Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.)
Purpose
The D.Min. program of the Roy Fish School of Evangelism and Missions is designed to enhance the understanding and practice of ministry in the areas of evangelism and missions for those currently engaged in positions of ministerial leadership.
Admission
Admission Requirements & Procedures
Prerequisites for Admission
- Prior to admission into the D.Min. program, applicants must have completed the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree or its equivalent from an institution accredited by the American Theological Schools (ATS) or an affiliate of the council of regional accrediting groups.
- The course work in the Master of Divinity or other master’s level work must meet the following language requirements: one full-year of Hebrew and one full-year of Greek. Please note, however, that an applicant without the minimum language requirements may complete the requirements by taking additional hours in the biblical languages that they are lacking while they are seeking approval to the program.
- Applicants must be employed or hold an official position in vocational Christian ministry during the time they are enrolled in the degree.
- Students must have maintained a 3.00 GPA or higher on a 4.00 scale in masters level studies in religion or theology. If your GPA is below the standard 3.00, you will be required to submit original copies of your MAT and/or GRE test scores to the Doctoral Programs Office. Applicants wishing exception to the required 3.00 GPA rule must submit a letter to the D.Min. Faculty Supervisory Committee asking for the exception and explaining any unusual circumstances that contributed to the low scholarship level attained during their master's level work. Applicants with less than a 3.00 may be admitted on probation, upon approval of the D.Min. Supervisory Committee.
- Applicants must have served in a vocational ministry position acceptable to the committee for at least 3 years after graduation with the M.Div. or its equivalent.
Instructions for Application Process:
- Complete online admissions application at www.swbts.edu/applynow. All applications must be entirely complete by February 1 in order to begin in July of the same year.
- As part of the online application, applicants must write a short essay about their 1) conversion and 2) call to ministry. D.Min. applicants must include in the call to ministry section a brief discussion of their reasons for applying to the D.Min. program and also their future vocational plans.
- As part of the online application, applicants will submit two personal references. A personal reference may be anyone, who is not related to the applicant and must have current and/or previous knowledge of the applicant’s ministry. A personal reference may not be anyone that is under the applicant's leadership or authority. A space will be provided on the online application to enter an email address for these references and they will be automatically emailed a reference form.
- Applicants must also complete the "Confidential Academic Reference" form and submit this form to the Admissions Office. This form must be completed by a professor with whom they have completed a graduate level course. The professor must have an earned doctorate degree from an accredited institution.Click here to obtain the "Confidential Academic Reference" form.
- Doctor of Ministry applicants may omit the church endorsement form on the online application, because the attached “Statement of Ministry Endorsement” will be accepted in lieu of a church endorsement. The purpose of this document is to demonstrate that the applicant’s place of service is in support of the applicant’s intention to enter the Doctor of Ministry program. Click here to obtain the "Statement of Ministry Endorsement" form.
- The Admissions office will need official copies of your graduate level transcripts. Please contact your school and send your official transcripts to the Office of Admissions, P.O. Box 22740, Fort Worth TX, 76122. If you attended multiple graduate schools/seminaries, the office will need original copies from each school. Those applicants who have not completed a M.Div. degree, but have completed another type of master's, must request a transcript evaluation to determine potential equivalency needs. Some applicants may need to complete leveling work before their master's degree can be considered equivalent to the M.Div. degree. Please note: All leveling work must be completed before applicants can begin seminars.
- A transcript from an international institution will have to be certified that it is equivalent to graduate-level work in the United States. Students must contact World Education Services in order to obtain transcript evaluations, www.wes.org.
- The admissions application fee is $35.00. Applicants may pay by credit card during the online application process, or may mail a check to the Office of Admissions, P.O. Box 22740, Fort Worth TX, 76122. Checks should be made out to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Please note: once the application has been submitted the applicant may not go back and pay the application fee online.
- Applicants are required to submit a research paper, as part of the application process, to the Doctoral Programs Office via email at dminfish@swbts.edu. The research paper should meet the following criteria:
- The paper must indicate the ability to do doctoral level research. Applicants may utilize a previously written paper. However, the applicant should examine this paper for weaknesses in argumentation or logic as well as form and grammar and make appropriate corrections.
- In the research paper, the student must make an argument and pursue a research question. Do not send exegetical papers (or any papers) that are in outline or bullet form and that do not show evidence of the student’s ability to do research.
- The paper must demonstrate clear and succinct skill in developing and proving a thesis statement.
- As needed, the student must demonstrate the ability to interact with the original biblical language(s).
- The student must use primary sources rather than secondary sources.
- We recommend applicants have someone else critique the paper as he or she might observe problem areas that otherwise might have gone unnoticed.
- The paper should be approximately ten pages.
