Doctor of Philosophy

The graduate program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is designed to afford students advanced training in independent inquiry, academic research, critical analysis, and scholarly writing as they define their own theological positions in dialogue with other points of view. It is aimed at equipping scholars for teaching and research in colleges, theological seminaries, and universities and for general ecclesiastical leadership.

Although the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary is committed to the confessional and theological standards of the Christian Reformed Church and the Ph.D. program is designed to promote advanced scholarship from a Reformed perspective, students from other traditions are welcome to apply. Students whose previous experience has been with the Christian-school system may be expected to do some graduate -level course work at another institution, since exposure to and dialogue with other points of view are necessary parts of the doctoral program. The academic freedom to probe the foundations of Reformed theology and to explore the validity of other approaches is a fundamental assumption of the Ph.D. program.

The course of study is located in the Theological Division of the faculty, which consists of the departments of Systematic Theology, Historical Theology, and Philosophical and Moral Theology. Degrees are presently offered in historical, systematic, philosophical, and moral theology, with concentrations in Reformation studies, post-Reformation Protestant theology, and modern and contemporary theology. The faculty has particular interests in Calvin studies and Reformed theology. The Calvin Library has extensive holdings in theology, philosophy, and history, and houses the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies, one of the finest collections of resources for studies in Calvin and the Reformed tradition.

Completion of the doctoral program requires general competence in the entire field of theology, mastery of one of its disciplines, and expertise in specific areas and topics. General competence in theology is demonstrated by sustaining four written comprehensive disciplinary examinations: one each in systematic theology, historical theology, moral theology, and philosophical theology. Mastery of the student's chosen discipline will be demonstrated by an additional written comprehensive examination in that discipline. The sequence of comprehensive examinations will be concluded with a two-hour oral examination. Expertise in particular areas and topics will be gained by participation in courses and seminars and by completion of a doctoral dissertation.

The Ph.D. program requires at least two years of full-time study in residence, including course work, guided preparation for comprehensive examinations, and guidance in selecting a dissertation topic. Ordinarily, there will be opportunities for students to gain limited teaching experience, typically after completion of most or all course work.

Students are permitted to enroll on a half-time basis, but part-time students ordinarily will not compose more than one -fourth of the Ph.D. student body. Part-time students who have not fulfilled the course requirements must take at least one course per quarter. Part-time students must spend at least four years in residence.

During or following residence, the student undertakes comprehensive examinations, successful completion of which is a condition for Ph.D. candidacy. Ordinarily, the dissertation proposal is submitted after the student sustains the comprehensive examinations. The program is concluded when the student writes and successfully defends the dissertation.

To qualify for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy degree program, an applicant must be the graduate of an accredited college and must possess a Master of Theological Studies, Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Divinity, or Master of Theology degree from an accredited school or must possess the equivalents of such degrees. The applicant's previous record must show outstanding academic performance, with a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 3.3. The applicant must also present evidence by way of transcript or otherwise that he or she knows Hebrew, Greek, and a modern foreign language (preferably Dutch, French, German or Spanish). Under certain circumstances a waiver of part of this language requirement is possible.

Applicants must submit scores of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as part of the application process. They must also submit a twenty- to forty-page research paper that in their estimation exhibits their best ability to do theological research and analysis. The paper may be one submitted for academic credit in a previous degree program, or it may be the result of independent research. Applicants for whom English is a second language must score a minimum of 575 (paper-based test) or 235 (computer-based test) on the TOEFL and a minimum of 4 on the Test of Written English (TWE). Applicants are requested to use Calvin Theological Seminary's institutional code 1096 on their TOEFL application requests and test forms to ensure that the Educational Testing Service sends their scores directly to our office of admissions. Official test results of the GRE, TOEFL, and TWE must be sent directly from the testing agency to Calvin Theological Seminary.

Based on the above materials and those specified under the "Graduate Studies" section of the catalog, the applicant may be admitted to the Ph.D. program. Applications for admission in a given year must be completed by January 15 of that year. Notification of acceptance is communicated by the Calvin Theological Seminary Director of Doctoral Studies.

The Ph.D. program requires successful completion of examinations in two modern foreign languages besides English (preferably Dutch, French, German, or Spanish) and, in some cases, in Latin. These examinations will be offered three times per year, once at the beginning of each school year and again during the second and third academic quarters. The dates for these examinations will be announced well in advance. No fee is charged for the first administration of a competency examination in any language. Retesting is subject to a fee. Students must contact the assistant to the director of doctoral studies to register for these examinations.

