Doctor of Philosophy Application

Any person who possesses a theological degree from an accredited seminary, has a good academic record, and desires to take seminary graduate courses is eligible for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy program. This form provides interested individuals with a general overview of and application materials for the doctoral program at Calvin Theological Seminary. Complete program information is available at the seminary web site (www.calvinseminary.edu) and in the seminary catalog.

All applicants of the Doctor of Philosophy degree are required to submit the following on prescribed forms. (Additional information is listed below.)

A completed, signed application form
Autobiography
Statement of Purpose
Application fee of $25.00 (U.S.)
Official transcripts
Writing Sample
Three letters of recommendation
GRE (Graduate Records Exam) scores
A TOEFL score (if English is not the applicant's native language)

All application materials must be in by January 15 for consideration for the following academic year.

The autobiography should be 300-500 words and focus on the applicant's academic background, personal history, and church involvement.

The statement of purpose for the program of study should be 250-300 words and include specific research and academic interests in the applicant's area of specialization, indicating how previous studies relate to these areas of interest.

• Applicants must be graduates of an accredited college and must possess a Master of Theological Studies, Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Divinity, or Master of Theology degree from an accredited school or must possess the equivalents of such degrees.
• Applicants' previous record must show outstanding academic performance, with a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 3.3.
• Applicants must submit official transcripts showing all college, seminary, and university degrees and credits. An A.B. and an M.T.S., B.D., or M.Div. degree or their equivalents are required.
• Applicants must also present evidence by way of transcript or otherwise that they know Hebrew, Greek, and a modern foreign language (preferably Dutch, French, German, or Spanish).
• Applicants must submit scores of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as part of the application process.
• Applicants for whom English is a second language must score a minimum of 575 (paper-based test) or 235 (computer-based test) on the TOEFL and a minimum of 4 on the Test of Written English (TWE). Official test results must be sent directly from the testing agency to Calvin Theological Seminary. Calvin Seminary's institutional code is 1096.

Applicants must also submit a research paper of 20-40 pages that in their estimation exhibits their best ability to do theological research and analysis. The paper may be one submitted for academic credit in a previous degree program, or it may be the result of independent research.

Three letters of recommendations are required: two from professors with whom the applicant has done his/her major work and one from a leader in the applicant's church. Recommenders should use the forms included in this packet and send the recommendations directly to the seminary.

Recommendation Form (pdf)

Calvin Theological Seminary is dedicated to God's church and its multi-cultural and multi-ethnic expression. Calvin Seminary does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, race, marital status, or national origin and gathers such information on this application form for statistical purposes only.

The graduate program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is designed to afford students advanced training in independent inquiry, academic research, critical analysis, and scholarly writing as they define their own theological positions in dialogue with other points of view. It is aimed at equipping scholars for teaching and research in colleges, theological seminaries, and universities and for general ecclesiastical leadership.

Although the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary is committed to the confessional and theological standards of the Christian Reformed Church and the Ph.D. program is designed to promote advanced scholarship from a Reformed perspective, students from other traditions are welcome to apply. The academic freedom to probe the foundations of Reformed theology and to explore the validity of other approaches is a fundamental assumption of the Ph.D. program.

The course of study is located in the Theological Division of the faculty, which consists of the departments of Systematic Theology, Historical Theology, and Philosophical and Moral Theology. Degrees are presently offered in historical, systematic, philosophical, and moral theology, with concentrations in Reformation studies, post-Reformation Protestant theology, and modern and contemporary theology. The faculty has particular interests in Calvin studies and Reformed theology

More information about faculty and their publications is available at the seminary web site (www.calvinseminary.edu) and in the seminary catalog.

Lyle Bierma (Ph.D., Duke University)
John Bolt (Ph.D., University of St. Michael's College, Toronto)
John Cooper (Ph.D., University of Toronto)
Ronald Feenstra (Ph.D., Yale University)
Richard Muller (Ph.D., Duke University)
Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary)
David Rylaarsdam (Ph.D., University of Notre Dame)
Calvin Van Reken (Ph.D., University of Chicago)

Calvin Theological Seminary regularly hosts major scholars from other schools as guest lecturers and visiting professors.

• International student community with over 13 countries represented in the Ph.D. program.
• Careers in teaching, pastoral work, and other forms of church leadership.

The Hekman Library at Calvin has extensive holdings in theology, philosophy, and history, and houses the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies, one of the finest collections or resources for studies in Calvin and the Reformed tradition. More information can be found at the following web sites:

• Hekman Library: library.calvin.edu
• H. Henry Meeter Center: www.calvin.edu/meeter

The Ph.D. program requires at least two years of full-time study in residence, including course work, guided preparation for comprehensive examinations, and guidance in selecting a dissertation topic. The Ph.D. program is designed to take four years—two years of course work, one year to prepare and complete the comprehensive exams, one year for dissertation.

The Ph.D. program requires successful completion of examinations in two modern foreign languages besides English (preferably Dutch, French, German, or Spanish) and, in some cases, in Latin. These examinations will be offered three times per year, once at the beginning of each school year and again during the second and third academic quarters

During the first year in residence, all students take a required course in research methodology. Students are required to complete twelve courses for credit: six during the first year in residence and six during the second year. Half-time students take three courses per year for four years. Courses focus on areas of current faculty interest and research. They are designed to introduce students to proper research methods and their application as well as to important theological issues and developments.

