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The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

  • Prepares candidates for a vocation in theological instruction and scholarly service

  • Includes mentoring of students by leading evangelical scholars

  • Provides opportunity for rigorous critical scholarship in a context of vibrant faith

Distinctively Fuller
 Curriculum
 Languages
 Areas of Concentration
 Faculty
 Scholarships
 Admissions Information
 Deadlines
 CATS website

Distinctively Fuller
 The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the highest academic degree awarded by Fuller's School of Theology. A Ph.D. degree is normally a prerequisite for a teaching career at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral institutions. With this goal in mind, Fuller's Ph.D. degree, offered through the Center for Advanced Theological Studies (CATS), is designed to prepare students for a vocation in theological instruction and Christian scholarly service to the church. Top

The Curriculum
The Ph.D. curriculum consists of nine graduate seminars or directed reading courses (72 units). Major research papers are components in each of these courses. Students take at least five seminars in their designated major field, including a methods seminar. The remaining courses, which constitute the minor field, are selected from the other concentrations under the guidance of the student's mentor. Depending on the time a student can devote to the program, a minimum of four years and a maximum of eight years are usually invested to complete the degree program, with residence near Pasadena required during the first two years. Students may complete three seminars, or one full year, of their degree at another institution subject to prior approval by the CATS Committee. Advanced standing may be granted to students who have completed a Th.M. from an ATS-accredited institution, which may allow them to satisfy degree requirements with seven courses instead of nine.

Program Overview
Stage One: Foundations for Research
Mastery of designated research languages
Methods seminar - 8 units
Four seminars - 8 units each
Four comprehensive examinations

Stage Two: Dissertation Research
Four seminars/directed readings - 8 units each
Dissertation

Languages
Students entering the Ph.D. program are required to have 8 quarter units of Hebrew and 12 quarter units of Greek or the appropriate equivalents. Those entering without the requisite work in biblical languages must demonstrate competence within the first calendar year of study.

In addition, research languages are seen as an integral part of the Ph.D. program. Specific language requirements differ according to concentration, but these will normally consist of two or three research languages and may be fulfilled through examinations or course work.

Areas of Concentration
Theology & Culture
Christian Ethics
Church History
Historical Theology
New Testament
Old Testament (Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature minor possible)
Philosophical Theology
Philosophy of Religion
Practical Theology (two years of prior ministry or vocational experience required)
Theology
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Scholarships
The Center for Advanced Theological Studies offers the following merit scholarship opportunities to incoming and returning Ph.D. students. Incoming students are evaluated on the basis of their master's- level GPA combined with their GRE, TOEFL, or IELTS scores.

Full Graduate Fellowships
Eight awards in the amount of $9,000 each are available to new and returning students. Part of the award ($6,000) is apportioned as grant-in-aid toward annual tuition costs. The remaining $3,000 is earned in a teaching/research assistantship.

Dilworth Graduate Scholarships
Four $9,000 tuition scholarships are available to international students enrolled in doctoral programs at Fuller.

Partial Graduate Fellowships
Currently, eight $3,500 awards are given annually to new and returning CATS Ph.D. students.

George Gay Memorial Fellowship
This award is given to a Hispanic U.S. citizen who is pursuing post-M.Div. studies at Fuller with the purpose of teaching Hispanics in the U.S. after graduation.

Esther and Harold Stassen Jubilee Scholarship
Two annual awards of $12,000 each are given to international Ph.D. students who plan to return to teach in their country of origin.

Geoffrey W. Bromiley Church History Scholarship
This annual award of $1,000 is given to an outstanding Ph.D. student majoring in church history.

Note: Additional financial grants may be available to international students whose applications are received prior to December 15.

Paid Teaching Assistants
The center also provides an opportunity for graduate students to take steps in embarking on a teaching career. Teaching assistants work together with the faculty in their teaching through evaluation of students' work and, in some cases, gain classroom experience in the presentation of lectures.

A $1,500 stipend is available for the position of Library Coordinator; the position involves a commitment to complete 150 hours of work during the academic year.

The Charles E. Carlston New Testament Scholarship is a $9,000.00 award given to qualified individuals enrolled in the CATS New Testament concentration.
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The Faculty
Full Members
David W. Augsburger, Professor of Pastoral Counseling. Research areas:
pastoral counseling, cross-cultural counseling, conflict studies, pastoral care, reconciliation, forgiveness, anger, prejudice, and hatred. 

James E. Bradley, Geoffrey W. Bromiley Professor of Church History. Research areas: church and state in the modern era, the English enlightenment, American evangelicals, and spirituality in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Colin Brown, Professor of Systematic Theology. Research areas: Christology and the quest of the historical Jesus, theological method.

William A Dyrness,  Dean emeritus and Professor of Theology and Culture.  Research areas: cross-cultural theology, theology of culture and the visual arts.

John Goldingay, David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament. Research areas: Old Testament theology and ethics, Old Testament hermeneutics, Pentateuch, Isaiah.

