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Purpose
As a professional degree, the Doctor of Ministry in Christian Spirituality is designed to help students develop advanced ministerial and leadership skills within the context of theological understanding and Christian Spirituality. The courses, the seminar and final project are directed toward the study of spirituality and its relationship to ministerial practice.
Curriculum Requirement
The thirty credit (30) distribution required for the Doctor of Ministry degree consists of the following: twelve (12) credits for required courses; nine (9) credits for elected courses; three (3) credits for the seminar and six (6) credits for the completed project paper. Twenty-four (24) credits will be completed within a two year period at which point the student will have reached candidacy status for the degree. Submission of the project paper with an oral presentation, the final requirements for the degree, may not exceed a five year period.
Each intensive session held for a two week period in January and in July requires thirty contact hours on campus along with preparatory readings and post session assignments. Students receive reading lists and preparatory assignments two months prior to the January and July sessions respectively and must complete all post session assignments within two months. A student must complete all assignments before he/she can enroll in a subsequent session.
Thesis Project Requirement
The student achieves candidacy status with the approval of the project proposal. The culmination of the Doctor of Ministry program is the final writing and oral presentation of the project paper. The project is a doctoral-level thesis project of 150-200 pages in length in which the student explores the nature and practice of ministry drawing upon the theological and spirituality studies represented in the curriculum and upon the student’s experiences in the practice of ministry. The project will consist of a theoretical component using the resources of theology, spirituality, the social sciences and a practical component detailing the particular ministerial focus of the project. In addition, the use of a credible evaluation tool will be incorporated into the project, a summary of one’s ministerial identity, and, finally, a brief description of how the project will make a contribution to the field of ministry. The completed written project will be accessioned in the Union’s library.