Program purpose
Preparation for thoughtful, accountable service.
Demonstrate independent critical scholarship in church-based pastoral care and biblical counsel. Justify the question, sources, method, ethical protections, and limits of the inquiry. Defend a contribution to professional Christian ministry practice.
What you will study
A coherent academic pathway.
The complete program requires 36 semester credits.
- Doctoral core — 18 credits
- Field seminars — 9 credits
- Professional doctoral project — 9 credits
Courses and requirements
Your complete course map.
Select a course to read its scope, prerequisites, learning hours, and assessment requirements. Follow prerequisite order; the course list does not promise a delivery date.
Doctoral core 18 credits
DMN801 Doctoral Ministry Inquiry3 credits
Formulate a ministry problem suitable for doctoral investigation. Evaluate research approaches, contribution to practice, feasibility, and the limits of the proposed inquiry.
Prerequisites: Doctoral admission.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: The published course outcomes, required assessed work, and degree-level rubric govern; the verified syllabus supplies assessment weights.
DMN802 Advanced Theological Reflection3 credits
Critically integrate biblical exegesis, theological scholarship, and ministry context. Defend a theological framework that can guide and evaluate doctoral practice.
Prerequisites: Doctoral admission.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: The published course outcomes, required assessed work, and degree-level rubric govern; the verified syllabus supplies assessment weights.
DMN803 Research Ethics and Ministry Evidence3 credits
Design ethically responsible inquiry with explicit consent, data protection, power awareness, and review arrangements. Evaluate what conclusions different kinds of ministry evidence can support.
Prerequisites: Doctoral admission.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: The published course outcomes, required assessed work, and degree-level rubric govern; the verified syllabus supplies assessment weights.
DMN804 Literature Review and Scholarly Argument3 credits
Synthesize relevant theological and ministry scholarship, identify a defensible gap, and construct an argument. Distinguish original contribution from unsupported novelty claims.
Prerequisites: Doctoral admission.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: The published course outcomes, required assessed work, and degree-level rubric govern; the verified syllabus supplies assessment weights.
DMN805 Ministry Evaluation and Research Methods3 credits
Select and justify methods appropriate to a theological ministry question. Design a credible evaluation plan, including limitations and responsible interpretation of findings.
Prerequisites: Doctoral admission.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: The published course outcomes, required assessed work, and degree-level rubric govern; the verified syllabus supplies assessment weights.
DMN806 Doctoral Integration Seminar3 credits
Present a coherent ministry inquiry framework and demonstrate readiness for advanced project work. Complete a qualifying assessment of theological reasoning, scholarship, method, and ethics.
Prerequisites: DMN801–DMN805 completed with B or higher.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: The published course outcomes, required assessed work, and degree-level rubric govern; the verified syllabus supplies assessment weights.
Field seminars 9 credits
DCAR811 Theological Anthropology and Christian Care3 credits
Critically evaluate Christian accounts of human dignity, sin, suffering, hope, and pastoral responsibility.
Prerequisites: DMN801 through DMN806 and passed doctoral qualifying assessment.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: Submit a critical literature synthesis, a defended scholarly argument, and a field-specific research design; earn B or higher.
DCAR812 Pastoral Care Ethics and Evidence3 credits
Evaluate consent, safeguarding, confidentiality, referral, and the limits of evidence in religious care.
Prerequisites: DMN801 through DMN806 and passed doctoral qualifying assessment.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: Submit a critical literature synthesis, a defended scholarly argument, and a field-specific research design; earn B or higher.
DCAR813 Christian Care Ministry Evaluation3 credits
Design a rigorous evaluation of a church care practice without diagnosis or clinical intervention.
Prerequisites: DMN801 through DMN806 and passed doctoral qualifying assessment.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: Submit a critical literature synthesis, a defended scholarly argument, and a field-specific research design; earn B or higher.
Professional doctoral project 9 credits
PDR891 Professional Doctoral Project Proposal3 credits
Define an advanced problem in the named professional doctoral field and defend a theological framework, literature review, method, ethics, and contribution to ministry practice.