After completing course work, the student sits for five written comprehensive examinations and one oral comprehensive examination. The written examinations are distributed across the four disciplines of systematic, historical, moral, and philosophical theology. The student submits to one examination in each discipline and a second examination in the student's discipline of specialization.

Students should give thought to the choice of a dissertation topic early in their programs. The student must submit the proposal to the theological division within two years of attaining candidacy.

Admission to degree candidacy is granted by the educational policy committee of the faculty upon recommendation of the theological division when the following requirements are met:

1. All course work is completed with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.33.
2. All language and comprehensive examinations have been sustained.

The requirements for completion of the Ph.D. degree ordinarily must be completed within five years after admission to candidacy for the degree.

Doctoral Fellowships, Doctoral Assistantships, and Doctoral Tuition Scholarships are available to students in the Ph.D. program at Calvin Theological Seminary. Recipients of Doctoral Fellowships and Doctoral Assistantships must pay tuition charges from the proceeds of the award. In addition, Ph.D. housing subsidies and living stipends are available on the basis of financial need. The current catalog lists further details about all of these forms of financial aid.

• Students who wish to be considered for Doctoral Fellowships, Assistantships, and/or Tuition Scholarships must complete and application every year by February 10 for the upcoming academic year. Applications are available from the office of Recruitment and Financial Aid.
• Students who wish to be considered for housing subsidies and/or living stipends must apply to the Director of Financial Aid and complete an application every year by February 10 for the upcoming academic year. Applications are available from the office of Recruitment and Financial Aid.
• Calvin Theological Seminary offers financial support to Ph.D. students for a maximum of four years (six years in the case of students enrolled on a part-time basis).
• Calvin Theological Seminary also participates in U.S. Government Student Loan programs (for U.S. citizens only).
• Forms are available at the seminary web site (www.calvinseminary.edu). U.S. citizens need to submit two forms: (1) the seminary Ph.D. financial assistance application form, sent directly to the seminary; and (2) the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid, available at www.fafsa.ed.gov), sent directly to the U.S. Department of Education. International Students (including Canadian citizens) need to submit one form: the Calvin Seminary financial aid form for International Ph.D. students, sent directly to the seminary.

The Ph.D. program welcomes those who are enrolled in other Ph.D. programs and wish to enroll in courses at Calvin Theological Seminary for one or more academic terms. Additional information is available at the seminary web site (www.calvinseminary.edu) and in the seminary catalog.

Ph.D. students in other programs who wish to enroll as visiting Ph.D. students at Calvin Theological Seminary should submit the following information in order to apply:

1. A completed Ph.D. application form, including a statement of purpose for study at Calvin Theological Seminary.
2. A transcript of the student's doctoral work in progress.
3. At least one letter of recommendation from the student's current faculty adviser and/ or director of doctoral studies.
4. The same application fee as regular applicants.

 Web: www.calvinseminary.edu
 Email
 Toll Free (in U.S. or Canada): 800-388-6034
 Fax: 616-957-8621
 Recruitment Office: 616-957-6539

Postal Mail:	3233 Burton SE
	Grand Rapids, MI 49546
	USA

All forms, including financial assistance forms, are available online.

1. Setting up an Account: All applicants can access the application by setting up an account. This can be done by clicking on the link below that says "Start a New Application". Once you have arrived at the new page, type in a username and a password to start the application. Make sure you remember the username you use along with the password.
2. Saving the Application: Once an account has been set up, applicants are able to save their application at any time. This can be done by clicking the button near the top-right corner of the application that says "Save Application".
3. Accessing a Saved Application: After saving an application, it is safe to close the browser. To access the application again, go to the page at the link below that says "Log in and Continue an Application". Type in the username and password that you used when you started your application.
4. (show|hide) Sections: Applicants are able to show and hide parts of the application by clicking on the links that say "show" or "hide". After you start an application, each section of the application will be hidden. You must click on the "show" link to view each section of the application. Make sure that you fill out every section of the application. If you would like to hide a section, click the "hide" link. This will not cause you to lose the information that you entered in the section that you are hiding. You can try showing and hiding sections by clicking on the links in the above sections that say "show" and "hide".
5. Information about Children, Academic Institutions, and Professional Experience: In the sections asking about children, academic institutions attended, and professional experience, applicants are able to enter as much or as little information as necessary. When a blank application loads, these areas will look like the following image.
   
   
   
   
   
   Applicants can add lines by clicking the plus symbol being pointed to by the orange arrow. After clicking the plus symbol, the areas will look like the following image.
   
   
   
   
   
   To delete rows, click the minus symbol being pointed to by the red arrow.
6. Submitting the Application: After completing every section of the application, applicants are able to submit the application to Calvin Theological Seminary by clicking the button near the top-right corner of the application that says "Submit Application". After clicking this button, a summary of the application will appear on the screen. If you would like to make changes on the application, click the button near the top-right corner of the summary that says "Edit Application". If you do not need to edit the application and you would like to submit it to Calvin Theological Seminary, click the button near the top-right corner of the summary page that says "Submit Application".
7. After Submitting the Application: Once the application has been submitted to Calvin Theological Seminary, a message will appear on the page telling you that your application has been received. Below the message, there will be a checklist showing you what you just completed along with everything that you still have to complete.
8. Questions and Problems: If you have questions or problems regarding the online application, you can contact the IT department via e-mail or by calling (616) 957-6111.