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Ph.D. with Specialization in Person, Marriage, and Family Program (Doctorate in Theology)

 

 

The purpose of the Ph.D. program is the formation of students toward an understanding of person, marriage, and family, in accord with the mission statement of the Institute. The program prepares students to carry out significant research and publication and qualifies students for academic positions in universities, colleges, and seminaries.

Admissions Requirements

Admission to the Ph.D. program requires the successful completion of a master's degree in theology or a related field and the completion of the application process as outlined on the appropriate admissions form. Prior to acceptance, an on-site interview will be required.

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. program is a 48-credit program, and course work is to be completed over three years. Ph.D. students must be in residence for full-time study during the first three years of the program, and ordinarily for the two years of dissertation writing. Full-time study is defined as taking three courses per semester and fulfilling the requirements of the Symposium, which meets four times each semester.

Ph.D. courses are generally offered on a three-year cycle, and students may choose any 15 courses during the first five semesters, in addition to the prospectus seminar in the sixth semester. In order that adequate time may be devoted to courses and to preparing for language examinations, foundational works examinations, and qualifying examinations, students may not, without permission, enroll in more than three courses in one semester.

Ph.D. students who are new to the Institute are typically required to take additional courses at the master's or licentiate level. With the permission of the Ph.D. Program Advisor and the fulfillment of an additional writing requirement, one of these courses may be substituted for a Ph.D.-level course. A maximum of two additional non-Ph.D. courses may be audited during the years of course work.

Proficiency in four languages is required of all Ph.D. students: scholastic-ecclesiastical Latin, New Testament Greek, and two modern languages, as delineated below. Additionally, two foundational works examinations and three qualifying examinations must be successfully completed by the end of January of the sixth term of study.

Following completion of course work, foundational works examinations, and qualifying examinations, Ph.D. students must take and pass the dissertation prospectus course. After the prospectus has been approved, students have two years in which to write their dissertations.

Languages

Students are required to demonstrate reading proficiency in scholastic-ecclesiastical Latin, New Testament Greek, and two modern languages (French, Spanish, Italian, German). Proficiency is demonstrated by successful completion of a written examination administered by Institute faculty. One ancient and one modern language examination must be taken before the end of the first semester. The remaining language examinations must be taken by the end of the third semester.

An additional language may be required, depending on the dissertation topic.

Qualifying examinations may not be taken until the foundational works examinations and language requirements have been fulfilled.

Symposium

The Symposium consists in monthly evening seminars on selected "Great Books" (and occasionally works of art or music), for the purpose of developing a community of conversation among all Ph.D. students and the faculty around the themes of person, God, love, marriage, and family as these have been articulated by, and shape, the tradition of Christianity and the West. This community of conversation is integral to both the method and the substance of the educational mission of the Institute. An overarching concern of the conversation is to explore the sense in which the meaning and dignity of human life are recognized and can finally be sustained only from within a culture of obedient and free gratefulness. John Paul II writes often of a "civilization of love" or again a "culture of life." The Symposium examines civilization, love, and life as matters above all of what the Greeks termed "morphosis," or "morphe," of being formed, hence of "form."

A short paper is submitted prior to each Symposium discussion. The reflective question for the paper will be posed on the occasion of the previous month's Symposium by the professor who will guide the next discussion. If a student misses the Symposium, he or she is required to submit a 3000 word essay to the leader of the missed seminar. A student must receive a grade of "pass" for each Symposium discussion, based on the short paper and on participation in the discussion; otherwise, the student must pass an oral examination to be administered at the end of the semester.

The Symposium reading list is available in the administrative offices of the Institute.

Foundational Works

The two examinations on the foundational works of theology are intended for students to display the breadth and depth of their knowledge of philosophy and of the Catholic tradition. Students should show mastery of and familiarity with the main theological and philosophical issues discussed by the authors who form the reading lists. The examinations should also indicate the student's capacity for synthesis as well as his or her grasp of the thread that manifests the unity in the development of doctrine.

The two foundational works examinations are taken in September of the second and third years of study. The student may choose the list on which he or she would like to be examined first, but must announce the preference no later than April 1 of the second term of study. The first examination must be passed before the next may be attempted. If the student fails the first time, he or she may be granted a second attempt. If the student fails the examination in the second attempt, he or she ceases to be a student in the Ph.D. program. The two examinations must be passed before taking the qualifying examinations.

The foundational works reading list is available in the administrative offices of the Institute. Although some of these books appear on course bibliographies, each student is expected to read and prepare on his or her own all the books for the foundational works examinations.

