Doctoral Education Discussions Hosted at Biola University

October 5, 2017

Biola University hosted the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) Education Forum on September 28-30. Today, more than 70 CCCU institutions have at least one doctoral program — a significant growth over the past 20 years. The rapid development of new programs across CCCU institutions created new obstacles and opportunities for institutions, for which the forum provided an opportunity for institutions to discuss and learn from other like-minded Christian higher education institutions.

“As a university, Biola has been given much thought to the design and support of doctoral level education,” according to Kevin Lawson, director of the philosophy and education doctoral programs at Talbot School of Theology.

At the forum, which was attended by over 100 doctoral program directors and faculty members from 40 different schools, leaders came together to further develop and discuss strategies for increased excellence in doctoral education at CCCU schools. Pre-forum and breakout sessions were split up by varying topics for the benefit of both new and experienced doctoral program directors. The next forum will be in 2019 and will be hosted by another CCCU school. Each year, the forum impacts how programs are designed and allows institutions to help one another.

“We learned a lot from each other and came away with new conversation partners,” said Lawson. “The overall response was extremely positive and we look forward to supporting a similar gathering in two years."

The Biola doctoral program directors and faculty were able to gain new perspectives of current issues and form stronger relationships with sister schools for support in the future. Biola is one of the few CCCU schools with multiple doctoral and professional programs.

Through hosting the CCCU Education Forum this year, Biola was able to provide guidance and encourage doctoral program directors at other schools in their efforts, according to Lawson.

Visit Talbot School of Theology for more information about Biola’s doctoral programs. View application deadlines for Talbot programs.

Written by Alisa Ohara, media relations intern. For more information, contact Jenna Loumagne, manager of media relations, at (562) 777-4061 or jenna.loumagne@biola.edu.