Purpose of the D.Min Degree Program
As part of its overall mission to educate persons for service in the Christian Church, Erskine Seminary offers the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree. The purpose of the D.Min. degree is for qualified persons to increase their effectiveness as servant-leaders in the ministry of the Church, to the glory of God. The D.Min. degree focuses upon professional leadership in the Church and is intended for persons preparing for advanced pastoral leadership in local congregations or specialized ministries within the Church.

Institutional Goals for Erskine Theological Seminary
The following general institutional goals apply to all degree programs offered by Erskine Seminary and reflect intended outcomes for all Seminary graduates.

Knowledge of Religious Heritage (Knowing)
1. Graduates will articulate the Bible’s message in light of its own literary, historical, and theological setting.
2. Graduates will utilize the Church’s historical and theological heritage as an important resource in their personal spiritual development and ministry.
3. Graduates will communicate the Bible’s message so as to make clear that its meaning is relevant for today.

Understanding of the Cultural Context (Knowing)
4. Graduates will articulate the relation between the Bible and the contemporary contexts in which ministry takes place.

Capacity for Ministerial and Public Leadership (Doing)
5. Graduates will write and speak using theological language that is clear, well considered, disciplined, and meaningful for those to whom they minister.
6. Graduates will view their ministries in light of the Church’s mission to worship, follow, bear witness to, and serve Jesus Christ.

Growth in Spiritual Depth (Being)
7. Graduates will serve the Church with Christian character and integrity in their personal and professional lives.

Goals of the D.Min Degree Program
Graduates will:

1. Engage in contemporary theological discussion and show its relevance to the practice of pastoral ministry. (Knowing)

2. Explore the contexts which affect Christian ministry today, notably the issues of culture, congregational and community demographics, ethical issues, and major events of the day. (Knowing)

3. Understand the Bible’s message and make it relevant for ministry today. (Knowing/Doing)

4. Demonstrate competence in the various functions of ministry, such as preaching the Gospel, leading worship, teaching, pastoral care and counseling, evangelizing, discipling, and carrying out the mission of the Church. (Being/Doing)

5. Identify, design, prepare, conduct, and evaluate a ministry project/concept dissertation that integrates Biblical and theological norms, ministerial functions, and contextual dimensions of ministry. (Knowing/Doing)

Admissions Requirements
Admission into the D.Min. program is accomplished through the Post-Graduate Committee. Requirements are as follows:

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university

• An M.Div. degree or equivalent (see below) indicating sufficient preparatory work for advanced work in the area of study. The student’s GPA in this degree must ordinarily be at least 3.0 on a four-point scale.

• Three years of ministry experience after the completion of the M.Div., or a waiver of this requirement (see the more specific admissions information in Part III of this Catalog)

• Three references indicating the student’s ability to pursue post-graduate work (not required for military chaplains)

• Submission of a TOEFL score for applicants whose native language is not English (See the Th.M. manual for additional requirements for students whose native language is not English.)

• Demonstration of basic research, writing, and critical thinking skills by submission of a graduate-level research paper

• An interview may be deemed necessary to establish your level of interest, aptitude, and personal qualities necessary to engage in advanced study

Definition of an M.Div. Equivalent
For purposes of admission into the D.Min. program, Erskine Seminary defines an “M.Div. equivalent” as including all three of the following requirements:

1. Possession of a master’s degree in a related field from an accredited seminary or graduate school, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. (Applicants whose GPA is between 2.75 and 3.0 may be considered on a probationary basis.)

2. Completion of graduate-level courses in each of the three major areas of Erskine’s M.Div. curriculum (Bible, Theology, and Ministry). Students should normally have taken 18-24 semester hours in each area, including the following subjects:

Bible:
OT Intro/Survey
NT Intro/Survey
Principles of Exegesis
OT Exegesis
NT Exegesis

Theology:
Pre-Ref Church History
Ref/Mod Church History
Prolegomena to Theology
Systematic Theology (Loci)
Ethics
Missions

Ministry:
Worship
Preaching
Evangelism
Pastoral Ministry
Counseling
Leadership
Practicum

3. Completion of at least 72 hours of graduate-level work prior to the start of the D.Min., with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. (Applicants whose GPA is between 2.75 and 3.0 may be considered on a probationary basis.)

