Program Objectives
The doctor of philosophy degree (Ph.D.) is an advanced
research degree designed to develop scholarly leadership for Christian
churches and for work in the community of theological scholarship
throughout the world.
It fosters the mastery of a specific theological
discipline and equips students for teaching through nine area and
interdisciplinary seminars or graduate courses, colloquia, independent
research, mastery of languages, comprehensive exams and a thesis.The program is
deliberately theological and confessional without compromising its
commitment to academic excellence and accountability.
The concentration
in Congregational Mission and Leadership within the Ph.D. program
focuses primarily on educating and preparing persons to teach in
seminaries in North America, although international students are also
welcome.
A person holding a degree with this concentration is able to specialize in teaching Missiology within the North American
context, although other context specializations are also available.Academic roles in seminaries that relate to this
specialization include positions such as:
- Missiology
- Church Leadership
- Congregational Mission
- Intercultural Studies
- Congregational Studies
- Mission and Evangelism
Expected Outcomes
Through this program, Luther Seminary:
- Educates and prepares persons who
have the skills for academic excellence and the passion for
educating leaders for a missional church.
- Educates and prepares persons who
have the skills for academic excellence and the passion for serving
the professional leadership needs of the missional church.
- Provides opportunities for doctoral students to
teach at the seminary and /or in teaching congregations.
- Provides opportunities for doctoral students to
engage in research and development.
- Develops a substantive research database on
congregations in North America which can be used to enhance both
scholarship and service. This research includes securing grants
from funding agencies for relevant research topics.
- Develops research capacity at Luther Seminary to
support the functions of environmental scan, research & development,
and performance evaluation