Students must take one of the language examination s at the beginning of the first year of course work. Students who have not passed the first language examination may enroll in the third quarter of Ph.D. courses only if they are enrolled concurrently in college-level course work in that language. Students who have not passed the second language examination may enroll in the third quarter of second -year Ph.D. courses only if they are enrolled concurrently in college -level work in that language. Students may not enroll in second -year Ph.D. courses until they have sustained one foreign-language examination, and they may not take comprehensive examinations until they have met all language requirements.

During the first year in residence, all students take a required course in research methodology. Students are required to complete eleven additional courses for credit. Full-time students take six courses per year for two years. Half-time students take three courses per year for four years. Students may choose to take more than twelve courses for credit without paying additional tuition. Those needing additional work in an area may be advised to take more than twelve courses. At least two courses must be taken in each of the four disciplines and at least three must be taken in the discipline of specialization.

Courses focus on areas of current faculty interest and research. They are designed to introduce students to proper research methods and their application as well as to important theological issues and developments.

Admission to degree candidacy depends in part on the achievement of a minimum 3.33 cumulative grade-point average for Ph.D. course work. No grade lower than a B will be acceptable for credit. Students whose GPA is significantly below 3.5 after one year of residence will be advised to terminate their graduate studies or apply for a more suitable graduate program.

1. Ph.D. Courses

   The faculty has designated the following courses as Ph.D. level courses:

   Interdisciplinary
   901P	Thological and Research Methodology
   902P	Dissertation Seminar
   903P	Teaching Seminar
   History of Christianity
   930P	Documents and Issues in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought
   931P	Scripture and Intrepretation in the 16th and 17th Centuries
   932P	Reformed Symbolics: The Confessions and Categchisms of the Reformed Churches
   933P	Early Patristic Theology: The Aplogists and Anti-Gnostic Fathers
   934P	The Theology of John Calvin
   936P	The Reformed Doctrine of God in the 16th and 17th Centuries
   937P	Arminius and Arminianism
   938P	Patristic Theology from the Arian Controversy to the Council of Constantinople
   939P	The Life and Thought of Augustine
   993P	Doctoral Seminar: History of Christianity
   Systematic Theology
   940P	Theology of Revelation
   941P	The Nature of Theology and Doctrine
   942P	Theology of the Incarnation
   943P	Theology of the Atonement
   944P	The Theology of Karl Barth
   945P	Theology of the Trinity
   946P	Twentieth-Century Dutch Reformed Theology
   947P	The Theology of the Holy Spirit
   948P	The Theology of Jonathan Edwards
   994P	Doctroal Seminar: Systematic Theology
   Philosophical and Moral Theology
   951P	Philosophical Issues in Christian Theology
   952P	Philosophical Foundations of Modern Theology
   953P	The Christian Moral Tradition
   954P	The Social Teaching of Modern Theology
   955P	Post-Enlightenment Critique of Religion
   956P	Christian Social Ethics
   995P	Doctoral Seminar: Philosophical Thelogy
   996P	Doctoral Seminar: Moral Theology

   
   

   Ph.D. courses are open to qualified Th.M. students by permission of the vice president for academic affairs.

2. Continuation Seminar

   Students who have completed course work and are still in residence are expected to participate in a non-credit continuation seminar that meets occasionally during the academic year. The seminar addresses a variety of topics, such as preparation for comprehensives, discussion of dissertation proposals and drafts submitted by participants in the seminar, and teaching methods. From time to time, the seminar may include a session of up to three days of intensive study, led by a guest lecturer.

After completing course work, the student sits for five written comprehensive examinations and one oral comprehensive examination. The written examinations are distributed across the four disciplines of systematic, historical, moral, and philosophical theology. The student submits to one examination in each discipline and a second examination in the student's discipline of specialization.

Each examination is based upon a bibliography approved well in advance by the examiner, comprised of a number of required and negotiated titles, and is designed for five hours of writing. All five written examinations shall be taken in either one or two consecutive periods, of which there are three annually-in September, January, and May. Students may attempt the examinations as early as May of the second year of residence. The latest date by which they may be completed without special permission from the graduate studies committee is May of the year following completion of residency requirements. Examinations may not be divided among more than two examination periods. In no case may examinations be undertaken until all language requirements have been met and all course work has been completed.

The comprehensive examination process is completed by a two-hour oral examination based on the five written examinations.

No examination, written or oral, may be attempted more than twice.

Admission to degree candidacy is granted by the educational policy com¬mittee of the faculty upon recommendation of the theological division when the following requirements are met:

1. All course work is completed with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.33.
2. All language and comprehensive examinations have been sustained.

