Guide to Doctoral Studies (Updated Spring 2023)

Acceptance into the PhD program requires strong Christian character and leadership as well as outstanding academic performance. Application is made through the BJU Admission office (online or 1-800-252-6363) with the following documentation:

1. A one-page letter of intent, stating your reasons for pursuing the PhD and your general plan for completing the degree. Additionally, the letter must include (1) a statement of unqualified agreement with BJU’s creed and longer doctrinal statement (see Appendix A) and (2) a statement affirming that you will not undermine the positions of BJU and BJU Seminary on key issues (see the section entitled “Program Emphasis” in the BJU Graduate Catalog as well as our position statements).
2. A professional curriculum vitae describing in detail your ministry education and experience.
3. Official transcripts for a completed bachelor’s degree from an accredited school.
4. Official transcripts for all previous graduate work.
   
   
   1. A completed Master of Divinity degree or the equivalent from an accredited seminary or graduate school is required. An acceptable alternative is BJU Seminary’s Master of Arts in Biblical Language and Literature.
   2. Other master’s degrees may qualify, at the discretion of the dean and the PhD coordinator. In such cases the applicant may be required to take graduate leveling courses, to ensure that he/she is adequately prepared for doctoral work.
   3. A minimum 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale is required in all previous graduate work.
5. Documentation of TOEFL scores for students who speak English as a second language. The required minimum score is as follows: 600 for the paper-based test; 250 for the computer-based test; 100 for the internet-based test.
6. Two recommendation letters. One of these must be from a present or former pastor, testifying in detail to your Christian character, ministry giftedness, and experience. The other letter must be from a present or former graduate-level professor, confirming in detail your academic qualifications for doctoral work.
7. A graduate-level research paper covering a biblical or theological topic of the applicant’s choosing, fully documented following Turabian research-paper format (twenty-five-page minimum, in English). This paper must clearly demonstrate the skills necessary for doctoral work, including the following: in-depth exegesis, mature theological analysis, and a high level of competency in research and writing. The paper may be adapted from previous graduate studies. It must, however, reflect the best academic work of which you are currently capable. It must also incorporate substantial interaction with recent scholarly literature related to the topic of the paper.

Once you submit the above documentation, two steps will follow.

1. The PhD coordinator will contact you to arrange for any required proficiency examination. No exam is required for the Biblical and Systematic Theology concentration. Applicants for the Old Testament interpretation concentration take a Hebrew proficiency exam, and applicants for the New Testament interpretation concentration take a Greek proficiency exam. These exams may be taken at BJU Seminary or online.
2. The director of academics and mentoring will contact you to arrange for an interview with the dean and the PhD coordinator. At the interview you will be asked questions regarding your Christian testimony, theological and philosophical positions, ministry experience, academic qualifications, and vocational goals. The interview may be conducted in person or via internet or phone.

Once the interview has been conducted, your materials will be reviewed by the Doctoral Admission Committee (composed of the dean, the director of academics and mentoring, the DMin coordinator, the PhD coordinator, and a faculty member). If the committee approves the application, it will be referred to the University Academic Council for a final decision. The Admission office will inform you of the determination regarding your application.

1. Complete coursework.
   
   Once accepted, the student will confer with the PhD coordinator to plan a tentative schedule for completion of the degree. Students should enroll as early as possible in the introductory course STh 805 Theological Research & Writing. This two-credit online course is available each summer and does not involve a seminar. The course not only prepares the student for the dissertation process but also covers critical research and writing skills that are necessary for producing quality papers throughout doctoral coursework. The student is required to enroll in at least two courses per year. Students who face extenuating circumstances during the academic year (e.g., extended illness, severe family or ministry crisis) may request a one-semester pause in their program by completing an “Enrollment Exemption Request Form,” available from the director of academics and mentoring. Students are permitted no more than three such pauses in their program. In addition, they must still complete the degree within the overall eight-year time limit (six years if entering with a ThM).


2. Complete the research-language requirement.
   
   By the end of the first twenty-four months in PhD coursework, the student must pass a reading-proficiency exam in a language useful for biblical/theological research (minimum score of 80%). This will typically be German, due to the amount of scholarly literature in German. However, the PhD coordinator will consider requests for a French or Latin exam if one of these languages is more relevant for the student’s research interests or vocational goals. The student may prepare for the research-language exam by enrolling in university courses, by using a tutor, or by independent study. No program credit is assigned for this preparation. The PhD coordinator may be able to provide advice regarding preparation options. The research-language exam is arranged through the director of academics and mentoring. The student will have no more than three opportunities to pass the exam.