Donald A. Hagner, George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament. Research areas: Matthew, Hebrews, first-century Judaism, Pauline theology, the Apostolic Fathers.

Seyoon Kim, Director of the Korean Doctor of Ministry Program and Professor of New Testament. Research areas: Paul, synoptic Gospels, Jesus, New Testament Christology.

Nancey Murphy, Professor of Christian Philosophy. Research areas: modern and contemporary philosophy, integration of theology and science, theological methodology, and the philosophy of religion.

Richard V. Peace, Robert Boyd Munger Professor of Evangelism and Spiritual Formation.  Research areas: evangelism, spiritual formation.

Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., Director of the David du Plessis Center for Christian Spirituality and Professor of Church History and Ecumenics. Research areas: ecumenics, origins and development of global Pente-costalism.

David M. Scholer, Associate Dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies and Professor of New Testament. Research areas: Paul and Judaism, the separation of the church and Judaism, women in the early church, Gnosticism, Revelation, Galatians, second-century church history and literature.

Glen H. Stassen, Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics. Research areas: method for concreteness in Christian ethics, theological ethics, biblical ethics, justice, peacemaking.

Marianne Meye Thompson, Professor of New Testament Interpretation. Research areas: Jesus and the Gospels, Johannine literature and theology.

Associate Members
Richard Beaton, Assistant Professor of New Testament.  Research areas: ancient Judaism and early Christianity, New Testament, Parables, the Gospels, the Hebrew Bible in Judaism and Christianity.

Mark Lau Branson, Homer L. Goddard Associate Professor of Ministry of the Laity.  Research areas: Intercultural life and congregations, urban church redevelopment, practical theology.

Robert K. Johnston, Professor of Theology and Culture.  Research areas: theology and film/literature, contemporary evangelicalism.

Richard J. Mouw, President of Fuller seminary and Professor of Christian Philosophy.  Research areas: social ethics, the philosophy of culture, and theological higher education.

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Professor of Systematic Theology. Research areas: pneumatology, ecclesiology, ecumenical theology, W. Pannenberg's Theology, theology of mission.

John L. Thompson, Professor of Historical Theology.  Research areas: history of exegesis, Calvin, early modern gender studies.

Contributing Members
Leslie C. Allen, Senior Professor of Old Testament. Research areas: prophets and writings, especially from the perspectives of textual criticism, redaction criticism, and rhetorical criticism.

Ray S. Anderson, Senior Professor of Theology and Ministry.  Research areas: integration of theology and psychology, hermeneutics, Christology, ecclesiology, and ministry.

Chapman R. Clark, Associate Professor of Youth, Family, and Culture.  Research areas: youth culture, youth and family ministry, parenting, leadership and teamwork, spiritual formation.

Mignon R. Jacobs, Assistant Professor of Old Testament. Research areas: Old Testament theology of hope, Old Testament ethics, minor prophets, Pentateuch.

Howard J. Loewen, Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of Theology and Ethics.  Research areas: Spiritual and ecumenical formation, Anabaptist-Mennonite theology, Karl Barth Studies.

Yea Sun Eum Kim, Associate Professor of Family Counseling and Korean Family Studies. Research areas: family ministry with Asian families, culture and family therapy, supervision.

Ralph P. Martin, Distinguished Scholar in Residence (New Testament). Research areas: liturgical interests in the New Testament and beyond.

Charles J. Scalise, Associate Professor of Church History. Research areas: early church history, theological hermeneutics, history of doctrine, pastoral theology.

Pamela J. Scalise, Associate Professor of Old Testament. Research areas: prophets, Old Testament theology.

Clayton J. Schmit, Arthur DeKruyter/Christ Church Oak Brook Associate Professor of Preaching.  Research areas: preaching, worship, liturgy, composing, conducting liturgical music.

Russell P. Spittler, Provost Emeritus and Senior Professor of New Testament.  Research areas: anatomy of sectarian piety, particularly in the charismatic Corinthian church.

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Admissions Information
For deadlines click on the clock BlueClock
 Applicants for the Doctor of Philosophy program in the School of Theology must submit the following:

  • Official transcripts from all post-secondary schools attended, demonstrating superior academic ability in a first theological degree (M.Div., M.A. in Theology with a concentration in biblical studies and theology, or the equivalent from an ATS-accredited school), with a cumulative graduate grade point average of 3.5 or above. The Practical Theology concentration requires a Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent.

  • All applicants to the Ph.D. in Theology program must take the verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections of the general Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Preference is given to those whose verbal scores are in excess of 600.

  • Those whose native language is not English may choose to submit an official TOEFL score of at least 600 (paper), 250 (computer), or 100 (internet), or an official IELTS Academic Format score of at least 7.0, in addition to submitting GRE scores if these fall below the minimum acceptable scores.

  • Evidence of suitability for doctoral-level study as communicated through references, through the applicant's written statement of vocational goals, and the applicant's religious autobiography.

  • A 15- to 25-page research paper in the discipline for which the student is pursuing further study.

  • Fuller's application form, with application fee.

If you would like to apply on-line, click here.

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