MARKING SCHEME
The general marking scheme for doctoral-level papers including the thesis would be as follows:
a) Analytical Thinking -- 15%
b) Originality and Creativity -- 15%
c) Use of Primary Sources -- 20%
d) Knowledge of the field -- 40%
e) Flow of thought and English -- 5%
f) Proper writing style -- 5%
Colloquia for Doctoral Students
In addition to the regular seminars, doctoral studies colloquia would be scheduled regularly and would be compulsory for all students throughout the study until submission. These colloquia would bring students and faculty together to discuss research topics of interest to both parties. Renowned scholars would also be invited to share their publications and current research.
Admission Requirement
Applications for Admission to the PhD program are to be directed to the office of the
Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Trinity Theological Seminary. All applications for both local and international candidates must be received not later than March 31 of the academic year in which admission is sought. Applicants would be notified of the status of their admission by May 31 of that same year. Applicants to the PhD program must normally meet the following requirements:
1 A First Degree with grade point average of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale on each transcript submitted.
2 For applicants without a first degree in religion/theology, a Master of Arts degree in those fields or a Master of Divinity degree would be accepted in lieu of the BA (Theology/Religious Studies) degree.
3 A Master of Theology or Master of Philosophy (Researched Degree) in the Study of Religion or Theology.
· This must normally have entailed at least a one academic year of course work followed by second academic year of thesis writing.
· The thesis of the MTh and/or MPhil degrees must be at least 30,000 words (approximately 100-129 pages) in length excluding notes, appendices and bibliography. The thesis for which the degrees was awarded must also have been externally examined.
4 Academic Recommendations
· Application forms would require two recommendations.
· One recommendation form must be signed by a person who has taught or supervised an academic work of the candidate and the other must come from a senior church leaser (of the status of a General Overseer, District Pastor, Superintendent or Diocesan Bishop).
5 Application Fee
· The application fee of the cedi equivalent of Fifty US Dollars ($50) must be paid into the Graduate School Fund of the Trinity Theological Seminary t any Ecobank branch in Ghana. This amount is to be reviewed periodically.
· Application forms could then be picked up after submission of the pay-in slip to the office of the Vice President (Academic).
6 Statement
· A statement of not more than one page giving reasons for seeking to pursue the PhD Theology program must a accompany the application.
· A statement of not more than one page giving the Christian background of the applicant must accompany the application.
7 Sample Writing
· All applicants would be required to submit along with their application an original copy of their MTh or MPhil thesis (this would be returned to the candidate after the interview).
· Applicants may be required to write an entry examination set by the Seminary [This may be waived at the discretion of the Academic Board].
8 Interview
All candidates must in addition to the requirements stated above appear before an interview panel whose decision would be communicated to the Academic Board for a final decision on applications.
9 Additional Requirements
a. Instruction is offered in English and proficiency in English would be required by the Seminary.
b. Candidates in Biblical Studies would be presumed to have advance knowledge of Biblical Hebrew and Greek otherwise they would be required to take courses in Hebrew and Greek at the levels required by the Seminary.
c. Candidates would be required, during the period of study to obtain basic working knowledge of French.
d. Candidates may be required during the period of study to audit courses offered by the Seminary, as shall be determined by their Academic Advisor(s).
D Current Areas of Specialization
1. Biblical Studies
2. History of Christianity
3. Missions
4. Systematic Theology
5 Theological Ethics
6. African Christianity
7 Pentecostal Studies
8 Pastoral Care and Counselling
9. Christian Education
E. Processes and Procedures into the PhD Program
As part of the admission process into the PhD program, a student would have to declare his/her broad area of intended specialization. When admitted, a student is assigned and Academic Advisor who will normally guide the student to the next stage of the PhD process. The various stages of the PhD process then continue as follows:
· Review of a minimum of 30 books (2 Semesters)
· Comprehensive Examinations (Two Examinations)
· Acceptance of Thesis Proposal by PhD Committee
· Thesis Writing under the supervision of an approved Supervisor and a Reader (2-4years).
· Oral Defence of Thesis
F Guided Academic Papers (6)
1. PhD students are required to review a minimum of 30 books of specialization and within the broad field of theological study.
2. The papers are meant to have the students acquaint him/herself with as much literature in the field of theology as possible and also help the student to rite proper academic papers.
3. Research at this point will normally be mainly library based. In the writing of review attention will therefore be placed on writing style, acquaintance with scholarly literature in the field and one’s ability to engage literature.
4. Each review is required to be between 4 and 5 pages (in front 12 and one-and-half line spacing).
5. Students are required to present a set of review at a seminar within the first two semesters of the PhD Programme (preferably one paper per semester).