3. Take the comprehensive examinations.
   
   The student must take the comprehensive examinations within one year of completing coursework. For the initial semester following completion of coursework, he/she will register for STh 992 Comprehensive Examinations. If the exams are not completed that semester, the student must re-register and pay tuition for STh 992 the following semester and continue to do so each semester until he/she passes the exams. The comprehensive exams are designed (1) to solidify the student’s mastery of key data and literature in his/her field of concentration, and (2) to fine-tune the exegetical and theological skills developed throughout coursework. Extensive reading and preparation are required. The PhD coordinator will provide the student with exam study guides, reading lists, and assessment rubrics.
   
   The student will schedule the comprehensive exams through the director of academics and mentoring. The exams are taken on campus. They span five weekdays and may be scheduled with an intervening weekend. Three of the exams are written and require a half day to a whole day. The other two exams are oral and last approximately two hours each.
   
   In order to pass the comprehensive exams, the student must score a minimum of 80% on the assessment rubrics. A student who fails any segment of the examinations is given a second examination in that segment. Should he/she fail a second time, the student may take the examination a third and final time but may be required to take specified coursework on a credit or audit basis prior to the third attempt. The assignment of additional coursework will be at the discretion of the dean, in consultation with the PhD coordinator and the professors in the student’s concentration. Failure to pass a third attempt on comprehensive exams will disqualify a student from the PhD program.


4. Write the dissertation proposal.
   
   Throughout their coursework, students should be exploring possible dissertation topics and discussing them with their professors and the PhD coordinator. The student should plan to narrow down his/her topic during the final year of coursework. After all coursework is completed, students will register the following semester for STh 993 Dissertation Prospectus. At the beginning of that semester, the director of academics and mentoring will work with the student and the PhD coordinator to appoint the dissertation committee. The dissertation committee will consist of two primary members—the chairperson and the primary reader—and one “end” reader. The end reader will evaluate the prospectus but will not read the dissertation as each chapter is submitted. He/she will evaluate the defense draft and will participate in the oral defense. The student may request specific committee members, but due to faculty load requirements we cannot guarantee that we will be able to grant every request. The Seminary may be able to contract with a subject-matter expert who is not a BJU faculty member to serve on a committee.
   
   In consultation with his/her chairperson, the student will first submit a dissertation proposal. The proposal should be two to three double-spaced pages, briefly and concisely covering the following five areas:
   
   
   1. The purpose of the dissertation.
   2. A thesis statement or explanation of what the dissertation will demonstrate.
   3. A defense of why the dissertation needs to be written.
   4. An explanation of the approach to writing the dissertation, including what research steps will be taken and what chapters will be included.
   5. A preliminary bibliography containing no fewer than twenty important published works significantly related to the subject of the dissertation.
   The student should email the proposal to [email protected], and the director of academics and mentoring will distribute it to the committee, the dean, and the PhD coordinator. Within approximately two weeks, the director of academics and mentoring will communicate to the student the response to the proposal. The proposal will either be approved (perhaps with conditions) or unapproved. If unapproved, the student may be asked to submit a new version with significant revisions or to submit an entirely new proposal. This process is a normal part of settling on a topic for the dissertation.


5. Write the dissertation prospectus.
   
   Once the research proposal has been accepted or accepted under conditions, the student is free to begin work on the dissertation prospectus. The prospectus is a twenty- to thirty-page document plus bibliography that more fully introduces the thesis/purpose and plan for the dissertation. The prospectus should be organized according to the following sections:
   