Students who apply for admission to the D.Min. program without an M.Div. equivalent may be given a conditional acceptance and must work with the D.Min. Director to identify which courses they must take to complete the requirements above. Conditionally-accepted students must complete these courses successfully (with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above) before they may be given their final acceptance. Only then may they enroll in D.Min. courses at Erskine.

Residency and Graduation Requirements
To qualify for the D.Min. degree, you must complete 36 semester hours of work. The program is designed to be completed in three years (five years maximum) with a normal course load of 6 semester hours of study per semester (fall and spring). No more than 18 hours (1/2 of the degree) may be transferred in from another institution, and at least 18 hours (including the two foundations courses, two of the electives, and the project/dissertation) must be done in residence at the Due West or Columbia campus (summer 2010 and after), by directed study, online, or by transfer credit from courses taken in residence at another institution. You may take up to 12 hours of their D.Min. program on a cross-registration basis at sister schools of the Atlanta Theological Association and the Charlotte-area Theological Seminaries that offer a D.Min. degree, and with which Erskine has cooperative agreements. Additionally, D. Min. students may not take more than three hours as a directed or independent study. All work must be completed with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (“B”) or better. Furthermore, each individual course must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher, or must be repeated.

Relation to Other Degrees
In contrast to a professional or terminal degree such as the Ph.D., the D.Min. is a practical degree that builds upon the basic foundation of at least three years of post-M.Div. degree experience and that is intended as a means of increasing one’s effectiveness in ministry. An M.Div. degree or its equivalent (see definition below) from an accredited seminary or graduate school is a prerequisite for admission into the Doctor of Ministry program.

If you do not wish to pursue a Doctor of Ministry degree but desire to have the experience of advanced study at a doctoral level, you may apply for admission into the Advanced Certificate in Applied Theology (ACAT) program. The admission requirements of the ACAT program are essentially the same as those of the D.Min. degree program. To qualify for the advanced certificate, you must complete at least 15 semester hours of D.Min. level coursework with a cumulative grade point average (Cum. GPA) of at least a “B” or better. The certificate program does not include the project/dissertation requirement. At any time during the ACAT program, you may request admission into the D.Min. program without loss of earned academic credit for doctoral level work completed, provided the grade for each course is a “C” (2.0 on a scale of 4.0) or better, and provided the cumulative grade point average (Cum. GPA) is a “B” (3.0) or better. All requests for admission into the D.Min. program from the ACAT program must be considered by the Post-Graduate Committee.

Curriculum

General Description of the Curriculum:
The D.Min. curriculum seeks to develop further the leadership competencies required for Christian ministry in contemporary society. A three-dimensional perspective guides the overall design of the program. The norms dimension (DN courses) addresses the Biblical and theological foundations of gospel, Church, and ministry. The functions dimension (DF courses) emphasizes the professional skills used in the practice of ministry, such as preaching, pastoral care, administration, teaching, and the like. The contexts dimension (DC courses) encompasses the environment and realities of the modern world in which ministry must take place. The program seeks to integrate the dimensions of norms, functions, and contexts into a working whole for each minister. All D.Min. courses embody these three dimensions in varying combinations. Your own work setting serves as a primary learning resource for the Erskine program. Much of the coursework involves in-service projects of direct benefit to your ministry. In addition, regular classroom time provides occasions for disciplined study, critical reflection, and evaluation concerning ministry issues.

The program also emphasizes learning from group interaction among peers. The faculty cultivates interaction among students, thus promoting openness, caring, and cross-fertilization of ideas. Erskine’s classes typically contain people from many denominations, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, locations, and points of view, a fact which makes the sharing among peers a desired and recognized feature of the D.Min. program.

The focus of the Erskine D.Min. program is ministry in general, but the school conducts the program with sufficient flexibility that it can easily be tailored toward more specialized interests. One particular interest that the program accommodates is worship, and you may take electives that concentrate in this area through courses offered by the Institute for Reformed Worship at Erskine Seminary.

The D.Min. program has also been adapted to meet the particular needs and demands of the military chaplaincy. Erskine offers a variety of courses on post at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. The faculty is flexible and willing to work with chaplains whose duty stations may change quickly or place them at some distance from the Erskine campus. Some distance learning courses are available through EVC, Erskine’s Virtual Campus.

