Doctor of Ministry

What is this course about?

CSU's Doctor of Ministry degree aims to provide the opportunity for advanced critical reflection on professional practice in the discipline of Christian Ministry and closely related fields.

There are three main aims of the course:

• the extension of a candidate's knowledge of the discipline of Christian Ministry which underpin his or her profession
• the development of attributes required of the candidate to successfully identify, investigate and resolve problems confronting his or her profession
• the successful conduct by the candidate of research into a current problem confronting the profession and the presentation of the findings of the research in a thesis.

Objectives

Upon completion of the course, graduates will be able to:

• provide a research grounding for reflective practitioner research and practice-based research in the disciplines that constitute the field of Christian Ministry;
• demonstrate an extended knowledge of the sub-disciplines of Christian Ministry and closely related fields;
• develop to successfully identify, investigate and resolve problems confronting these fields;
• carry out a program of research into current problems confronting Christian Ministry and present the findings of the research in a thesis or portfolio of research;
• demonstrate a developed critical theological approach to ministry and leadership in their profession;
• demonstrate a competitive advantage in achieving high-level success in their profession;
• understand the need for, and have developed the capacity to, engender networks of trust and cooperation among ministry professionals;
• demonstrate development of new skills in the professional areas of preaching, leadership, and management; and
• demonstrate a greater understanding and appreciation of social issues in the mission of the church in a local and global context.

Credit

Up to 32 points credit may be given from the Master of Ministry for the successful completion of MIN540 and MIN541. These subjects are equivalent to: MIN740 Approaches to Enquiry in Ministry, and MIN741 Reflective Practitioner Perspectives in Ministry.

More information about credit and pathways.

Academic expectations

For each 8 point subject at CSU, students should normally expect to spend between 140-160 hours engaged in the specified learning and assessment activities (such as attending lectures or residential schools, assigned readings, tutorial assistance, individual or group research/study, forum activity, workplace learning, assignments or examinations). The student workload for some subjects may vary from these norms as a result of approved course design.

Students will be assessed on the basis of completed assignments, examinations, workplace learning, or other methods as outlined in specific subject outlines.

Where applicable, students are responsible for travel and accommodation costs involved in workplace learning experiences, or attending residential schools (distance education students).

Expectations relating to academic, workplace learning, time and cost requirements for specific subjects are provided in the subject abstracts and in course materials.