Foundation House Degree Program

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Description

This degree is a 42 credit program that may be completed in no less than two years and no more than five years.

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 offered by the Graduate Theological Foundation under the administrative oversight of the Dean of Studies (senior administrative officer of the venue-based degree program) and selected faculty in the historic venue of study located in Oxford, England. 

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 the educational venue 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.
 

  Admission Requirements

  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. 
Program Requirements
  1. Two 2-week summer sessions at the Oxford Theology Summer School thereby accumulating 8 courses.
  2. Four tutorials, to be taken on-site, from the Dean of Studies or a designated tutor approved by the Dean of Studies.
  3. Nomination of a Thesis Supervisor. Approval must be received from the Dean of Studies prior to proceeding with thesis research.
  4. Submission of a thesis proposal. Approval must be received from the Dean of Studies prior to submitting the thesis.
  5. Submission of an electronic copy of a doctoral thesis 45,000-60,000 words (180-240 pages) with the signed approval of the Dean of Studies to the Graduate Theological Foundation.
  6. 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.) 
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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
 
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Requirements for Courses
 
Each course requires a paper of 3,000-4,000 words (12-16 pages) to be submitted to the Foundation for evaluation by a member of the faculty. These course papers are due within 90 days of completion of the Oxford Theology Summer School and should be submitted via email to the Office of Academic Affairs. To see the evaluation form that will be used by the faculty reader, Click Here.
 
Tutorials  

Students in this program will take four tutorials in Oxford, England, with the Dean of Studies or with a tutor approved by the Dean of Studies. These tutorials are taken on-site and each tutorial consists of daily meetings with the tutor for one week. Students propose a tutorial topic and submit the proposal to the Office of Academic Affairs to secure the approval of the Foundation and the Dean of Studies. Once approval of the tutorial proposal has been granted, the tutorials may be scheduled with the Dean of Studies. 

Tutorial proposals should indicate the desired topic of the tutorial and a listing of two to three books specifically dealing with the proposed topic which the student intends to utilize in preparation for the tutorial. The student should also indicate specifically how this tutorial topic will benefit the development of his/her degree program. 

Tuition
                               
Program Cost:  $14,300
Program cost does not include course fees which are paid directly to the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education
 
Degree candidates are bound by the regulations of the Student Handbook of the year in which they are accepted into their program of study. Tuition fees will not change during a student’s course of study, providing the student submits payments and papers on schedule and completes the degree program within the prescribed time. If the student does not conform to scheduled payment and/or paper submission deadlines, the student’s file will be deactivated. Upon reactivation, the student will be responsible for the tuition and degree requirements which are current at the time of reactivation.
 
Tuition payment schedule for Academic Doctorates
1/3 of total fees paid within 30 days of acceptance
1/3 of total fees paid within one year of the date of acceptance
1/3 of total fees paid prior to scheduling of the doctoral defense
 
Payment Plan Option
Students who are unable to make tuition payments in three installments may request to be placed on a payment plan.  The payment plan option allows the student to make small monthly or quarterly tuition payments for the duration of the degree program.  There is no interest charged on payment plans.  If a student requests a mailed invoice as a reminder to make payment, there is a ten dollar fee per invoice.
 
To make tuition and fee payments online click here. 
 
If you have a question for the Bursar please click here or contact our office 9am-3pm est.

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Doctoral Oral Defense

The doctoral defense will be scheduled no sooner than 90 days and no longer than 180 days from the time that all academic and financial obligations have been met. You will be notified by the Office of the Registrar of your eligibility to schedule a defense after the following have been received by the Office of the Registrar:
  • Thesis Proposal
  • Thesis Cover Sheet
  • Abstract and Biographical Statement
  • Thesis Supervisor Report Form answering the six key points within the thesis (this form is mailed directly to our offices by the Thesis Supervisor)
  • One electronic copy of the thesis (PDF or MS Word format)

For scheduling procedures click here.

Advanced Standing for Applicants Holding a Doctorate
Foundation House/Oxford
 
The applicant holding a doctorate 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 Theology Summer School, 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. No transfer credits may be used to fulfill these requirements. Two trips to Oxford are necessary in order to meet these requirements.
 
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Ph.D. Foundation House Advanced Standing

Program Cost:  $13,050
Program cost does not include course fees which are paid directly to the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education.
 
Foundation House Venue Administrators
Foundation House/Oxford

The Revd Robin Gibbons, Ph.D., Dean of Studies (Profile)