Basic Requirements for the D.Min. Degree:
DR 901 Theological Foundations for Ministry...............................3
DR 902 The Practice of Ministry.....................................................3
DR 911 Interpersonal Skills for Ministry.........................................3
One Norms (DN) Elective..............................................................3
One Functions (DF) Elective...........................................................3
One Contexts (DC) Elective...........................................................3
*Four Other Electives (in any combination of N, F, or C)............12
DR 090 Candidacy...........................................................................0
Prospectus Writing Seminar (Oct. or Feb.; or on-line)..................0
DR 941, 942, 943 Project/Dissertation...........................................6

TOTAL Semester Hours...............................................................36

*Students concentrating in worship must have 12 hours in designated Worship Institute courses. The required norms, functions, and contexts elective courses may come from the Worship Institute course offerings as well. All other requirements remain the same.

Foundations Courses:
You may enter the D.Min. program in any semester (fall, spring, or summer). You are expected, however, to take one foundations course each semester until both foundations courses (DR 901 Theological Foundations for Ministry and DR 902 The Practice of Ministry) are completed. The preferred—but not required—sequence starts with DR 901, followed by DR 902. You will need to pay attention to when and where the foundations courses are offered in a given year.

Elective courses:
D.Min. electives are offered under the umbrella headings of norms (DN), functions (DF), and contexts (DC). You are required to take at least one elective from each of these areas. The remaining four electives may come from any of the three areas. D.Min. elective courses may also be taken for credit on a cross-registration basis from any of the ATA or Charlotte-area Theological Seminaries that offer them (see below, “Cooperative Agreements”). Apart from these schools, with prior approval from the Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, limited transfer credit will be considered for elective courses taken in other doctoral-level, accredited programs. You may also take one Erskine elective as an independent or directed study. When considering any of these options, you should consult with the Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program. Requests for an independent or directed study must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program. Forms for this purpose are available from the Registrar. The D.Min. Director presents the request to the Dean, who issues formal approval for the study. You may confer informally with the professor prior to making formal application for a directed or independent study, but you should recognize that the arrangement is not final until it is approved by the Dean.

D.Min. students may not take master’s-level courses for D.Min. credit. However, you may take independent studies which involve attending master’s-level classes as part of the requirements. As is the case in all independent studies, you and the professor must work out the course requirements and receive the Dean’s approval before the independent study begins.

Class Schedule:
Classes are normally held on-campus on Mondays and Tuesdays; classes at Columbia typically are held on Saturdays. The classes meet from 9 AM to 5 PM once every three or four weeks, four times a semester, to make it easier for pastors to attend with minimal disruption to their ministry tasks. Another format for some classes is the four-day intensive, in which students complete the classroom portion of a course by meeting each day on four consecutive days of one week. All formats require that students complete a significant amount of work prior to, and in preparation for, the first class meeting. Course syllabi are available on-line via the Seminary web site at least thirty days prior to the first class meeting.

Interpersonal Skills for Ministry Course:
This component of the D.Min. program cultivates the interpersonal skills and insights necessary for effective ministry, including the capacity to listen well, handle conflict constructively, develop a sound and accurate understanding of oneself, cultivate person-oriented insights basic to the professional ministry, and understand how such insights relate to the needs of other persons and institutions. You will draw from your interpersonal experiences within your current ministry setting in this “pass/fail” course.

The Interpersonal Skills for Ministry requirement may also be met through one of the following two options:

1. Candidates whose ministry setting clearly makes this component redundant (e.g., full-time, trained counselors; military chaplains who have completed the Chaplain Officer Basic and Advanced courses) may submit a written request to the D.Min. Director to waive the course and take a functions elective course in its place.

2. Candidates who have already satisfactorily completed three certified units of CPE (as evidenced by bona fide supervisory reports submitted to the Dean’s Office) may apply to the Director of the D.Min. program for a waiver of the Interpersonal Skills for Ministry course, with the hours (3) made up by taking a functions elective course. Students who have completed more than three units of CPE may petition the Dean to receive three semester hours of credit as a functions elective for each additional certified unit of CPE, up to a maximum of six credit hours. Supervisory reports must be submitted for all (four or five) CPE units in order to receive the respective academic credit.

Transfer Credit for Military Chaplains:
Military chaplains who intend to do their project/dissertation on an issue related to military ministry may receive transfer credit for their Chaplain Officer Basic Course and their Chaplain Advanced Course. The exact number of transfer hours will be determined by the D.Min. Director, in consultation with the Dean, and military chaplains who intend to explore non-military ministry in their project dissertation will not be allowed to transfer in the full, possible number of hours. Transfer credit for these military training courses will count as functions and contexts electives, and military chaplains must take two norms (Bible/Theology) electives, unless they receive permission from the D.Min. Director to take fewer than two such electives.