Qualifying Examinations

Qualifying examinations consist of four parts, three written and one oral that is based on the three written. The student's responses in each of the three written examinations are treated in the oral examination.

The Qualifying Examinations will take place in January of the sixth semester of study.

Examination 1: This examination treats what is termed "the quarrel between the ancients and the moderns." What is one to make of the nature and demands of Greek ("classical") philosophy relative to the assumptions of modernity as carried, for example, in modern democracy and modern science? How does the one thing needful as set forth in Greek philosophy ("Athens": reason) stand with respect to the one thing needful as proclaimed by the Bible ("Jerusalem": biblical revelation); and how does each of these stand with respect to modernity in its defining features? What are the defining features of the way of the moderns as distinct from the way of the ancients (Greeks, medievals)?

This examination invites reflection on the main issues evoked by these questions, and involves in-depth consideration of one author from each of the following four categories. The author in each category must be selected by students by April 1 of their second term in the Ph.D. program. The four categories are the following:

1. Ancient writers: Plato, Aristotle
2. Modern writers: Machiavelli, Galileo, Hobbes, Bacon, Descartes, Locke, Kant
3. Recent Christian authors and the Second Vatican Council: Balthasar, John Paul II, Ratzinger/Benedict XVI
4. American authors: I. Hecker, J. C. Murray

Examination 2: This examination seeks the critical elucidation of foundational anthropological-ontological and theological issues pertinent to the thought of John Paul II, as well as foundational issues of morality.

Examination 3: This examination requires students to present and discuss the status quaestionis of current issues in bioethics, gender, sacramentality, and marriage and family.

The examining panel is formed by the dissertation director and two readers. The two readers are selected by the dissertation director in consultation with the Program Advisor. The examining panel is appointed during the fifth semester of study.

Once a student has received a grade of "pass" for all qualifying examinations, he or she may defend the dissertation prospectus.

Dissertation Prospectus

The dissertation prospectus course is a directed reading with the dissertation director, who must be selected by registration week of the fifth semester. The key elements of the dissertation prospectus course are the production of the dissertation prospectus and the collegial process of guidance by the dissertation director and the first and second readers of the dissertation.

The prospectus consists of a 2500-word summary of the main argument of the dissertation, the status quaestionis of the theme, and the methodology; an outline of the dissertation; and a preliminary bibliography containing the most important primary and secondary sources.

The prospectus is to be submitted by April 1 of the sixth semester. The dissertation prospectus and its supporting reading list will be examined before the end of the sixth semester of study. The student must have taken and passed the qualifying examinations before the prospectus may be defended.

Once the prospectus is deemed acceptable by the dissertation director and is approved by the Program Advisor, it is reviewed by the first and second readers. After their review, the student may defend his or her prospectus before the board, comprised of the director and two readers.

Once the student has successfully defended the prospectus, the student must submit a two-page distillation of the prospectus for the full faculty. This summary includes the proposed title of the dissertation, a brief statement of the problem or background and the current state of relevant research, a statement of the proposed thesis of the dissertation and its contribution and originality, a statement indicating methodology, and a select bibliography of the most important primary and secondary sources.

Upon receiving comments from the dissertation board and the faculty, the student revises the prospectus accordingly. The revisions are to be submitted no later than September 1 of the seventh semester. The prospectus is deemed to be finally approved when it has been signed by the dissertation director, the first and second readers, the Program Advisor, and the Provost/Dean. The prospectus, with original signatures, is held in the student's official file.

If a student fails the prospectus course, he or she must submit a new prospectus and prospectus summary by November 1, for approval by early December of the seventh semester. Once a student has received a grade of "pass" for all qualifying examinations, and passed the dissertation prospectus, he or she is considered a "candidate" for the degree.

If a student changes his or her dissertation topic, the new topic must be approved by the dissertation director, the Program Advisor, and the Provost/Dean. If the dissertation director or any of the readers is to be changed, the approval of the Provost/Dean is required.

Dissertation

The Ph.D. degree is awarded after the successful completion of the doctoral dissertation and a defense of the dissertation before the dissertation board. The dissertation should not exceed 350 pages (bibliography excluded) and should demonstrate maturity of theological judgment based on advanced graduate study. It should give evidence of research capacity and reflection commensurate with advanced study, ability to perform independent intellectual work, and comprehension of the candidate's chosen field of study. The dissertation should be of sufficient quality to constitute a genuine contribution to that field of study and to warrant publication.

