Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.)

The Doctor of Ministry degree offers advanced theological education and pastoral skills for experienced pastoral ministers. The program is designed for lay, religious, and ordained ministers, and welcomes students from all Christian communities. In service to the New Evangelization and in continuity with Catholic tradition, it gives special attention to the interlocking ministries of catechesis, spiritual formation, and evangelization. In addition, a concentration in seminary formation is available, All students participate in a basic curriculum that serves as a foundation for enhanced pastoral ministry.

Students choose one of four concentration areas according to their ministerial interests: Evangelization, Liturgical Catechesis, Spirituality, or Seminary Formation.

Learning is experienced through a combination of on-line education and a two- week summer residency at Catholic University over three consecutive summers. Upon completion of coursework, students prepare a ministerial project that makes a significant contribution to the development of pastoral ministry in their area of concentration. The degree is awarded after successful completion of the project, a written treatise, and a concluding oral presentation.

Admission Requirements:
1. Possession of the M.Div. degree or its educational equivalent of approximately 72 graduate level credits in theology and its related fields or comparable graduate credits in other systems that represent broad-based work in theology and its related fields and that include a master's degree and significant ministerial leadership with a cumulative average of 3.0 or better. (GREs are not required).
2. A minimum of three years of full-time service in pastoral ministry.
3. Prerequisites: Please refer to the sections describing prerequisites in individual academic area degree programs for more information.
4. A completed and signed Application Form (submitted through the Office of Graduate Admissions website).
5. Completion of the Statement of Purpose: In an essay of 1,000 to 2,000 words, the applicant presents a brief history of their academic, pastoral and vocational background, their present ministerial responsibilities, their purpose for undertaking doctoral studies of pastoral ministry and their ministerial goals.
6. Official Transcripts: Applicants should contact the registrar of every post-secondary school previously attended and request an official transcript be sent directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Transcripts marked "Student Copy" or "Issued to a Student" cannot be accepted. Official transcripts must be sent in sealed envelopes with an official university stamp or signature across the seal to ensure confidentiality. Transcripts should show the following: (a) receipt of a M.Div. or equivalent from an accredited institution; (b) the courses completed toward the degree; (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 educational records (such as WES or AACRAO), even if in the English language. Education completed at institutions outside the United States, as shown by official documents, may be accepted as equivalent to educational experiences in the United States.
7. Three Letters of Recommendation: Submit three confidential letters of recommendation using the electronic form sent from the Office of Graduate Admission. Along with the form, it is highly recommended to include a letter from the recommender. One letter testifying to the applicant's personal aptitude for, as well as interest in and motivation for, the field of theology and pastoral studies is required. The other two letters must specifically attest to the applicant's ability to complete doctoral studies.
8. Recommendations should come from former or present college or university instructors, and/or employers or supervisors giving evidence of the applicant's personal aptitude for, as well as interest in and motivation for, the field of theology and pastoral studies.
9. 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 superior attesting to this financial support.
10. Nonrefundable Application Fee.
11. 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) 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.
  Because this is a summers-only program, Graduate Admissions will issue the I-20 with the caveat that this is a summer-only program and that the student will be in the U.S. only during those periods when courses requiring residency are occurring (i.e., mid-April through the end of July). Students will need to terminate the I-20 at the end of each summer semester and reactivate a new I-20 when returning for the next summer session. Please contact the Office for International Students and Scholar Services for further information.
12. Writing Sample: Applicants must submit a graduate level writing sample with their application.
Coursework Requirements:
1. A minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework beyond the M.Div. or its equivalent is required and at least two semesters of doctoral project guidance.
2. A maximum of 6 graduate level credit hours in theology or its related fields from an accredited university may be transferred for work completed elsewhere. This will be determined by the student's Academic Area Director in consultation with the Associate Dean for Graduate Ministerial Studies.
3. Continuous enrollment each fall and spring semester after the completion of coursework is required until graduation.
4. Students are required to maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 in their coursework to be eligible for the degree.
5. Program Formats:
  1. Blended Learning Model: A total of nine courses are taught over three consecutive summers. Students begin each semester online approximately five weeks before the residency. This is followed by a two week residency and concludes with four more weeks of online work. Students may elect to take fewer courses each summer but should always take the concentration course since they are offered only every third year.
  2. The Doctor of Ministry Seminar is taught entirely online and is usually taken in the fall semester following the second summer of coursework (after 18 credit hours of coursework is completed).
6. There are no foreign language requirements for this degree.
7. There are no comprehensive examinations required for this degree.
Candidacy, Project Proposal, Treatise, and Oral Presentation:
1. Admission to Candidacy: Admission to Candidacy may be requested after the completion of 21 credit hours of coursework inclusive of the Doctor of Ministry Seminar. Admission to Candidacy is defined as permission to submit a D.Min. Project in Ministry proposal. Details for this process are found in the D.Min. Handbook. Candidacy must be achieved by the completion of coursework.
2. Preparation of the Proposal: After completing the Doctor of Ministry Seminar (fall semester after the second summer semester of the student's coursework) an initial proposal is to be submitted to the director of the academic area. Please refer to the D.Min. Handbook for more details. A proposal must be submitted for review to the D. Min. Proposal Committee within two years of the date of Candidacy.
3. Project Director and Committee: The Project director is determined in collaboration with the area director and the student. The student in consultation with the project director will identify an additional faculty member to serve as a reader.
4. Presentation of the Proposal to the D.Min. Proposal Committee: The Project director is to send one electronic copy of the proposal packet (as detailed in the D.Min. Handbook) to the D.Min. Proposal Committee Chair. For details on the contents of the proposal packet and submission procedures and deadlines see the D.Min. Handbook.
5. Completion of the Project/Treatise Approval Process: Upon approval by the D.Min. Proposal Committee, the D.Min. Project proposals will be forwarded to the appropriate offices for signatures. Upon approval by both the Dean and IRB, the student will receive a letter from STRS approving the student to begin the Project. The letter will specify the expected date of completion, normally three years, for the finished Project and Treatise. Projects may not begin prior to the receipt of this letter.
6. Project and Treatise Presentation: The D.Min. Project in Ministry, completion of the Treatise, and Oral Presentation conclude the program. The Project and Treatise are intended to assess the student's ability to identify a problem or pressing pastoral need in ministry and to discover appropriate interdisciplinary resources and theologically and pastorally relevant methods for its resolution. The process for this component of the degree is detailed in the D.Min. Handbook.
7. Once the Project and Treatise are complete, the director and reader will give their approval and the School will establish a date for the Oral Presentation (which always includes some type of visual presentation) in accordance with University regulations. The Dean of STRS will appoint a delegate to review the Treatise and facilitate the presentation. This process requires that the approval take place at least six weeks before the presentation. The student has three years from the authorization date established by the Dean of STRS to begin the Project in Ministry to complete and present his/her Project and Treatise. The Associate Dean for Graduate Ministerial Studies of STRS may grant an extension of up to one year with cause.