Candidacy:
DR 090 Candidacy is a required, non-credit course. It consists of the submission and approval of the prospectus for the project/dissertation, which is the culmination of the D.Min. degree. This prospectus must be written according to the stipulated standards, which are described in the Doctor of Ministry Manual. It must be approved by your project/dissertation advisor and by an outside reviewer.

You should not register for this course until the semester when you anticipate that you can write and submit the prospectus for approval. (Failure to complete the prospectus during the semester or term for which the student is registered for Candidacy will mean that the student must take an incomplete in DR 090 and pay the appropriate fee. As with any other incomplete, this one must be cleared before the deadline or it will automatically become an “F.”) Many students wait until near the end of the coursework to register for candidacy. You should plan to take the Prospectus Writing Seminar prior to writing the prospectus and registering for candidacy.

Candidacy may not be attempted more than three times. Failure to achieve candidacy after three unsuccessful attempts will result in dismissal from the program.

Students are not eligible for scholarship assistance or Federal loans when taking Candidacy alone or in any semester in which they are registered for fewer than three semester hours of for-credit work. Students may not register for project/dissertation courses (DR 941, 942, or 943) until their prospectus has been approved by the advisor and reviewer, as verified by the D.Min. Director.

Prospectus and Project/Dissertation Process:
This component is the apex of the program, consolidating the results of the D.Min. course work. For the prospectus/project/dissertation, you will identify a particular activity or project to be conducted with people in your own ministry setting, such as celebrating a special occasion together, starting a major church program, handling a pastoral conflict or need, leading a congregation to a fresh vision of mission or ministry, guiding a social action venture, or exploring some interesting avenue of life together. Whenever your work involves working with people, you must secure the approval of Erskine’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) for your project. The IRB is a committee established to review and approve any and all research involving humans, animals, or certain biological matter, including information about them derived from any sources. The primary purpose of the IRB is to protect the rights and welfare of human participants in research, primarily through preventing difficulties and reconciling errors or breaches of trust. The IRB is empowered to review and approve all research within the institution for ethical standards, scholarship, and appropriateness at this institution. The chair of the IRB is Dr. Robert J.F. Elsner, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology (elsner@erskine.edu; 864-379-6570).

You may elect to do a dissertation that is more concept-based rather than project-based. The essential requirements for the prospectus are the same, as is the approval process. If you choose this option, you may explore some theological, historical, or ministry issue in detail rather than conducting an actual project in a ministry setting. An essential component of the concept-based dissertation is a clear demonstration of the relevance of the issue studied for the practice of ministry in the church. The concept-based dissertation is discussed in the Doctor of Ministry Manual.

You should begin the prospectus/project/dissertation process early in the program. For example, in the Practice of Ministry course, you learn to identify an appropriate ministry project and can begin to develop a prospectus that encompasses this project or sets forth a concept to be explored.

Advisors:
Throughout the program, the Director of the D.Min. program is the primary academic advisor and may be consulted on all matters pertaining to their program. An additional faculty advisor is appointed for the specific purpose of guiding you through the prospectus/project/ dissertation process. You are expected to work closely with the assigned faculty advisor throughout the prospectus/project/dissertation process. For the benefit of military chaplains, a faculty person with military background has been designated as a liaison between Erskine Seminary and the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Cooperative Agreements:
The essential features of the Erskine D.Min. degree program were designed in the early 1970s by the Atlanta Theological Association (ATA), a consortium of seminaries which currently includes Candler School of Theology (Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.), Columbia International University (Columbia, S.C.), Columbia Theological Seminary (Decatur, Ga.), Erskine Theological Seminary, Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, Ga.), Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (Columbia, S.C.), and McAfee School of Theology (Atlanta, Ga.). Cooperation among the schools includes cross-registration for courses and use of one another’s library facilities (except for McAfee). A similar, but separate cross-registration and library usage agreement has been reached among the Charlotte, North Carolina area theological seminaries (Carolina Consortium), which currently include Reformed Theological Seminary-Charlotte and Columbia International University. Among these schools, Columbia (Decatur), Erskine, ITC, and Gordon-Conwell currently have D.Min. programs in place. The Gordon-Conwell D.Min. courses, however, are not open for cross-registration due to the cohort nature of their program.

