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Objectives
Admission Requirements
Program Requirements
Time Limit for Degree Completion
Withdrawal & Re-admission Procedures
Leave of Absence
Oral Interview
Comprehensive Examinations
Field Ministry & Language Requirement
Admission to Candidacy
Dissertation
Final Oral Examination
Graduation Requirements

Objectives

The Doctor of Missiology degree is designed to enhance people, partnerships and publications that will advance the missions enterprise to a higher level of scholarship, spirituality, service, and sacrifice through the critical reflection of cross-disciplines; church history, theology, the social sciences, and missions strategies. It is the goal of the program to promote the development of researchers, teachers, administrators, consultants, Bible translators, church multipliers, curriculum developers, community developers, member care professionals, and business persons who shall be able to conduct cross-cultural ministries with conviction, clarity, competence, and compassion, without compromising the sacred Scriptures.

Admission Requirements

1. Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average. Graduates from approved unaccredited colleges, if accepted, will be granted provisional acceptance, if GPA is 3.4 or higher. Graduates from approved unaccredited colleges may be required to take additional liberal arts course work (not applicable toward the graduate degree), if their undergraduate program did not include these courses.
2. Those without intercultural/ missions or Bible / theology may have additional coursework added to their program.
3. Applicants must submit a written statement outlining their vocational objectives and how the degree will relate to those objectives. Applicants should attach a one-page, typewritten letter to the application.
4. Three letters of references on forms supplied by the school are required.
5. Official transcripts for all previous schools attended are required.
6. Application deadlines. D.Miss.: Fall is July 1, Spring is January 1; Ph.D.: Fall is April 15, Spring is October 15. Applications may be submitted after deadlines (late fee of $55) but will only be considered if space and time allow. Late applications may be postponed to later terms.

Note: Official documents presented for admission or evaluation become part of the student’s academic file and normally cannot be returned or copied for distribution.

An accredited master’s degree in Intercultural Studies, or a related field, of which 15 units will be in biblical and theological studies, and 18 units in social organization, intercultural communication, cultural change, dynamics of religious experience (or folk religions), theology of mission, and applied anthropology, as described in this catalog. A 3.30 GPA in their previous studies is required for admission.

Program Requirements

The program requires a minimum of 35 units past the appropriate master’s degree, with 27 semester hours of coursework and 8 semester hours of dissertation research. If a student has graduate coursework but no master’s degree, or has a master’s degree which does not contain the background necessary for the D.Miss. program, the total program will be longer than 35 units, and this will be determined with the director of the program. A faculty advisor will guide each student in planning a program of courses to serve his or her ministry needs. Each student will select a mentor from the graduate faculty to guide his or her dissertation research.

Admission into the graduate program of the School of Intercultural Studies does not guarantee completion of the doctoral degree.

Requirements

Missiology and Intercultural Studies (18 units)

ISCL 601	Contemporary Anthropological Theory	3
ISCL 727	Principles of Church Multiplication	3
or ISCL 735	Principles of Church Growth
ISCL 742	The History of Christianity in Missiological Perspective	3
ISCL 765	Crosscultural Leadership	3
ISCL 823	Crosscultural Teaching/Learning Strategies for Curriculum	3
or ISCL 744	Narrative as an Educational Philosophy
ISCL	Elective	3

Bible/Theological Studies (3 Units)

ISCL 722	Spiritual Conflicts in Crosscultural Context	3
or ISCL 724	Issues in Spiritual Warfare

Research and Writing (8 Units)

ISCL 803	Qualitative Research	3
ISCL 879	Research Design	3
ISCL 881	D.Miss. Dissertation Proposal	2

Dissertation (6-8 Units)

ISCL 880

D.Miss. Dissertation

6-8

Time Limit for Degree Completion

All course and academic requirements for the D.Miss. degree must be completed within 10 years, beginning on the date of the student’s first registration. Petitions for extension beyond 10 years will be considered on a case by case basis for students who may need extensive field experience or field research requirements.

Withdrawal & Re-admission Procedures

A student who must drop out of school or is planning to return to field service must go through the formal withdrawal process. To return to active status the student should contact the program director and file a readmission form with the admissions office.

Leave of Absence

Inactive students are those who have requested and been granted Leave of Absence from the program. A Leave of Absence may be granted upon petition for change of status if there is deemed sufficient reason for interrupting the program and intention to return to the program. A Leave of Absence must be renewed by petition each semester and may not exceed two consecutive semesters. A Leave of Absence longer than two semesters will require withdrawal from the program and a petition for readmission if the student later wishes to regain active status. Each leave of absence must receive the approval of the student’s program advisor and the Dean of the school. Students on leave are required to register for ISCL 893 Leave of Absence each term.

Oral Interview

All students will have an oral interview with a faculty committee to evaluate their progress and potential for successful completion of the doctoral program. The interview is scheduled after one semester in residence and the completion of at least one significant piece of written work demonstrating the student’s skill in research writing. If needed, an oral interview with a faculty committee may be held to evaluate a student’s progress and potential for successful completion of the doctoral program. The interview will be scheduled after at least one significant piece of written work demonstrating the student’s skill in research writing is completed. The result of the interview will determine the student’s status within the program.

Comprehensive Examinations

All students must pass comprehensive exams covering the following areas:

• Intercultural Studies
• History & Theology of Mission
• Society, Technology & Missions
• The student’s specialization

These exams are given once a year in April for on-campus students and serve as a major means of evaluating a student’s suitability to continue studies toward the doctorate. Extension students can use a proctor.

Field Ministry & Language Requirement

All students must complete a minimum of three continuous years of practical missionary experience in a crosscultural (or cross-subcultural) setting. It is assumed that the student will acquire fluency in a second language learned during this missionary service and that this language will be the language of field research.

Admission to Candidacy

Official candidacy for the doctorate signifies an advanced stage in the student’s progress and is characterized by self-directed research and preparation of a dissertation under the direction of a faculty advisor. In order to be admitted to candidacy the student must have:

1. Passed the comprehensive examination
2. Completed the field ministry requirement
3. Received approval of the dissertation proposal by the Doctoral Committee

Upon reaching candidacy a student must register for a total of 8 dissertation units prior to graduation. Units are ordinarily taken at the rate of two or more per semester during the dissertation stage and this constitutes full-time enrollment. During the dissertation phase, students are considered full time for a maximum of two years. If the doctoral candidate has not defended the dissertation by the time the 8 dissertation units are completed, the candidate must enroll continuously, in ISCL 882 D.Miss. Continuous Enrollment Research. This enrollment carries no academic credit but maintains the student’s continuous registration. Students who have advanced to the level of candidacy who are unable to register in person for their dissertation research or continuous enrollment courses may register in absentia by sending a written request to the Office of the Dean. A special fee of $45 applies.

Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation will be based upon research conducted in the field of ministry, usually over a period of six months to one year. The dissertation must demonstrate high attainment in scholarship related to professional missiology. The dissertation topic and proposal must be approved by the candidate’s advisory committee prior to beginning of the student’s field research. Three weeks prior to expected graduation the candidate must submit to the School of Intercultural Studies the original and two copies of his dissertation signed by the dissertation committee.

Final Oral Examination

The final examination is an oral defense of the dissertation before the doctoral committee and other invited professionals.

Graduation Requirements

All students must present an acceptable dissertation, have satisfactorily passed their comprehensive examinations and have completed all required course work with a minimum 3.30 GPA to qualify for graduation.