- Please note: The paper can be a result of a previous Master’s level assignment. However, it should be revised, edited, and conformed to an acceptable style form such as Turabian, MLA, APA, or the latest edition of the Southwestern Seminary Manual of Style.
- In addition to the research paper, applicants must submit an autobiographical essay to the Doctoral Programs Office via email at dminfish@swbts.edu. The autobiographical essay should include:
Return D.Min. Application Documents to:
Office of Admissions
P. O. Box 22740
Fort Worth, TX 76122
1-800-SWBTS-01
817-923-1921 ext 2700
Fax: 817-921-8758
admissions@swbts.edu
Notification Regarding Admission
All applicants will be notified of the decision in writing by the Associate Dean for Doctoral Programs. This notification is usually sent by mail within two weeks of the decision. Applicants who are accepted into the program will then receive information regarding registration for the first semester of seminars.
Conditional Admission
Occasionally applicants may be admitted to the D.Min. program conditionally with the understanding that their conditional status will be reviewed at a later date to remove the condition or terminate the student's further participation in the program.
International Students
For admission, all non-USA citizens will be required to take the internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as an admission requirement. The minimum score for unconditional admission is 100 (those who score between 90-99 may enter the program conditionally; those who score less than 90 may not enter the Ph.D. program). The computer based TOEFL will be accepted if it is less than two years old. The minimum score for unconditional admission is 250 (those who score between 233-249 may enter the program conditionally; those who score less than 233 may not enter the D.Min. program).Citizens of the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada and other non-USA citizens who have successfully completed an accredited English-language based bachelor's degree from a North American institution are exempt from this requirement. All TOEFL scores submitted should be less than two years old.
In addition to a passing TOEFL score, the Associate Dean for Doctoral Programs will reserve the right to require additional English proficiency courses taken concurrently with the D.Min. work where deficiencies are found to exist in order to assist students in achieving their potential and to contribute effectively to the seminars. These courses may be taken at Southwestern or in other designated institutions.
Applicants from outside the United States must meet U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) regulations to study at Southwestern Seminary in any program. Any approval of the applicant's admission to the D. Min. program is contingent upon the applicant maintaining proper status. The International Student Services Office communicates regularly with the D.Min. program to assure that all INS regulations are followed.
Overall Program Guide
Seminar Requirements: Three year-long seminars (8 hours each) |
24 hours |
Professional Dissertation |
6 hours |
Total Program Requirements |
30 hours |
Curriculum
Students will participate in three year-long seminars (8 hours of credit each) in their evangelism and missions concentration. Each year-long seminar is structured for a variety of interaction. These seminars include among other things year-round on-line assignments, supervisor's input, exchanges with fellow students in the cohort, exposure to experts in the field (guest professors), modular formats, two weeks on campus during the summer, and 2-3 day off campus professional conferences (events) in both the fall and spring. Missionaries serving abroad will be allowed to complete alternative assignments in lieu of the required off campus assignments. During this time students will be registered concurrently in COLLM 8000 Professional Dissertation Seminar and COLLM 8020 Professional Dissertation in Progress. During the Professional Dissertation Seminar students will be required to be on campus for two weeks. Upon satisfactory completion of all seminar requirements, students are considered in the thesis phase of the D.Min. program. Six hours of credit will be given for satisfactory completion of the professional dissertation and the oral examination.
Cost of the Program
Due to the Cooperative Program scholarship for Southern Baptist students, the total program cost for Southern Baptists is $8,800.00. The total program cost for non-Southern Baptist students is $11,800.00.
The Program Costs are broken down in the following manner:
- A D.Min. student (both Southern Baptist and non-Southern Baptist) will be charged a down payment of $1,000.00 - due by July 1.
- Year 1 - $2,600.00 per year paid in its entirety by July 1 or divided into twelve monthly payments. Note: A 12-month installment payment plan is available through the FACTS Payment Plan with a $45.00 enrollment fee. Additional information is available through the SWBTS Business Office.
- Non-SBC students will be charged a yearly payment of $3,600.00 which can be payed in total or by monthly payments through FACTS.
- Year 2 and 3 - $2,600 per year for Southern Baptist students or $3,600 per year for non-Southern Baptist students.
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If a D.Min. student's program exceeds four years, an additional extension fee of $1,000 per year will be charged to the student. Please note that a student's program may not exceed six years in total.
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Financial assistance is not available through the Fish School D.Min. office. Applications for financial assistance may be made through the Student Financial Aid office of the seminary.
All fees and dates are provisional and may be subject to change by the administrative offices of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Additional Information
Students interested in more complete information regarding the program should contact the Fish School D.Min. Office, SWBTS Roy Fish School of Evangelism and Missions, P.O. Box 22667, Fort Worth, TX 76122-0667, call (817) 923-1921 extension 6476 or email
dminfish@swbts.edu.