Repeating a Course:
A required course not completed satisfactorily (i.e., if the final course grade is C- or lower) must be retaken for credit. If the course is an elective, you may retake the same course or another elective course, as long as the elective distribution requirement is met. In any case, the original grade remains on the student’s transcript, but the grade and credit hours for the retaken or substituted course (if an elective) are then computed in your grade point average. Full tuition is charged for a repeated course, and you are expected to retake the entire course.

To improve a grade or the cumulative grade point average, you may retake a course at any time when it is offered. The credit hours, if earned, and the higher of the two grades are calculated in the GPA; but all grades remain on the transcript, and the same course cannot be computed twice to satisfy graduation requirements. Full tuition is charged for a repeated course, and you are expected to retake the entire course and not simply to do work as an addendum to the work done in the first attempt at the course.

Students who have withdrawn from the program and who seek re-admittance may petition the Post-Graduate Committee for the handling of previous “incomplete/failure” grades according to this policy. Exceptional or extraordinary cases may be brought to the Post-Graduate Committee for further consideration and appropriate action.

Temporary Withdrawal from the D.Min. Program:
To accommodate military chaplains and other ministers whose situation may change dramatically on short notice, Erskine allows a student to withdraw temporarily from the program for a period of up to one year per request, and not more than two years total. The period of temporary withdrawal does not count toward the five-year time limit set for completion of the degree and requires no tuition payments by the student, nor does the student need to register for DR 091 during the period of temporary withdrawal. Temporary withdrawal becomes suspension, however, if the student does not register for further work in the program at the end of the period of temporary withdrawal. To request temporary withdrawal, the student must submit a written letter of request and explanation to the Director of the D.Min. program, who will forward the request to the Post-Graduate Committee for action. The committee’s decision is then conveyed to the student by the D.Min. Director. If a D.Min. student is inactive in the program for one semester or term, and has not applied for temporary withdrawal, he/she will be suspended from the program.

Because you have five years to complete the degree, you do not ordinarily need to request temporary withdrawal unless you will miss more than one semester. Keep in mind, however, that unless you have been granted temporary withdrawal, you must register each semester, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

Registration Requirements:
Except in cases of temporary withdrawal, you are required to register at Erskine each semester or term (Fall, Spring, and Summer, but not January), even if you are taking a course elsewhere for transfer credit or are not taking a course at all. If you have not yet begun your project/dissertation and are not taking a course in a given semester or term, you must register for DR 091 Continuation of the D.Min. Program. You will receive no credit for this, but you must register for it in order to maintain your status in the program, and therefore, your access to library materials and access to your advisor. (You do not have to register in the January term.)

If a student is inactive in the program for one semester (that is, if he/she neither does for-credit coursework nor registers for Continuation of the D.Min.. Program or Continuation of the D.Min. Project/Dissertation, he/she will be suspended from the program. Such a student who later wishes to be readmitted must send a written request to the Post-Graduate Committee and pay the “application for readmission” fee. (See Schedule of Fees.) If he/she is readmitted, he/she must then pay the readmission fee. (See Schedule of Fees.)

Time Allotted for Completion of Degree:
Five years is the maximum time normally allotted for completing the D.Min. degree. The curriculum outline is based on a course load of six hours a semester over a three-year period. The program may be completed in a shorter time, but except in cases of substantial transfer credit, candidates are not eligible to receive the D.Min. degree in less than two years. If you have full-time employment, you are strongly discouraged from taking more than two courses (6 hours) per semester.

While you are working on your project/dissertation, you should normally register for DR 941, DR 942, and DR 943 in three successive semesters or terms (not counting January). If you do not complete the thesis within consecutive three semesters/terms, you must register for DR 095 Continuation of the D.Min. Project/Dissertation in the following semester(s). You will receive no credit for this, but you must register for it in order to maintain your status in the program, and therefore, your access to library materials and the services of your advisor and reviewer. Please note you have not completed your dissertation until you have turned in the final, corrected copies. Your grade for DR 941 and DR 942 will appear on your transcript as “NC” (no credit) until your dissertation has been completed and approved by the advisor and reviewer. At that point a grade of “P” will be entered on your transcript.

