GENERAL ACADEMIC INFORMATION Classification of Students Ph.D. swdents meeting all entrance requirements will he classified as regular grad uate stu dents. Students who do not fulfill all entrance requirements ma y be admitted with provisional status until they correct any deficiency. Norma ll y all prerequisites must he satisfied before the seco nd year. Fu ll-rime study is defined
those who sco re 600 paper/250 computer or over on TOEFL and 4.0 or over on ' I-WE. Those scor ing between 'i80 paper/237 and S99 paper/248 computer on TOEFL will he assessed on a case-by-case basis. The TOEFL and TWE are administered together on certain test dates. For more information call (609) 771-7100, f'AX (609) 771- 7.'i00 or write: Test of English as a Foreign Language , Box 61'il, Prince ton , New Jersey . U.S. A. 08'i4l-61.'il. (www.coefl.org) St11dents should co nsult the general Biola University guidelines (see the Admission of International Swdents and Resident Aliens sec tion at the beginning of the catalog). Since doctoral seminars involve reg ular student disc ussion . it is expected that international stu dents have the requisite abili ty with spoken English to be a contri buting member of such discussions. (5) Present evidence of pocen tial for original academ ic research at the doctoral level by submitting a sample of scholarly writing (wit h citations and hihlingraph y), prefer ablv related to education. of at least JO. hilt no more than l 'i pages. for matted according to APA style. (6) App li ca nts ma y be asked to he interviewed bv the program director or the Ph.D. committee as a requirement for admission. Nolt': 0/(irio/ docume111s pre smt!'dfor admis.rio11 or t'Valuatio11 h,,mmr part of t!te studl'l!t's arademir filr rmd 11onnrt!l1· cr11mol /J,, retumed
Persons interested in attending the Ph.D. program should request a Ph.D. application form for Talbot School of Theology from the direc cor of graduate adm issions of Biola University. As in many graduate programs, enrollment is limited. In order co he admitted to full graduate standing the applicant must complv with the following: (I) Have completed at least three years of full-time vocational experience in educat ion al min istry with evidence of leadership gifts and abilities. (2) Submit a completed Talbot School of T heology Ph.D. applica tion form and $4'i application fee. (3) Ha ve earned a J\,lasters degree in Christian or Religious Education (MACE or MRE) or its equivalent from an accred ited educat ional institution. Equiva lence is defined as an ea rn ed master 's degree of 36 semester units of graduate study in areas related co the C hristian education ministr v, inc ludin g 18 units of graduate Bible and theology. At least one course in each of the following areas should have been compl e ted: Philosoph y or History of Christian Education, Human Development or Educa tional Psychology. Educational Administration . Interpersonal Commun icat ion/Group Dynamics or Counseling, C urriculum Design and/or Methods of Teac hing, Research Methods. A minimum GPA of 3.2'i on a 4.0 scale in all previous graduate work is required. Students whose formal educa tion a I preparation does not include all of the required pre requisite course work may he admitted provisionall y with a defi c iency of master ' s leve l courses. See the Ph.D. Doctoral Handbook for severa l ways to address defi cienc ies. (4) Submit scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (minimum combined ver bal and anal yti c score of IO00). Information regarding GRE test ing daces and loca tion ma y he obtained hv writing to th e Edu cationa l Testing Serv ice, Box 9'i.'i. Princeton . New Jerse y 08591 (www.gce.org) , or ca ll 1-800-473-22.'i.'i co register. Internationa l students whose native language is nor English are required. instead. to submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and rhe ·rest for Written English (TWE). Prefer ence in admiss ion will be given to
Dissertation
After passing the Comprehen sive Examination, the student will enroll in DE 89 1 Dissertation (3 units) for up to four semesters. A student must enroll for a mini mum of two terms of DE 891 and must be enrolled in 891 or 895 Dissertation Extension the semes ter of graduation. Dissertation sw dents are considered full-time for a maximum of four semesters. Doctoral students must suh m ic a dissertation evidencing high attainment in original schol arship. Derai led information may be found in the Dissertation Guidelines Handbook . Final Oral Examination The final examination is an oral defense of the dissertation before the student's dissertation commit tee and other invited guests. Upon passing the defense, the cand idate must submit co the program secre tary, two weeks prior co expected graduation, the original and five copies of the dissertation signed by the dissertation committee. Graduation Requirements All st11dents must present an acceptable dissertation, have sat isfactoril y passed their compre hensive examinations and ha ve completed a ll required course work with a minimum 1.25 GPA
as nine units per semester. Research Competence
Specifi c research skills appro priate for proposed dissertation studv are to he demonstrated. The Ph.D. program director will va lidate competence through re v iew of examinations, com pleted research. or course work. Appropriate research tools and methods in c lude biblical lan guages, modern languages, stat is ti ca l analysis and resear c h methodologies applicable co edu cat ion a I problems and issues . Deficiencies in researc h compe tence mav result in addit ional pro gram specialization components. Grading System St udents wishing to obtain a doctoral degree must maintain a consistently hi g h aca.demic per formance throughout their pro gram. An overall grade point aver age of ., .ZS on a 4.0 scale, is required. Onlv grades of "A." "B ," "C'' earn graduate credit. Grades of all studems are recorded in the Office of the Registrar . G rading is on the following basis: Grade Grade Points A Superior ach ievement 4.00 A- Signifi cant achievement 3.67 B+ High standard ach ievement 3.33 B Standard grad uate achievement :too B- Low standard achievement 2.67 C+ Minimum passing performance 2.33 C Minimum passing performance 2.00 C - Min imum passing performance 1.6 7 F Fa ilure 0.00 R Dissertation research in progress 0.00 An "S" indicates satisfactory completion for courses listed from DE 880-889. A ' ' W' ' indicates a n official withdrawal from a course and
co qualify for graduation. Extra-Curricular Factors
Ph.D. faculty must recom mend that the student is eligible for conferral of the degree on th e basis of academic scawre and evi dence of Christian life and char acter establis hed during their co urse of studies. All financial ob li gations should he settled and attendance is required at com m e ncem e nt ceremonies when the degree is granted.
orm/)il'rlfor dimi/1111ir111. Application Deadline
The App li cation Dead line for the fall semester is April 1.'i and for the spring semester is November I. Since enrollment is limited and admission is on a selec tive basis. applic-ations should be made as early a., possible. T he Ph.D. committee will process completed applications S<K>n after chev are received. Appli cations submitted after the deadline will usuall y be considered for the following semester. Financial scholarships and dis sertation fe llowships are available from the program (app li cat ion deadline: March 1). Private sources of scholarsh ips may be located on the webs ite: www.finaid.org. Admission of International Students and Resident Aliens See Admission and Registra tion and Requirements section at the beginning of the catalog.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The Ph.D. program seeks to admit applicants whose back ground clearly demonstrate schol arly aptit11de. a commitment to the his toric C hristi an faith. per sonal character and integrity, a servic~-oriented moti va tion toward endeavors of educational ministry and a deepening relation ship with God. Biola does not dis criminate on the basis of the app licant 's race. color. sex, handi cap or national or ethn ic origin.
Talbot School of Theology· T-17
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