The requirements for completion of the Ph.D. degree ordinarily must be completed within five years after admission to candidacy for the degree.

Students should give thought to the choice of a dissertation topic early in their programs. The dissertation proposal (approximately 2,500 to 3,000 words) should state a thesis: What, exactly, does the dissertation propose to demonstrate? The proposal should then indicate the problem this demonstration would solve or the gap it would fill. The proposal should also provide a scheme for developing and defending the major thesis claim(s) by chapters, anticipate methodological or other problems in the project, and provide a select bibliography of primary and secondary sources.

The student must submit the proposal to the theological division within two years of attaining candidacy. Upon approving the proposal, the theological division will recommend to the educational policy committee the appointment of a supervisor and three additional members to the dissertation committee. At least one of these three shall be a faculty member of a graduate school other than Calvin Theological Seminary or an established scholar with equivalent credentials.

In making a scholarly contribution to some area of theology, the dissertation must show the candidate's ability to conduct independent research, to move a theological discussion forward, and to write clear scholarly prose. The result ought to be of publishable quality.

The student must draft a set of theses or propositions to be distributed at the oral defense and included in the defense copies and the final bound copies of the dissertation. There must be at least five theses related to the dissertation, at least five theses drawn from the student's graduate work in theology but not directly related to the dissertation, and two or three theses on topics of the student's choosing.

The dissertation must conform to the format and bibliographic style requirements in A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian (6th edition, 1996). One copy of the dissertation, one copy of an abstract of no more than 350 words, and one copy of the student's theses or propositions must be submitted to the assistant to the director of doctoral studies by February 28 for the following May graduation. If the supervisor judges that the dissertation is ready for a public defense, copies of the dissertation will be distributed to the other members of the dissertation committee, who will have one month in which to read the dissertation and provide written comments. By April 20, for students who intend to graduate in May, the dissertation committee will decide whether the dissertation is ready for a defense, and if it is, set a time for the defense. By this date, readers also must communicate in writing to the dissertation supervisor any ma¬jor changes that are required or recommended. For May graduation, a defense must be held no later than the last day of classes in the spring quarter. The dissertation supervisor chairs the public defense. The entire dissertation committee must be present for the defense, except in cases in which an outside reader cannot attend. If an outside reader is not present for the defense, the reader's criticisms will be summarized during the defense and the reader's judgment on the merits of the dissertation will count in the faculty's deliberations.

A dissertation will be successful as judged by the external reader and a majority of the faculty members present.

The seminary considers an appropriate dissertation length to be 250 to 300 pages; dissertations exceeding 400 pages will not be accepted. Before preparing the final copies the student should consult the theo¬logical librarians to ensure that proper form and procedure are followed. The student must submit to the assistant to the director of doctoral studies six copies of the final, approved dissertation (including abstract and propositions). The original must be produced on a laser-quality printer. The other copies must be clear photocopies. The final copies must be submitted on acid -free 20-pound white bond paper with not less than 25% rag content. No holes are to be punched in the pages, and the dissertation should be submitted in a box or binder that protects the pages from damage. In order for the student to receive the degree, all copies of the dissertation and abstract must be submitted in satisfactory form.

The Ph.D. program welcomes those who are enrolled in other Ph.D. programs and wish to enroll in courses at Calvin Theological Seminary for one or more academic terms.

Ph.D. students in other programs who wish to enroll as visiting Ph.D. students at Calvin Theological Seminary should submit the following information in order to apply:

1. A completed Ph.D. application form, including a statement of purpose for study at Calvin Theological Seminary.
2. A transcript of the student's doctoral work in progress.
3. At least one letter of recommendation from the student's current faculty adviser and/ or director of doctoral studies.
4. The same application fee as regular applicants.

Applicants for visiting Ph.D. student status must indicate on the application the results of scores on standardized tests, but need not submit official copies of such tests.

Visiting Ph.D. students shall have full campus privileges and permission to audit or take for credit any courses offered at Calvin Theological Seminary.

Visiting Ph.D. students shall be charged a fee equal to one-sixth of the current annual Ph.D. tuition charge for each course taken for credit. They shall be charged the current auditing fee for courses audited. The graduate studies committee has the right to grant a tuition scholarship of up to half of the tuition charge for each course taken (excluding auditing fees) for visiting Ph.D. students. Although visiting Ph.D. students may apply to live in seminary housing, they are not eligible for Ph.D. living stipends or rental subsidies. Like all other students, visiting Ph.D. students shall be responsible for maintaining health insurance for themselves and their dependents.