G. Recommended Areas for book Review
Students specializing in different areas will normally write academic papers in their areas as follows:
1.1 Biblical Studies (Old Testament Option)
a. Biblical Exegeses of Three Groups of Texts:
i. OT Texts in Hebrew
ii. Septuagint Texts
iii. New Testament Texts in Greek
b. Translation of three groups of texts from Greek
i. OT Texts from Hebrew
ii. Septuagint Texts
iii. New Testament Texts from Greek
c. Theology(ies) of the Old Testament
d. Histories of and Contemporary Approaches to Biblical Hermeneutics
e. The Pentateuch/Psalms/Wisdom Literature
f. The Prophets/Prophetic Literature
1.2 Biblical Studies (New Testament Option)
a. N.T. Exegesis of three groups of texts:
i N.T. Texts in Greek
ii. Septuagint Texts
iii. OT Texts in Hebrew
b. Translation of three groups of texts:
i N.T. Texts in Greek
ii. Septuagint Texts
iii. OT Texts in Hebrew
c. Theology(ies) of the N.T.
d. Histories of and Contemporary Approaches to Biblical Hermeneutics
e. The Synoptics
f. Pauline of Johanine Literature
2. History of Christianity
i. History of the Early Church
ii. African Church Fathers
iii. The Reformation
iv The Church in Modern Africa
v History of Christian Doctrine
vi The Transatlantic Slavery and the History of Christianity
3. System Theology
i. Doctrine of God and Theological anthropology
ii. Christology and Soteriology
iii Ecclesiology and Pneumatology
iv. Eschatology
v. African Christian Theologies
vi. Any one of the following:
a. Theologies of Christian and non-Christian Faiths
b. Pentecostal Theologies
c. Theology and Gender
d. Asian and Caribbean Theologies
e. Any three Contemporary Theologians
f. Theology and any other issue of your choice.
4. Ethics
i. History of Philosophical Ethics
ii. History of Christian Ethics
iii. Biblical Ethics
iv. Issues in Contemporary Christian Ethics
v. African Traditional Ethics
vi. Comparative Religious Ethics
5. Christian Mission Studies
i. Theology of Mission
ii. Mission in the Medieval and Reformation Periods
iii. Issues in contemporary Missiology
iv. Mission and other Religions
v. renewal Movements in African Mission History
vi. History of Mission
6. Pastoral Care and Counselling (PCC)/Christian Education
i. History of PCC or Christian Education
ii. Contemporary and Emerging Trends in PCC or Christian Education.
iii. Theology of Pastoral Care and Counselling or Christian Education or
Christian Education (including Biblical and Ethical Considerations).
iv. Theories of Psychology and Human Development or Theories of Education.
v. Issues in PCC or Christian Education in Africa
vi. Any three Pastoral Theologians or Christian Education.
7. African Christianity – General
i. Bible and Hermeneutics in Africa
ii. African Culture, Spirituality and Ethics
iii. Theology in 20th Century Africa
iv. Christianity and Leadership Formation in Africa
v. Gender and Theology in African Christianity
vi. Health and Wholeness in African Christianity
After the Academic Advisor is satisfied with the six Academic Papers, he/she shall officially certify them and deposit them in the office of the Director of Graduate Studies. From this point, the student is then ready to move on to the next stage of the programme, which is the Comprehensive Examinations.
H. Comprehensive Examinations
The purpose is to test the students’ capacity and knowledge of the field of theology. There shall be two (2) examinations in the following areas:
1. African Christianity and Theology
2. Student’s area of specialization
Note
· The PhD Committee will give specific areas of study for the examinations from time to time.
· Examinations will normally take place three times a year in the first week of May or first week of August or first week of December.
· Students shall normally take all their exams in not more than fifteen (15) continuous working days.
· Students who are ready for their comprehensive examinations will normally declare their intention to the Director of Graduate Studies not less than 40 days to the day of the examination.
I Candidacy and Thesis Proposal
A PhD Student who passes his/her comprehensive Examinations progresses to the next stage and becomes a PhD Candidate. The PhD Candidate is then assigned an official Thesis Supervisor who will guide the candidate both in the formulation of his/her Thesis Proposal and the writing of the thesis. Within four (4) months of candidacy, a PhD candidate would be expected to present his/her thesis proposal to the Director of Graduate Studies for approval by the PhD Committee. The Director of Graduate Studies shall inform the candidate within 30 days, upon receiving the proposal by the PhD Committee.
A Thesis Supervisor may or may not necessarily be the student’s Academic Advisor.