At least eight weeks prior to the expected date of defense, the student must submit to the Program Advisor six copies of the completed dissertation, accompanied by six copies of an abstract of 350 words. The dissertation copies must be bound with a black plastic "comb binding," a black vinyl back cover, and a clear plastic front cover. The text of the dissertation should be double-spaced in 12-point font, left-margin-justified. The margins should be 1" at the right and bottom of the page and 1.5" at the left and top of the page.

Once the thesis has been submitted, the Program Advisor, in consultation with the dissertation director, selects an extern reader who is not a member of the dissertation committee to participate at the defense. The Office of the Provost/Dean distributes the copies of the dissertation to the dissertation director and the other dissertation board members.

The date for defense cannot be set prior to approval of the dissertation by the director and the board members who are Institute faculty; approval must be received at least four weeks before the date of the defense.


Defense of the Dissertation

After acceptance of the dissertation by the director and readers, the student must defend the dissertation in a public defense of at least two hours. The student will begin with a fifteen-minute presentation of the dissertation, which will be followed by a period of questions from each member of the dissertation board.

At the end of the defense, the oral defense and the dissertation are graded separately. The external reader remains present and votes regarding the oral defense. The dissertation committee alone grades the dissertation. A vote is taken in secret for each component and is supervised by the chairman for the examination. The possible grades for the dissertation are "pass, "pass with revisions," and, in rare instances, "pass with distinction." The candidate must receive a "pass" for both the dissertation and the defense to receive the Ph.D. degree. A unanimous "pass with distinction" is required on both the dissertation and the oral defense in order to receive this grade for the dissertation.

If a candidate fails the defense, he or she must obtain permission from the Provost/Dean to retake the examination. A candidate will not be permitted to repeat the defense until at least one semester, or an equivalent period of time, has elapsed from the date of the failure. If the student fails a second time, he or she ceases to be a candidate for the Ph.D. degree.

Advising

Ph.D. students have two types of advisors: the Ph.D. Program Advisor and the personal advisor. The Program Advisor orients the student to the degree program, guides the student through questions regarding the degree requirements, assists the student in selecting the personal advisor, and gives final approval to course selection. The personal advisor, selected during the third semester in the program, guides the student in the selection of courses and of a dissertation topic; often the personal advisor will serve as the student's dissertation director, selected by registration week of the fifth semester.

Grading

The Symposium discussions are graded pass/fail on the basis of short papers and participation. The prospectus course is graded pass/fail; passing the course does not necessarily imply that the dissertation topic will be passed in the form of its original submission. All other courses must be completed with a grade of B- or above; grades of C or below are not counted toward completion of the degree but are included in the calculation of grade-point average.

Qualifying examinations are graded pass/fail. In the case of truly exceptional performance, a grade of "pass with distinction" may be awarded only by unanimous vote of the examining board. For a truly exceptional dissertation, the grade of "pass with distinction" may be awarded only by unanimous vote at the dissertation defense.

A student may be awarded the Ph.D. degree "with distinction" only if the grade "pass with distinction" is earned for both the comprehensive examinations and the dissertation, and if the student's grade-point average is 3.9 or above.

Review of Academic Progress

The Ph.D. Program Advisor conducts an interview with each doctoral student at the end of his or her first and third years of study to review the student's academic work and to receive feedback on the program. At this time, the Program Advisor communicates to the student the results of the periodic evaluation of his or her progress by the faculty members of the Admissions Committee. Ph.D. students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.5 during their coursework, and are automatically under "probationary status" if they drop below the GPA minimum. The committee reserves the prerogative of permitting the student to continue or not in the program if his or her GPA should fall below 3.5. If a student is unable to maintain this average grade at the end of the third semester of study, he or she ceases to be a Ph.D. student. Furthermore, for unsatisfactory written work, failure to complete program requirements on a timely basis, failure to comply with other guidelines or to make adequate progress in the degree program, appropriate action may be taken, up to and including dismissal from the program. An appeal of this decision may be directed to the Provost/Dean, whose decision will be final in all cases.


Residency

The Ph.D. program normally requires six semesters of full-time study in residence, plus two years of dissertation writing. The completed dissertation must be defended within seven years of the date the student enrolls in the Ph.D. program. If a student is unable to defend the dissertation within seven years, the student may petition the Provost/Dean for a one-year extension. If a student fails to defend the dissertation within this period, he or she ceases to be a candidate for the Ph.D. degree.


Assistantships

It is expected that Ph.D. students will accept research assistantships during the fourth and fifth years of study. The assistantships entail ten to fifteen hours of work per week assisting a designated professor.

 

Doctorate in Theology, with a Specialization in Person, Marriage, and Family (Ph.D.) Course Offerings

Fall 2009
Spring 2010

Academic Catalog 2009-2011

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