   
   1. Introduction—background to the topic/thesis.
   2. Need—why the dissertation needs to be written.
   3. Statement of Purpose—exactly what the researcher/writer intends to accomplish through the dissertation, including a clearly articulated thesis.
   4. Definitions (if deemed necessary).
   5. Presuppositions (if deemed necessary).
   6. Delimitations—identifies matters that are related to the topic but that the writer does not intend to discuss; should include justification for setting aside these issues (e.g., the subject is adequately covered by another author, the subject is too broad to treat adequately in this dissertation, the subject is not essential to the thesis); should footnote resources that provide coverage of delimited issues.
   7. Previous Works (usually the longest section of the prospectus)—surveys past studies related to the topic, evaluating all major relevant literature, typically in a narrative format that summarizes the historical progression of scholarship on the issue. The section demonstrates where the dissertation fits into the larger conversation on that topic and how it contributes to the field.
   8. Method of Procedure—the strategy to be followed in order to solve the problem or cover the topic, including an anticipated chapter-by-chapter breakdown.
   9. Preliminary Bibliography—lists the sources that the student plans to research and build upon.
   The student should submit the prospectus as early as possible during the semester he/she is registered for STh 993. He/she should email the prospectus to [email protected] no later than three complete weeks prior to the last day of regular classes of the semester. It is possible that the committee will ask the student to revise the prospectus before approving it. Once the committee approves the prospectus, the student is considered a doctoral candidate. If the student does not submit and gain approval for the prospectus during STh 993, he/she must re-register and pay tuition for STh 993 and continue to repeat the course until the prospectus is approved.


6. Write individual dissertation chapters.
   
   After gaining approval for the prospectus, the candidate will register for STh 994 Dissertation Research I the following semester. If the candidate does not submit and receive approval for at least one chapter that semester, he/she must re-register and pay tuition for STh 994 until at least one chapter is approved. Once at least one chapter has been approved, the candidate will register for STh 995 Dissertation Research II the following semester. If the candidate does not submit and receive approval for at least one chapter that semester, he/she must re-register and pay tuition for STh 995 until at least one chapter is approved. Once at least one chapter has been approved, the candidate will register for STh 996 Dissertation Research III the following semester and will be enrolled in that course each semester until the rest of the chapters are completed and approved. Each completed chapter must be emailed to [email protected], and the director of academics and mentoring will distribute it to the primary committee members. Along with each chapter the candidate should submit a chapter summary (see Appendix B). A candidate may not submit a chapter until the preceding chapter has been approved. This allows the readers to identify any problems before such problems affect later chapters. In this regard, the candidate should not rush multiple chapters toward the end of the dissertation process (though the complete bibliography may be submitted simultaneously with the final chapter).
   
   The committee members will read and evaluate each chapter and return it to the candidate through the director of academics and mentoring, who will track the candidate’s overall dissertation progress. In order to be evaluated during a semester, a chapter must be submitted no later than three complete weeks prior to the last day of regular classes. The candidate can expect chapters to be returned two to three weeks after submission. If the chapter is not received back within that time frame, the candidate should contact the director of academics and mentoring. The faculty do not evaluate dissertation work during the various breaks in the academic year. Chapter evaluations may be available during the summer break by special arrangement with the director of academics and mentoring.
   
   See Appendix B for details concerning the research, writing, formatting, and submission of dissertation work. For the assessment rubrics that the committee will use in evaluating submissions, see the Seminary Success Modules on the Canvas learning management system. A minimum score of 80% on the rubrics is required for a submission to be approved.
   
   The director of academics and mentoring will return each chapter indicating either “Approved with Corrections” or “Rewrite,” along with the completed assessment rubrics. If a chapter is marked “Approved with Corrections,” the candidate must make any corrections indicated, but he/she does not need to resubmit the chapter until the defense draft. Corrections are best made immediately, however, while the content of the chapter is fresh. If a chapter is marked “Rewrite,” the candidate must rewrite it in accordance with the committee’s directions before submitting another chapter.
   
   Especially at the beginning of the process, the rewriting of one or two chapters is common and does not disqualify the candidate or the dissertation. On the other hand, the candidate should not view the first submission of any chapter as a “rough draft” but should write with a standard of excellence that could gain the committee’s approval. Additionally, the candidate has only three opportunities for submitting an individual chapter. Doctoral candidacy will be terminated if the third submission of any chapter is not approved.


7. Submit the dissertation defense draft.
   
   The semester that the candidate plans to defend the dissertation, he/she will register for STh 997 Dissertation Defense. By the time of submission, the candidate should make all the corrections that the committee members have indicated during the writing of the first draft. The candidate also has some latitude to make other adjustments that would improve the dissertation. The candidate should contact the committee chairperson if there are any questions concerning the magnitude of such adjustments. It is likely that the prospectus will especially need revision to reflect the final progression and findings of the dissertation.
   
   The candidate should combine all chapters into one document and add the front matter. He/she should email a single Word file and a single PDF file of the defense draft to [email protected]. The director of academics and mentoring will forward these files to the committee members as well as to the dean and the PhD coordinator. Additionally, the candidate may be asked to order a certain number of spiral-bound, duplex hard copies through the Bellis Copy Center, at the candidate’s expense.
   
