Old Testament ConcentrationCATS Home | Church History and Historical Theology | Christian Ethics | New Testament | Theology | Philosophical Theology and Philosophy of Religion | Practical Theology | Theology and Culture | Worship and Culture Major Concentration in Old Testament PhD To complete a major concentration in Old Testament, students must take five 8-unit seminars or Directed Readings in the field of Old Testament, plus four units of Ugaritic and four units of Akkadian. Three of the five seminars must be the following and should be taken within the first two years of the program.
ThM To complete a major concentration in Old Testament, students must take one of the two foundational seminars listed above. This seminar should be taken early in the student’s program if possible. In addition to the required seminar and the 8-unit Thesis, 8 further units in Old Testament must be completed (at either the 800 or 500 level). The remaining 24 units are at the discretion of the student and mentor, and may be taken at either the 500 or 800 level from courses offered at any of Fuller’s three Schools. A ThM curriculum must contain three doctoral level seminars (800 level) including the Thesis. Minor Concentration in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature PhD Students who choose to major in Old Testament and minor in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature must take seven 8-unit seminars/Directed Readings in Old Testament, including the seminar in Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, and a total of 16 units (the equivalent of two 8-unit seminars) of Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature courses comprised of the following:
Since these courses may be offered only in alternating years, students opting for this minor should take advantage of these courses whenever offered. ThM The Master of Theology in Old Testament may be done with a minor in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature. This degree configuration requires 24 units in the major concentration as follows:
In addition, 24 units of coursework at either the 500 or 800 level make up the remainder of the degree. These may be chosen from any of Fuller’s three Schools at the discretion of the student and mentor. For this degree no Thesis is required. Other Minor Concentrations (PhD) In the CATS Program, minors are optional. However, aside from the minor in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature, Old Testament majors may choose to minor instead in the areas of New Testament, Church History, Christian Ethics, Historical Theology, Philosophical Theology, Philosophy of Religion, Practical Theology, Theology, or Theology and Culture. Normally two 8-unit seminars will be taken in minor areas, and both of these would be taken during Stage One (before the Comprehensive Examinations). If the student has elected to have a minor, one of these areas will be declared as the official minor, in which one Comprehensive Examination will be taken. Students who do not elect to have a minor will take four Comprehensive Examinations in Old Testament subject areas. Decisions concerning minors, Comprehensive Exams, and all course work pertaining to the minor are made under the advisement of the primary mentor. Old Testament Minors PhD students minoring in Old Testament may select from any two of the Old Testament seminars offered (i.e., the two seminars required of majors do not need to be taken for a minor). Nevertheless, if a Comprehensive Examination is to be taken in the field of Old Testament, the student should take seminars that provide adequate preparation for such an examination. Other Language Requirements PhD Three research languages are required: two modern and one ancient. Modern languages normally consist of two of the following: German, French, Modern Hebrew. Four quarter units of these two are required; Modern Hebrew is not offered at Fuller and will need to be taken at a graduate institution elsewhere. Biblical Aramaic normally fulfills the ancient language requirement; four-quarter units of the ancient research language are required. Because Biblical Aramaic fulfills the ancient language requirement, it may not count toward a major or minor concentration. Other languages may be substituted with mentor and CATS Committee approval. ThM One research language (four units) is required and should be chosen with the approval of the primary mentor. This will normally be chosen from among German, French, Modern Hebrew or Aramaic (four units). Substitution of another language will require written mentor approval. Formatting requirements Papers, theses, etc. for the Old Testament department are to conform to style requirements in The SBL Handbook of Style for Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies (ed. Patrick H. Alexander, et al.; Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999). For issues not covered here, see Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th edition revised by John Grossman and Alice Bennett (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1996). On matters not covered by Turabian see The Chicago Manual of Style 15th edition (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2003). |