Prerequisites: 18 doctoral core credits, passed qualification, all three field seminars, accepted proposal, and assigned supervision.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: Separately assessed proposal, implementation, or report milestone. Final oral defense requires three doctoral-qualified examiners, one other than the principal supervisor; B or higher and all rubric scores at least 3.
PDR892 Professional Doctoral Project Implementation3 credits
Implement and analyze the approved ministry inquiry with accountable supervision and separately assessed evidence.
Prerequisites: PDR891 and all required ethics, site, and supervision approvals.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: Separately assessed proposal, implementation, or report milestone. Final oral defense requires three doctoral-qualified examiners, one other than the principal supervisor; B or higher and all rubric scores at least 3.
PDR893 Professional Doctoral Project Defense3 credits
Defend a substantial contribution to practice in the named field, document limitations, and complete accepted revisions.
Prerequisites: PDR892.
Workload: At least 135 documented learning hours.
Assessment: Separately assessed proposal, implementation, or report milestone. Final oral defense requires three doctoral-qualified examiners, one other than the principal supervisor; B or higher and all rubric scores at least 3.
Course sequence
- Complete DMN801-DMN805 with B or higher before DMN806 and its written and oral qualifying assessment.
- Pass qualification before the three field seminars; complete all 27 taught credits before PDR891. Complete PDR891, PDR892 and PDR893 in order.
Final project and examination
A nine-credit field-specific project in three assessed stages: proposal, approved implementation and analysis, and report with oral defense. Demonstrate a substantial contribution to ministry practice.
Academic standards and transfer requirements
Each semester credit requires at least 45 documented learning hours: approximately 15 hours of instruction or equivalent faculty-guided engagement and 30 hours of independent work. A 3-credit course requires 135 hours; a 6-credit course requires 270. Shorter terms do not reduce workload.
Undergraduate and certificate courses require C or higher and a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00; graduate and doctoral courses require B or higher and at least 3.00. Grades: A 90-100, B 80-89, C 70-79, D 60-69, F below 60. Complete at least 67% of attempted credits within 150% of the published program credits. Existing repeat and appeal procedures continue.
Each syllabus specifies measurable outcomes, readings, learning activities, workload, prerequisites, assessment weights, accessibility, and integrity rules before teaching. Assess Scripture and theology, evidence and method, ministry application, and ethics and communication. Final projects require at least 3 on the four-level rubric in every dimension, the minimum course grade, and accepted revisions.
Bachelor students complete at least 30 credits through GDICU, including all 12 advanced field and capstone credits. At least half of each certificate and master degree, and every required culminating project and GDICU-supervised practice component, must be completed through GDICU. All doctoral credits are completed through GDICU. Transfer requires documented content, level, workload, and outcome equivalence; C minimum undergraduate, B minimum graduate.
Count each course once within a credential. Approved certificate courses may apply once to a bachelor degree after admission and a course-by-course equivalency review. Undergraduate work cannot become graduate credit. Previously awarded graduate-degree work cannot be reused in another graduate award. Experience, attendance, ordination, or office alone earns no academic credit.
No recruitment, intervention, or data collection begins before proposal approval and documented institutional ethics review, consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, and site permissions where required. A theological text or archival study also requires source integrity and any access permissions. Existing examination, one-revision, and appeal policies continue.
Academic requirements do not open applications or enrollment. Faculty assignments, complete teaching packages, library access, supervision, accessibility, student support, systems, financial terms, and applicable authorization must be verified before program release. Existing student catalog rights and written transition plans remain in force.
Read the complete academic catalog for the governing program and student policies.
Who may apply
Admission begins with verified preparation.
A verified earned master degree in theology or ministry with at least 3.00 GPA or documented equivalent, transcripts, substantial theological writing sample, field-specific ministry inquiry statement, ministry endorsement, and at least five years of ministry experience. A doctoral-qualified panel documents readiness; required preparation is additional and cannot replace doctoral credit.
Completion standard
Progress must be demonstrated.
Complete all 36 credits in the prescribed course map. Earn B or higher in each applied course and at least 3.00 cumulative GPA. Complete the stated sequence, institutional-study minimum, required supervision, final assessment, and accepted revisions. A nine-credit field-specific project in three assessed stages: proposal, approved implementation and analysis, and report with oral defense. Demonstrate a substantial contribution to ministry practice.