The Thesis proposal will normally be submitted by the end of the fourth semester. The proposal would be expected to cover the following areas:
1 Working/Tentative Title
2 Introduction/Context of the Study
3 Statement of the Problem the thesis proposes to address
4 Aim of the Study
5 Motivation
6 Justification
7 Hypothesis(es)
8 Research Question(s)
9 Methodology
10 Inclusive and Exclusive Criteria
11 Limitation of the Study
12 Significance of the Study
13 Organization of the Study
14 Literature Review
15 Select Bibliography
16 Approved Questionnaire (if needed)
17 A Schedule for writing and completing the thesis
J Thesis Writing
A PhD Theology thesis would be expected to follow the writing style guide provided by the Seminary and must be between 80,000 – 100,000 words in length (excluding notes, references and bibliography). It must be typed double-spaced in Times New Romans (font 12). The final copy is bound in Red. The Thesis would normally be graded as follows:
a. Unconditional Pass (pass with no corrections)
b. Pass with Minor Corrections (to be resubmitted within 3 months)
c. Pass with Major Corrections (to be resubmitted within 4-6 months)
d. Referred (to be resubmitted within 8-12 months. Referred thesis would be returned for external examination.
e. Fail (withdrawal from programme)
The main purpose of the thesis is to give students an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, creativity and research skills in a given area of theological specialization within and academic environment. This means that knowledge of one’s field of study, originality, attention to detail, use of primary sources, and the use of clear and viable methodology will be the hallmarks of the doctoral thesis. Candidates would be expected to pay serious attention to footnoting and bibliographical information. In this vein, the Seminary has opted for the Chicago Manual of style as its standard writing style for academic purposes. (Refer to the Seminary’s abridged version).
A PhD student may, during the stage of Thesis Writing, choose to spend up to 6 weeks in any of the Seminary’s Partner Institutions under the conditions specified in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Seminary and the said Partner Institution.
Note: Plagiarism is a very serious offence in the Seminary. Any form of it shall not be tolerated and may result in the student’s dismissal from the programme.
PhD Thesis and Oral Examination
· The PhD thesis must demonstrate that it is an original piece of scholarship.
· The thesis must be prepared and bound strictly according to the guidelines laid down by the Seminary.
· The completed thesis must be submitted to the office of the Director of Graduate Studies by May 31st of the year in which candidates wish to graduate.
· PhD Candidates would be examined orally by external (two would be selected to examine the work) and internal (one to be selected) examiners.
· The oral examination would be moderated by a member of the teaching faculty of the Seminary of the rank of Senior Lecturer and above.
K MARKING SCHEME
The general marking scheme for doctoral level papers including the thesis would be as
follows:
a. Analytical Thinking -- 15%
b. Originality and Creativity -- 15%
c. Use of Primary Sources -- 20%
d. Knowledge of the Field -- 40%
e. Flow of thought and English -- 5%
f. Proper Writing Style -- 5%
Current Faculty
1. Rev. Dr. Fred Amevenku, PhD (Stellenbosch) - Director of Graduate Studies
2. Very Rev. Prof. John D. K. Ekem, PhD (Hamburg) – Biblical Studies
3. Prof. Mercy Amba Oduyoye, DD (Stellenbosch)
Dogmatics/Theology and Gender
4. Rev. Prof. David N. A. Kpobi, PhD (Utrecht) – Missions/Ecumenics
5. Rev. Prof. J.O.Y. Mante, PhD (Claremont) – Adjunct
Systematic Theology and Ethics
6. Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante, PhD (Ottawa) – Systematic Theology and
Ethics.
7. Rt. Rev. Prof. J.M.Y. Edusa-Eyison, PhD (ACI) - Church History
8. Rev. Prof. Gilbert Ansre, PhD (London) – Biblical Studies
9. Very Rev. Dr. John Abedu Quashie, PhD (Birmingham) – Pastoral Care and
Counselling.
10. Rev. Dr. Yaw A. Edu Bekoe, Dmiss (Western Theological Seminary)-Mission
11. Very Rev. Dr. Kris Ewuntomah, PhD (Seoul) – Christian Education
12. Very Rev. Dr. Mark S. Aidoo, PhD (Seoul) – Biblical Studies
13. Rt. Rev. Dr. Hilliard Dogbe, PhD (Luther Seminary) – Pastoral Care and
Counselling.
14. Rev. Dr. Ayete-Nyampong, PhD (Aberdeen) –
15. Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, PhD (Princeton)
16. Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey
17 Rt. Rev. Dr. George K. Neequaye