During the period of candidacy, the candidate will go through five Doctoral Seminars — five major areas of 8 credits each (to be selected from the list of concentrations given below). Each area of concentration is called a Doctoral Seminar.
The dissertation carries 12 credits with 45000-50000 words in total.
Candidates should plan to complete all assignments for each Doctoral Seminar before they sign up for the next one. There will be Mutual Enrichment Seminars held once annually where candidates present their research findings on the research being done.
The candidate is to choose the five areas of concentration from the following list and indicate the same at the time of application. (NOTE: at times new areas may be added depending on the specific concentration of the candidate).
- Culture, Worldview*
- Contextualization — Gospel And Culture*
- Proclamation And Pluralism*
- Theology Of Mission*
- Social And Political Dimensions Of Missions
- Communications Theory And Analysis
- History Of Church And Missions Expansion
- Missionary Leadership Selection And Training
- Philosophy Of Missionary Education
- Church-Planting And Church Growth Studies
- Religions And Ideologies
- Urban Strategies
*Candidates are required to select any three of these as core areas for Doctoral Seminars.
The entire study programme is done under the overall guidance of the mentor. Before the candidate begins to write the dissertation, there should be no incomplete course work remaining (including the passing of the comprehensive exams).
For each of the major areas, a research paper of about 50–60 pages must be written at the end of the research and Doctoral Seminar. The research papers must be submitted to the Doctoral Seminar professor for grading, who in turn will turn in the grade to the registrar’s office. It is recommended that the course work be done keeping the dissertation in mind. The candidate is required to be in residence for the orientation, the first Doctoral Seminar, and toward the end of the programme.
During the programme of study, the candidate may sign-up for relevant courses in any approved university or institution of higher learning including BIU, which contributes to his research, but this is subject to the approval of the mentor.
