Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Semiotics, Church, and Culture

The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree is the highest professional degree for those in parish or related ministries. It is designed for educated, experienced practitioners who desire to stimulate renewal in themselves and in their ministries through the integration of their experience with advanced training, research, and reflection. The DMin is distinctive from academic doctorates such as the PhD and ThD in that its primary focus is on the practice of ministry. The DMin is also distinctive from other professional degrees such as the EdD and the PsyD in that it builds on the three-year master of divinity (MDiv) and at least three years of post-MDiv ministry experience.

The Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics, Church, and Culture (DMin SCC) develops Christian leaders skilled at recognizing the signs of Jesus' work in the world and proactively guide the churches into the future. It proposes a missional, relational, and incarnational framework of discipleship as the most effective way to engage culture.

The delivery system of the Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics, Church, and Culture program includes personal mentoring by both the lead mentor; regular online interactivity with cohort members and professors; three 'advance' face-to-face intensives; and a portfolio-based, milestone-oriented research project guided by a project faculty member.

Graduates of the Semiotics, Church, and Culture Doctor of Ministry track will:

• Apply a critical understanding of semiotics, cultural trends, and leadership to better anticipate ministry trends within diverse communities via Exegesis assignment rubric.
• Gain skills in Collaborative Design for Ministry and Nonprofit Contexts to address a chosen need, problem, or opportunity (NPO) in ministry environments
• Contribute a solution to an NPO in one’s context through the completion of a professional doctoral project.

Applicants seeking admission to the Doctor of Ministry program must hold an ATS-accredited MDiv degree or meet the seminary's MDiv-equivalency requirements†, with a minimum GPA of 3.0. In addition, applicants must complete the following to be considered for admission to the program:

• Completion of the DMin application and payment of application fee
• Submission of one official transcript from each college, seminary, or university attended.
• Curriculum vitae or resumé
• Documentation of ministry experience that demonstrates that the applicant possesses the level of competence and reflection appropriate for advanced, professional ministerial studies. This is normally reflected in the applicant's documentation of full-time participation in ministry for at least three years after the completion of the MDiv degree.
• Three letters of reference (as specified in admissions materials)
• Five self-assessment essays that outline the applicant's spiritual pilgrimage, leadership experience, purpose for pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree, and research interests.
• An academic writing sample
• An entrance interview with the director or associate director of the DMin program (by invitation only)
• Non-native English speakers must submit a TOEFL score of 80 (Internet based) or IELTS 6.5 and complete the Declaration of Finance.  For more information, international applicants can reference the International Graduate Admissions page.

†Equivalency Procedures

An applicant who holds a master's degree but does not hold the MDiv degree from an ATS-accredited seminary may qualify for admission to the DMin program by meeting the ATS requirement of an educational equivalent. The criteria below serve as a guide for assessing equivalency:

• The ability to thoughtfully interpret scripture and the theological tradition of one’s ministry context,
• The capacity to understand and adapt one’s ministry to the cultural context,
• A basic self-understanding of one’s ministerial identity and vocational calling,
• A readiness to engage in ongoing personal and spiritual formation for one’s ministry,
• An accredited master’s degree (or its educational equivalent) in an area related to one’s ministry setting or vocational calling, and
• Significant ministerial experience that enables the applicant to engage as a ministry peer with other students in this advanced professional doctorate.

Upon submission of official transcripts from all prior graduate work, the DMin program director or associate director will assess the correspondence between the applicant's educational portfolio and the MDiv standard and make a recommendation to the DMin Committee concerning the applicant's equivalency status. Applicants needing extra graduate-level coursework to attain equivalency status may be admitted to the program with the stipulation that the appropriate 'leveling' coursework be completed to graduate.

Note:

• Applicants not holding the MDiv and requiring 18 hours of MDiv equivalent leveling work or less may be admitted into the program.
•  Applicants with greater than 18 hours of MDiv equivalent leveling work will not be permitted to enter the DMin program until the remaining amount of required leveling work has been reduced to 18 semester hours of MDiv equivalent leveling work or less.
• Students may complete the 'leveling' work at Portland Seminary or any other ATS accredited institution. Course grade points must average a minimum of 3.0.

Transfer credit from another doctoral program may be allowed up to a maximum or 19 semester hours. Transferability of credits earned at this institution and transferred to another is at the discretion of the receiving institution.

All work leading to the DMin must be completed within seven years from the time of matriculation. Extension of this limit requires approval of the DMin Director. Program extension requests must be received prior to the conclusion of the sixth year. Reinstatement to the program after withdrawal requires Admissions Committee action and may subject the student to additional requirements for the degree.

Because of the cohort model used for this DMin program, students must maintain full attendance throughout each module experience. However, a student in good standing who must interrupt his or her studies for compelling reasons may petition the DMin Director for a leave of absence of not more than one year. Students who discontinue enrollment without an official leave of absence will be withdrawn and required to apply for readmission.

The Doctor of Ministry program requires three years and the completion of 38 semester hours of coursework as a minimum for graduation. A maximum of 16 semester hours of coursework may be completed during one calendar year, unless a student takes an approved leave of absence or works out an alternative plan with the DMin Director. The project portfolio is completed in the third year. Of the total hours required for the degree, 16 hours are in prescribed Lead Mentor 'taught' courses and 22 hours in the project portfolio research sequence. The program also requires participation in three ‘advance’ face-to-face intensives.

The Portland Seminary Doctor of Ministry program requires students to develop a project portfolio documenting their 3-year research journey, culminating in the production of a doctoral project and project launch plan. The goal is to make a contribution to their ministry context, gain expertise around their research topic, and learn a research and design process that they can utilize repeatedly after graduation. 

The three-year research sequence uses a process of collaborative design for ministry and nonprofit contexts. Students begin the process by identifying a need/problem/opportunity (NPO) in their ministry context. A project faculty member guides their research in three phases: discover (year one); design (year two), and deliver (year three).

In the ‘discover’ and ‘design’ phases, students collaborate with stakeholders from their context to better understand their NPO, generate design solutions, and prototype the concepts in order to arrive at the most viable option for addressing it. This option becomes the doctoral project, which they then flesh out in year three ‘deliver’ phase, complete with a detailed launch plan. After submitting the completed project portfolio, the examination committee makes a final assessment. If passed, students complete the remaining steps for archiving and conduct a presentation of their project prior to graduation.

To graduate with the Doctor of Ministry degree, students must: 

• Satisfactorily complete a minimum of 38 semester hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above. 
• Achieve no grade lower than a B- in all ‘taught’ courses. If a grade of a C+ or lower is received in a designated course, two options are available: 1) retake the course, 2) with department approval, correct deficiencies for an updated grade. 
• Achieve no grade lower than a Pass in all project portfolio research and design sequence courses. If a grade of a No Pass is received in a designated course, that course must be retaken or the grade must be improved as outlined by the course instructor's approval and direction. 
• Fully participate in all intensives. 
• Complete and pass the project portfolio 
• Oral presentation of the project 
• Be recommended by the seminary faculty for graduation from George Fox University.