculty in Indiana or Rome. (Students in the Foundation House/Rome Ph.D. program are not required to attend graduation.)

CREDITS

9 cr. (one three-week summer session)
18 cr. (six tutorials in Rome)
9 cr. (three independent study courses)
6 cr. (thesis, supervised and successfully defended)
42 total credit hours earned for the Ph.D. from Foundation House/Rome

Requirements for Courses and Tutorials

Each course and each tutorial requires a paper of 3,000-4,000 words (12-16 pages) to be submitted to the Foundation for approval.

NOTE: For Paper Guidelines please Click Here.

Tutorials Offered

Tutorials offered to Foundation House/Rome students change throughout the year.

Requirements for the Doctoral Thesis

The length of the doctoral thesis for the Ph.D. from Foundation House/Rome must be 45,000- 60,000 words (180-240 pages). (This degree assumes one summer trip and three tutorial trips to Rome.)

Tuition and Fees

Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.): $6,250.00
Thesis Processing: $ 550.00
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.): $8,250.00
Thesis Supervision: $1,500.00
Thesis Processing: $ 550.00
Tutorial/Independent Study: $ 600.00 (each)

Fees charged by the Oxford University Summer Programme in Theology and the Centro Pro Unione in Rome are paid directly to those institutions. Fees for Oxford and Rome are posted on the institutions' websites.

Advanced Standing for Applicants Holding a Ph.D.

Foundation House/Oxford

The applicant holding a Ph.D. in a cognate field of ministry may take the Doctor of Philosophy from Foundation House/Oxford by fulfilling the following requirements: 1) one 1-week summer session at the Oxford University Summer Programme in Theology, accumulating two courses or six credit hours, 2) two Tutorials, accumulating two courses or six credit hours, and 3) submission and successful defense of the doctoral thesis, valued at six credit hours. These three requirements earn the student a total of 18 credit hours. Two trips to Oxford are necessary in order to meet these requirements.

Foundation House/Rome

The applicant holding a Ph.D. in a cognate field of ministry may take the Doctor of Philosophy from Foundation House/Rome by fulfilling the following requirements: 1) one 2-week summer session at the Centro Pro Unione in Rome, accumulating two courses or six credit hours, 2) two Tutorials, accumulating two courses or six credit hours, and 3) submission and successful defense of the doctoral thesis, valued at six credit hours. These three requirements earn the student a total of 18 credit hours. Two trips to Rome are necessary in order to meet
these requirements.

Tutorials

The roster of Tutorials is prepared and approved by the Dean of Studies for each venue. Each Tutorial has a cost of $600.00, and two may be taken during a five-day week by attending a morning and afternoon tutorial session.

Independent Study

Independent Study courses are by petition and require the approval of the President of the Graduate Theological Foundation. Each Independent Study course is valued at 3 credit hours and requires a paper of 3,000-4,000 words (12-16 pages) based upon a reading list submitted by the student to the Office of the President at the Graduate Theological Foundation. A fee of $600.00 is charged per Independent Study and evaluations of papers are handled by the Office of the President. The Dean of Studies of Foundation House (Oxford or Rome) is not involved in the approval or evaluation of Independent Study courses or papers.

NOTE: For Paper Guidelines please Click Here.

Foundation House Venue Administrators

Foundation House/Oxford
The Revd Robin Gibbons, Ph.D., Dean of Studies

Foundation House/Rome
The Rev. Fr. Bernard O'Connor, S.T.D., D.H.L., Dean of Studies