Students who reach the five-year maximum time allotted to complete the D.Min. degree (the five-year period does not include any time during which the student was on temporary withdrawal) will be suspended from the program unless they have requested an extension of the time allotted to complete the degree. Any student who is suspended will receive a grade of “F” for any outstanding work (including the dissertation). If he/she is subsequently readmitted to the program, he/she will have to register again for outstanding work and pay the appropriate tuition.

You may request an extension of the time allotted to complete the degree by writing a letter to the Post-Graduate Committee explaining the circumstances that have prevented you from completing the degree on time and outlining your plan and time frame for completing all requirements. If the Post-Graduate Committee chooses to deny the request, you will be permanently suspended from the program. If the Committee grants the request, you must pay a sizeable extension fee and will be granted a one-year extension of the time to complete the degree. If you have still not completed the degree after the one-year period, you may apply for another extension. Under no circumstances will more than three such extensions be granted. (Periods of temporary withdrawal do not count toward these extension periods, so a student who is nearing the deadline and will not be able to work on the thesis/project/dissertation should apply for temporary withdrawal, not an extension.)

If two years have passed since the time you initially registered for DR 941 or DR 942 D.Min. Project/Dissertation and you have still not successfully completed the dissertation, you will receive a grade of “F” for the dissertation. In such a case, if you wish to continue in the program, you must register for DR 941 and DR 942 again and pay full tuition at current rates.

Readmission into the D.Min. Program:
Persons who seek readmission into the D.Min. program after being suspended must send a written request to the Post-Graduate Committee and must pay the “application for readmission” fee (see Schedule of Fees). If the student is readmitted, he/she must then pay the readmission fee (see Schedule of Fees). The request submitted to the Post-Graduate Committee must explain the reasons for the lapse in study and the student’s plan for completing the degree. The Post-Graduate Committee reserves the right to require a full application of those seeking re-admission into the program (e.g., for students who have been out of the program for a substantial length of time, etc.).

Important Financial Aid Information:
In the D.Min. program, students must maintain a 3.0 GPA in order to qualify for financial aid. Students receiving Federal Stafford Loans, VA benefits, and some other types of financial aid should note that some courses in the D.Min program have zero credit hours, and taking these courses does not make a student eligible for financial aid, including Federal Loans and VA benefits. Accordingly, if you are receiving financial aid, you need to plan your schedule carefully so as to ensure that in every semester or term, you are taking at least three hours of work for academic credit.

Other Graduation Requirements:
In addition to the requirements detailed above, you must submit to the Director of the D.Min. program at least two copies of the final, corrected, approved, unbound dissertation, as well as an electronic copy of the dissertation in PDF format (submitted by email). The dissertation must be in conformity with the Seminary’s specifications for dissertations and must be submitted by April 20 of a given year in order to qualify for graduation in May of that year, when Erskine Seminary’s annual commencement ceremony is held. In addition to the May conferral, the D.Min. degree can also be conferred in September or January. For a September conferral, all degree requirements and the finished copies of the dissertation must be submitted by August 15. For January, the deadline is December 15. After submitting the final version of the dissertation, you must contact your advisor to arrange an oral review of the project/dissertation prior to conferral of the degree.

Auditing Courses:
Any graduate of Erskine Seminary’s D.Min. program may audit future D.Min. courses free of charge.

The following is a suggested schedule for completion of the D.Min. degree. Students who have full-time employment are strongly discouraged from attempting more than two courses per semester.

A Suggested Schedule for the Doctor of Ministry Degree Program
First Year

Fall Semester
DR 901....................Theological Foundations of Ministry.......................3
Elective................... (norms, functions, or contexts)...............................3

Spring Semester
DR 902....................The Practice of Ministry...........................................3
Elective....................(norms, functions, or contexts)...............................3

Summer Term
DR 911....................Interpersonal Skills for Ministry...............................3
Elective....................(norms, functions, or contexts)................................3

Second Year

Fall Semester
Elective....................(norms, functions, or contexts)...............................3
Elective....................(norms, functions, or contexts)...............................3

Spring Semester
Elective....................(norms, functions, or contexts)................................3
Elective....................(norms, functions, or contexts)................................3

Summer Term
DR 090....................Candidacy Status (prospectus Zpproved).................0

Third Year

Fall Semester
DR 941....................Project/Dissertation.................................................3

Spring Semester
DR 942....................Project/Dissertation.................................................3

Summer Term
DR 943................... Project/Dissertation.................................................0

Total............................................................................36 Semester Hours