Doctorate of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.)

The S.T.D. is an academic degree conferred only after a candidate with a basic, tested theological foundation (as certified by possession of a S.T.B.) and proven competence in a given area of specialization (as certified by the possession of a S.T.L.) has shown ability for achievement in advanced scholarly research and publication.

Admission Requirements:
1. Possession of the S.T.L. degree from the Catholic University of America or from another ecclesiastical faculty or university, or a graduate degree in theology that demonstrates, in the judgment of the E.D.C., equivalency to the University’s S.T.L. requirements. Additional courses for applicants who have received their S.T.L. degree elsewhere may be required of those entering the S.T.D. program.
2. A cumulative grade point average of 3.3 or better in S.T.L. or other prior graduate work which has been accepted as equivalent to the S.T.L.
3. Students whose previous graduate theological work is in an area of concentration different from the one that is their intended area of concentration for the S.T.D. will be required to take additional courses and/or pass the licentiate comprehensive examinations in their new area of study with a minimum grade of 3.3.
4. Applicants who earned their S.T.L. at another university must submit a copy of their S.T.L. thesis along with their application.
5. A letter of intent stating: (a) the proposed area of concentration; (b) previous studies in that area; and (c) anticipated outcomes of the student’s doctoral studies.
6. Demonstrated reading proficiency in Latin and Biblical Greek. The applicant should also have a demonstrated reading proficiency in either French or German. (Language Requirements may be satisfied after admission).
7. A completed and Signed Application Form (submitted through the OGA website).
8. A Statement of Purpose: In an essay of 500 to 700 words, applicants state their purpose in undertaking graduate study in theology and religious studies. The essay also includes the applicant's academic objectives, research interests, and career plans as well as related qualifications, including: collegiate activities, professional experience, community involvement, and any other substantial accomplishments not already mentioned on the application form.
9. Official Transcripts: Applicants should contact the registrar of every post-secondary school previously attended and request an official transcript be sent directly to the OGA. Transcripts marked "Student Copy" or "Issued to the Student" will not be accepted. Official transcripts must either be sent in sealed envelopes with an official university stamp or signature across the seal to ensure confidentiality or sent electronically directly to the OGA. Please note: OGA provisionally accepts Unofficial Transcripts to help complete the application process; a Provisional admit hold will be placed on the applicant's record, which will prevent the applicant from obtaining a copy of their Catholic University transcript or receiving their Catholic University diploma until the provision has been lifted. Transcripts should show: (a) receipt of a S.T.L. from an accredited institution; (b) the courses completed toward the degree; and (c) the grade in each course, and (d) the basis for grading in effect at the institution. Admission to University graduate courses for students completing their final year of undergraduate or graduate degree study is contingent upon the receipt of the final transcript showing the conferral of the degree.
  Note: All transcripts issued from outside the United States must be certified by a recognized evaluator of international education records (such as WES or AACRAO), even if the transcript(s) is in the English language. Education completed at institutions outside of the United States, as shown by official documents, may be accepted as equivalent to educational experience in the United States.
10. Three Letters of Recommendation: Submit three confidential letters of recommendation using the electronic form sent from the OGA. Along with the form, it is highly recommended to include a letter from the recommender. Recommendations should come from former or present college or university instructors, and/or employers or supervisors and give evidence of the applicant's personal aptitude for, as well as interest in and motivation for, the field of theology and religious studies.
11. Applicants to the degree programs of the School of Theology and Religious Studies (STRS) who are priests, deacons or members of religious communities are required to submit a letter of endorsement from their Bishop or Religious Superior (in addition to their three letters of recommendation) with their application. All applicants who will be funded for their studies by a diocese or religious community are required to submit a separate letter from their ecclesiastical superior attesting to this financial support.
12. Standardized Test Scores: applicants must submit GRE scores or MAT (Miller Analogies Test) scores dated within the last 5 years prior to the student’s application. Test scores must be submitted as part of the admission process. The Catholic University of America code for the GRE is 5104.
13. Nonrefundable Application Fee.
14. International Students: Applicants from non-English speaking nations and some from nations where English is one of the official languages whose previous education has not been at institutions of higher education in the United States are required to certify their proficiency in English by submitting scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Duolingo Exam, or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). A minimum score on TOEFL of 92 (Internet- based) is required. On the IELTS an overall band score of 6.5 or higher is required.
15. Writing Sample: Students applying to the S.T.D. program must submit a sample. of their academic writing.
16. Please refer to the sections describing S.T.D. admission requirements in the individual academic areas for more details.
Language Requirements:
1. Demonstrated reading proficiency in Latin, Biblical or Patristic Greek, and one modern language are prerequisites.
2. Any student entering the S.T.D. program without these prerequisites must satisfy them by the end of the first fall semester in the program.
3. Reading proficiency in a second modern language, i.e., French or German, must be demonstrated in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the student’s area of concentration. This is ordinarily to be done during the student’s first year of coursework.
4. All language requirements must be satisfied before the student's dissertation proposal is submitted to the area faculty for approval.
5. Please refer to the sections describing the S.T.D. language requirements in the individual academic areas for more details.
Coursework Requirements:
1. Completion of the STRS Pro-Seminar for Doctoral students (TRS 799) which is to be taken in the student's first fall semester in the S.T.D. program.
2. 12 credit hours selected from doctoral seminars relevant to the student's area of concentration/proposed research topic are required for the S.T.D. Normally, these will be 800-level courses in the student's academic area. Any course taken to fulfill this requirement must require (or make provision for) a substantial research paper (approximately 25-30 pages).
3. No more than 6 credit hours of coursework in the academic area plus dissertation guidance may be taken during any one of the four semesters of coursework in the S.T.D. program, for a total of 9 semester hours per semester.
4. 4 successive semesters of dissertation guidance over and above the 12 credit hours of doctoral seminars are required. The candidate may choose (or will be assigned) a faculty adviser from among the student’s S.T.D. area of concentration upon entering the program. The faculty adviser chosen or assigned may be changed with the approval of the academic area director.
5. The student must maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average to continue in the program.
Residency:
1. Four semesters of residency are required of students whose S.T.L. was not obtained at the Catholic University of America.
2. If the student did complete the S.T.L. at Catholic University of America (or at an institution whose requirements for the S.T.L. are determined to be equivalent to those of Catholic University by the E.D.C.), only two semesters of residency are required, after which the student is required to maintain continuous registration while writing the dissertation.
Admission to Candidacy:
1. To be eligible for admission to candidacy for the S.T.D. degree, the student must have satisfied all language requirements, completed all required coursework, and submitted the "Admit to Candidacy Request Form" found on the STRS website.
Dissertation:
1. Each candidate must prepare and successfully defend a dissertation written under the guidance of a director.
2. The dissertation is expected to demonstrate: (a) technical mastery of the subject; (b) the ability to engage in scholarly research; and (c) formulation of conclusions of significance to the academic theological community.
3. The format of the dissertation must conform to the guidelines found in the current version of the Dissertation/Thesis Handbook published by the Catholic University of America, which is available online from the Office of Graduate Studies.
4. The student’s dissertation proposal must be approved in first place by the director and two readers (who are ordinarily faculty members of STRS). Once their approval has been obtained, it must be approved as well by all faculty members of the student’s area of concentration, the E.D.C., the STRS Dean and the Associate Provost for Graduate Studies.
5. Upon completion of the dissertation by the student, the director and the two readers signify their approval in writing. Once this has been done, the director of the dissertation will arrange for the lectio and defense of the dissertation though the STRS office.
6. Please refer to the sections describing the S.T.D. dissertation in individual academic area degree programs for more details about procedures for the dissertation proposal in the given area.
Lectio coram:
1. Prior to defense of the doctoral dissertation, the student must pass an oral examination (“lectio”) based on the origins, history and contemporary status of the entire area suggested by the topic of the dissertation.
2. The student’s director and readers will collaborate with the candidate in drafting the proposed topics for the lectio which should have a demonstrable connection with the topic of the dissertation, but not to such an extent that they make the defense of the dissertation superfluous.
3. At least one month prior to the defense of the dissertation, the candidate must present a list of five topics related to, but not identical with, the topic of the dissertation, to the director of the dissertation and the two readers who will serve as examiners for the Lectio. Upon their approval of the topics, the topics will be submitted to the Area Director and the Dean for their approval. Five days prior to the scheduled date of the lectio, the Dean will notify the members of the examining board which of the proposed topics will be the subject matter of the lectio. Twenty-four hours prior to the examination, the area director will notify the candidate about the topic for the lectio.
4. The candidate prepares and delivers a 25-minute lecture on the assigned topic. The candidate may use a one-page outline as lecture notes to guide the presentation. If the lectio presentation includes commentary on a text or texts, then the candidate may use that material in the presentation as well.
5. The candidate’s director will serve as chair for the lectio. The time for questioning of the candidate (30 minutes in total) will be allotted among the members of the examining board, as they determine. Each examiner will give a secret grade, and the final grade for the lectio will be the average of their three grades.
6. The grading system for the lectio is as follows:
  3.75 or above: Excellent
  
  3.5 or above: Outstanding
  
  3.25 or above: Superior
  
  2.5 or above: Pass
7. A grade below 2.5 is a failure. A candidate who fails the lectio will not be permitted to proceed to the defense of the dissertation. The area director, in consultation with the dissertation director, will determine when the lectio may be repeated; ordinarily, a new lectio, with new topics, should not be scheduled earlier than a month after the initial lectio. A second failure means that the candidate is no longer eligible for the S.T.D. degree.
8. Please refer to the sections below concerning the S.T.D. in the individual academic areas for more detailed information concerning the administration of the lectio in the given area.
Defense of the Dissertation:
1. When the members of the dissertation committee have received the dissertation in final written form, the area director will ask them to submit within twenty-one class days a simple affirmative or negative judgment as to whether the dissertation is ready for defense. In signifying that the dissertation is “ready for defense,” members of the dissertation committee may still require or recommend further emendations to the dissertation.
2. The examination board for the defense shall include two faculty members from outside STRS who will serve as chair and secretary respectively for the examination. At the defense, the candidate will first present a summary of the dissertation, giving particular attention to the status quaestionis, the method and primary sources used, and the principle conclusions of the research. For this presentation, the candidate may refer to a copy of the dissertation, but may not use other notes.
3. Each member of the five-person examining board will be given time to question the candidate on the dissertation. Time will be allotted to the members as determined by the board, but the entire examination should not exceed two hours, not be shorter than one hour and thirty minutes.
4. At the end of the defense, the dissertation itself will be graded by the three members of the dissertation committee, after which the oral defense will be graded by all five members of the examining board. The votes will be taken in secret and supervised by the chair of the board. The final grade in each case is the average of the grades given by all those voting. The grading system will be the same as that used for the lectio (see g. f above)
5. A candidate who fails the defense examination must obtain the permission of the Dean to retake the examination. A candidate will not be permitted to retake the examination until at least one semester or an equivalent period of time has elapsed since the date of the failure. A candidate who fails a second time in the defense examination ceases to be a candidate for the S.T.D.
6. After the defense, the dissertation shall be returned to the candidate with the corrections that the director and/or the readers consider necessary or advisable. The candidate must incorporate the required corrections-- while the recommended corrections may be incorporated at the discretion of the student-- and submit the revised version to the director who is to ensure that all required corrections have been properly made before the student deposits the dissertation with the University.
7. Please refer to the section of these announcements dealing with the S.T.D. in the individual areas for further details about the defense of the dissertation in the given area.
Final Grade for the S.T.D. Degree:
1. To be eligible for the degree, a candidate must obtain a 3.3 average in coursework and in both the lectio and the dissertation defense.
2. The final grade for the degree will be computed as follows:
  30% Course Work
  
  50% Dissertation
  
  10% Lectio
  
  10% Defense