Theological Studies

Qualifying Examinations

The Theological Studies area requires the satisfactory completion of five Ph.D. qualifying examinations. They are: (1) Theology: Critical, Constructive, Contextual; (2) Theological Topics; (3) Minor Area; (4) Dissertation Area Research; and (5) Oral Exam Engaging Exams 1 and 2. Exams Three and Four of these involve individual negotiation between student, dissertation area advisor, and minor area advisor and often take the form of a research paper. Students sit for Exams One and Two, which are specified below. These two exams are focused on qualifying students as scholars and pedagogues. Thus, students are expected to demonstrate a depth and breadth of knowledge of the field outside their specific research interests. Exams Three and Four, on the other hand, are narrowly focused on the student’s current primary research interests. Please note that all five exams have to be completed within a 30-day period.

Protocol for Exams One and Two

1. The student and advisor meet with the members of the student’s TS Area dissertation committee approximately six months prior to sitting for the two days of closed-book, essay exams. The student will present for discussion their tentative selection of texts as well as the two or three topics of focus and tentative bibliography for Exam Two. The discussion should help both the student and faculty get a sense of some of the issues (historical, methodological, topical, etc.) the student brings to their study in preparation for Exam One, as well as to help the faculty give approval to the two or three topics for Exam Two.
2. For these bibliographies, the term “text” refers either to a book or a set of essays by a given author approximately equivalent in scope and importance to a book.
3. The periodization of Exam One does not mean that students will answer questions only in chronological sequence; rather, the faculty expect students to think in terms of historical periods (contexts) as important to every aspect of theological work.
4. Shortly after meeting with the members of TS Area dissertation committee the student and advisor will submit the finalized bibliographies and brief descriptions of the issues that interest them as they study for Exams One and Two. The advisor will circulate (email) the lists for final approval. The finalized bibliography comprises the exact texts on which the student will be examined. The student’s issues of interest will help provide guidance to the faculty as they compose exam questions. In circulating the finalized bibliography, the faculty advisor also determines with the student and committee members the dates for the written and oral exams.
5. Throughout this exam protocol, it should be understood that the requirement of the student to consult with their advisor on various points does not imply the student is limited to working only with the advisor. Students are encouraged to avail themselves of the knowledge and wisdom of the entire TS area faculty.
6. Approximately one month before the scheduled two days of written exams and the subsequent one-hour oral exam, the faculty advisor will coordinate assigning and receiving questions from the members of TS Area dissertation committee for both Exams One and Two, assuring that a total of six questions be provided for each of the two days.
7. On the scheduled day for each exam, the student selects three from the six questions provided (following whatever restrictions by pairings the instructions may include). The student has a total of six hours to write the three closed-book essays.
8. The faculty expect students to compose integrated, thesis-based essays, not encyclopedic reviews of authors. The faculty advisor should clarify this requirement for the student, if necessary, helping them to prepare accordingly.
9. The one-hour oral exam builds off the two written exams. The faculty committee members ask the student for any clarifications and/or expansions on the essays written. They may also ask the student to discuss briefly their thoughts about any of the questions they did not select for writing. Discussion may also invite the student’s reflection on the learning accomplished in the overall exam process.

Exam One: Theology: Critical, Constructive, Contextual

Protocol

The student will have one six-hour exam to address questions that reflect the historical and contextual nature of theological thought, reflection, and innovation. They will be asked a variety of questions, drawing variably from their entire bibliography, that require them either:

• to speak to the content and importance of a particular figure in the given historical period;
• to identify and discuss methodological innovations or characteristic peculiar to a figure or figures or a period;
• or to think comparatively, either within a given period or across periods.

Periods and Bibliographies

Exam One approaches Christian theology across six historical periods: ancient, medieval, reformations/early modern, late modern, twentieth century, and twenty-first century. Students must provide at least three substantial texts for each period.

Exam Two: Theological Topics

The second, one-day, six-hour exam addresses doctrinal or other explicitly theological topics.

• The student, in consultation with their advisor, identifies two or three topics (doctrinal or otherwise theological) of particular interest to them (but not specifically the subject of their Dissertation Area Research exam).
• The student, in consultation with their advisor, constructs a bibliography for each topic, with the number of texts for the entire Exam Two totaling 20 or 21.
• The student will write three essays from a selection of six questions, among which the student must choose at least one requiring them to discuss two of the topics together in some constructive fashion.