   The director of academics and mentoring will schedule the oral defense, which will be held a minimum of two weeks after submission of the defense draft. Upon special request, the defense may be conducted via livestream if an in-person defense is not feasible for the candidate and/or the committee members. In the case of a livestream defense, the director of academics and mentoring will communicate with the candidate to adjust as needed the procedures for the defense and signatures.


8. Defend the dissertation.
   
   The defense is a formal, academic evaluation open only to the candidate, his/her committee members, and any other BJU faculty members who choose to attend. As a single exception to this rule, other doctoral students may silently observe the defense as a way of preparing for their own. The candidate should bring to the defense twice as many signature pages as the number of dissertation copies he/she will be ordering. The signature pages must be printed on thesis paper. The candidate should also bring the “Form for Photocopying and Binding Graduate Papers,” available from the director of academics and mentoring.
   
   The committee chairperson will moderate the defense. First, the candidate will give a presentation that provides an overview of the dissertation (no more than twenty minutes). The candidate is welcome to use Power Point or other visual aids for the presentation. Since the committee will have recently read the dissertation, the presentation should not be a rundown of the content of each chapter. Instead, the candidate should summarize the thesis/purpose and answer these kinds of questions:
   
   
   1. Why did the candidate choose this topic?
   2. How did the candidate arrive at the thesis/purpose?
   3. Why was the particular methodology chosen?
   4. How does the evidence prove the thesis?
   5. What additional, interesting discoveries did the candidate make?
   6. What unexpected problems did the candidate face in the process of research and writing?
   7. How does the dissertation contribute to scholarship and to the church?
   8. How did the dissertation process help the candidate personally and professionally?
   The defense proper follows the overview. Typically, this will proceed chapter by chapter, and each committee member will have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments. The focus will be on the content of the dissertation, though major matters of form may also be addressed.
   
   Defenses usually last two to three hours. Once the committee members have completed their questioning, the candidate will be dismissed from the room while they deliberate. After discussion, they will invite the candidate back into the room and inform him/her of the decision. If the candidate has passed the defense, he/she may be properly addressed with the title “doctor.” The candidate will also be notified if major revisions will be required or if a second defense must be scheduled once revisions are complete. The defense draft files will be returned to the candidate with any suggestions for further adjustments.
   
   Once the candidate has successfully defended the dissertation, the committee members will sign the signature pages. The chairperson will deliver these and the completed “Form for Photocopying and Binding Graduate Papers” to the director of academics and mentoring. The writer should also email the form to [email protected]. As the dissertation process is completed, the writer will need to check his/her email daily in order to facilitate communication with the various parties involved.


9. Submit the chairperson’s draft(s) of the dissertation.
   
   From this point forward, all printing must be done through the Bellis Copy Center. Within two weeks of the defense, the candidate should submit a corrected draft to the copy center (single PDF file via the Bellis Copy Center), specifying that it is the chairperson’s draft. It will be printed in black and white on plain paper. The writer should ask the copy center to email the chairperson when it has been printed, and the chairperson will pick it up. The purpose of the chairperson’s draft is to identify and correct any remaining formatting problems. See Appendix B below for details. From the time the initial chairperson’s draft is submitted to the copy center, the candidate has two weeks to finalize all corrections. When the chairperson is satisfied with the document, he/she will inform the candidate that the document has been approved and is now the final draft. The chairperson will inform the copy center that this most recent file is the approved version and will email the file to the director of academics and mentoring. The director will then obtain the Registrar’s signature for the signature pages. No changes may be made to the document after this point.


10. Await final copies of the dissertation.
    
    The Seminary office will oversee the duplication, binding, and distribution of final copies. The Bellis Copy Center will print the dissertation according to the specifications on the “Form for Photocopying and Binding Graduate Papers.” This will include two copies on thesis paper for the Mack Library. The dissertation printouts will be delivered to the Seminary office for insertion of the signature pages and will then be taken to the Mack Library to be prepared for binding. Delivery of hardbound copies can take up to six months.
    
    The candidate will bear the cost of all duplication and binding; this cost will be billed to his/her account. Current pricing information is available from the Seminary office.
    
    Once the dissertation has been approved for duplication/binding, the director of academics and mentoring will contact the writer about the procedure for disseminating the document online: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT) and the Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN).