Purpose and Objectives of the PhD Program

Program Learning Objectives

The purpose of the PhD in ICS program is to assist ministers in similar ministries by studying and pursuing existing ministry and missions issues through indepth research, training, interpretation, task development, reflection and evaluation. The following skills are required for students entering the PhD in ICS program.

The PhD in ICS Program is designed for leaders with a minimum of three years of mission or cross-cultural experiences and it will have the following outcomes:

1. Research – Graduates of this program will be able to evaluate current theory in the social sciences to evaluate the practice of missions and cross-cultural ministry. Solutions to improve and strengthen the missiological foundations of ministry will result from this research. Graduates will also be able to understand the various worldviews of the participants to any cross-cultural ministry. They will be able to complete in depth studies of the cross-cultural phenomenon and see the implications this using a variety of research tools.
2. Theory Development – Graduates will be able to add to the current theory of social science through engaging in the academic world. They will be able to present papers and write articles for journals and engage in dialogue with other professionals.
3. Professional educator – Graduates will be able to understand the various teaching methods that will help them communicate theory to a new generation of students. They will be able to create curriculum and programs that will expand the field of intercultural studies.

Learning Goals and Outcomes

Having successfully completed this program, participants should be able to:

1. Graduates will know the current theories in both sociology and anthropology. (PLO 1)
2. Graduates will understand the various methods of conducting research and how to appropriately apply each method for the specific benefit of each method. (PLO1, 2)
3. Graduates will know how to develop policies and strategies for engaging culture. (PLO 2)
4. Graduates will be able to engage in academic discussions and provide critical responses in order to advance the faith and its benefits to the communities in which they are involved. (PLO 2)
5. Graduates will be able to develop a program of study for future students incorporating intercultural studies into the various ministries they will be involved in. (PLO 3)
6. Graduates will be able to design curriculum that will take into account the worldviews of the student, ministry setting and the instructor. (PLO 3)
7. Graduates will be able to suggest practical evaluations and alternatives to the problems in the mission field and related areas. (PLO 3)

Graduates will demonstrate the ability to apply their academic theory and research outcomes to the concrete conditions of ministry, to contribute to the corporate learning process through effective leadership in their present and prospective ministries. (PLO 3)

Admission

Requirements for Admission

Applicants seeking admission to the PhD in ICS program at GMU must meet the general criteria for admission to the school as well as the requirements listed below.

1. Those who have received a Master of Divinity(MDiv) and Master of Theology in Missiology(ThM in Missiology) degree from an educational institution accredited by the US Department of Education.
2. Those who hold a master’s degree in MA have completed 72 credits and have completed pre-requisite courses required by Doctoral Office.
3. 3 years of experience in Cross-Cultural missions and Multi-Cultural Ministry.
4. A score of 3.3 or higher on the basis of the average grade point average of 4.0 in the master’s course.

Admission Documents

Common Documents

1. Application for Admission
2. Final school English Transcript(Original)
3. Graduate Certificate in English(Original)
4. Two ID Photos
5. Evidence from a Christian ministry or Church
6. A testimony of faith Form
7. Three letters of Recommendation(Two academic references and one pastoral/professional reference)
8. Application fee $100
9. Submit a Proposal for your research topic(page 12)
   – Prepare and submit research background, research goal, research purpose, literature study, researchcontribution
10. Book Review – 3 submissions(3 pages per book)
    – Submission including review, content analysis, criticism and application

Recommended Books

1. Bosch, David J. “Transforning Mission”
2. Glasser, Arthur F. “Announcing the Kingdom”
3. Kraemer, H. “The Christian Message In A Non-Christian World”
4. Kraft, Charles H. “Anthropology for Christian Withness”
5. McGavran, Donald A. “Understanding Church Growth”
6. O’Donnell, Kelly “Doing Member Care Well”
7. Van Engen, Charles E. “God’s Missionary People”
8. Van Engen, Charles E. “Mission on The Way”
9. Wright, Christopher H. “The Mission of God”

F-1(International Student) New Entry, Common Documents

1. Statement of Financial Support
2. Certificate of Bank Balance
3. Copy of Passport(All Accompanying Family Members)
4. F-1(I-20) New Student Application
5. International Student Insurance Certificate

F-1(International Student) Transfer Additional Documents

1. Current School I-20 Copy
2. F-1 Transfer Student Application

Admission Notification

The doctoral research committee may accept admission within the following categories: Unconditional admission, conditional admission. The tuition fee will be paid when the student enrolls. Postponement of registration for 12 months or more is not allowed.

1. Unconditional Admission: Applicants must submit all supporting documents and meet the requirements for admission.
2. Conditional Admission: If the applicant’s average grade point is in the range of 2.90 – 3.29 on a 4.0 point basis, submit the essay required by the doctoral office.(page 15)
3. Rejection: If applicants who are not approved for admission are to be reapplied, They can be apply after waiting at least one year. In order to be admitted, They must meet the admission requirements that were not previously met.

Transfer of Credit

PhD in ICS students who wish to pursue a credit transfer from another educational institution authorized by the US Department of Education may apply for credit transfer according to the following procedure.

1. ​In order to receive credit, applicants must apply to the doctor in writing or by e-mail. Students from other educational institutions authorized by the US Department of Education will be evaluated by the doctoral office first and the second by the doctoral research committee. Third, for this evaluation, the student must submit to the doctoral office all transcripts received from the higher education institution (university or higher) where I was educated. Up to 10 credits can be recognized.
2. Only the credits of classes meeting the requirements of the Grace Mission University degree are reflected in the student’s record and transcript.
3. Only classes that have received B+ credits from other educational institutions are accepted.
4. Only classes with B+ credits from other educational institutions are accepted.

Graduation Regulations

1. The credit for graduation is 58 credits.
2. GPA for graduation should be 3.3 or higher.
3. You must pass the graduation thesis after completing the course work.
4. The school year is seven years.

Tuition and Scholarships

Leave of absence procedure

Interrupted Status(Short-term leave)

Short-term leave is one semester and approved only twice during the doctoral course. A fee of $130 per semester is charged. Students who are on short-term leave can take classes during this period. Application must be made on the first day of the semester.

Inactive Status(Long-term leave)

Long-term leave is allowed only for special cases, such as sick leave, for a period of one year. In exceptional cases, you may be granted a maximum of three years (six semesters), but in this case you must apply annually. A fee of $260 per year is charged. Students who are on long term absences can not attend or attend classes during this period.

Reactivation Process

A student returns from interrupted status or inactive status by completing the following reactivation process.

1. Submit a formal letter to the doctoral office explaining how circumstances of the student have changed so that reactivation is possible.
2. Receive a written statement supporting the return of the student from the person in his / her ministry office to the regular state and submit it to the doctoral office.
3. Pay all fees
4. Receive approval from the Doctoral Studies Committee

All students, regardless of status, must remain in regular contact with the Doctoral Stud-ies Office. This contact may be established by (a) matriculating in a seminar or (b) sub-mitting a letter or email confirming the student’s current status and mailing address. The doctoral Studies Committee will consider students who fail to maintain contact by such means as having withdrawn from the program.

Enrollment

Class schedule and method

Spring Semester(January to June)

All doctoral students must register by the beginning of December for Spring Semester classes. In general, the Spring Semester provides one course in January and one course in February. Each semester, students study 4 credits in intensive lectures for one week and total study two courses.

Fall Semester(July to December)

All doctoral students must register by the beginning of June for Fall Semester classes. In generally, the Fall Semester provides one course in July and one course in August. Each semester, students study 4 credits in intensive lectures for one week and total study two courses.

Withdrawal from a Seminar

If student withdrawal from the course, student should pay attention to the following points.

1. There is no additional fee if student withdraw before taking the intensive course.
2. If student withdrawal from student course by the first day of the intensive course, $200 will be added.
3. On the second day of the Intensive Seminar, students can not cancel classes. If they cancel, the grade will be Fail and the tuition fee will be refunded only 50%.

Academic Warning

Reasons for receiving an academic warning include the following but may be accompanied by other reasons.

1. Maintaining less than a 3.3 GPA in doctoral studies
2. In case that the tuition fee has not been paid for more than one semester.
3. The first warning was given to a small error or unintentional behavior that violated Grace Mission University’s statement of integrity.
4. Etc.

Paid Action

In case the student does not fulfill the school regulations faithfully or if the student has seriously undermined the authority of the school administration and the apprenticeship professor and the doctoral staff in a manner that is inadequate or disrespectful to the guidance of the professor and the staff of the doctoral, and the opinions of the faculty committee. The period of paying is 6 months. During the paid period, the student must give a genuine apology to the professor or doctoral staff. The form and contents of the apology must be submitted to the doctoral office. No courses can be audited and taken during the paid period and no instruction from Grace Mission University professor. In addition, you can not participate in all the events organized by the school. In the event of non-acceptance of paid action, it shall be discharged.

Withdrawal

If a doctoral student has to withdrawal from doctoral program, doctoral student will send an e-mail or letter to the doctoral office to withdrawal.

Termination

Common reasons for termination from the PhD program would include:

1. Failing to notify the doctoral office of any significant change in status or location.
2. Maintaining less than a 3.0 GPA in doctoral studies.
3. Earning less than a B+ in any two seminars.
4. If you have committed an immoral act, you have committed a serious and repetitive act in violation of the school’s statement of integrity.
5. Failing to complete at least one seminars per semester.
6. Failing to meet financial obligations to the Seminary.
7. In case of receiving less than B+ grade in the seminar.
8. Conduct unbecoming of a minister of the Gospel.
9. Withdrawing from three seminars once enrolled.
10. Plagiarism or other forms of academic fraud.
11. If you do not accept paid action.
12. If you have acted in accordance with the acts mentioned above.

Program Prior to Dissertation

Grading and Student Records

A grade of B+ is the lowest mark that will be regarded as passing and credited toward a PhD degree. However, students who receive a B+ will be placed on academic probation. Students receiving two B grades in one semester may face termination from the program.

Grade Scale

A (4.0) : 100-96 / A- (3.7) : 95-90

B+ (3.3) : 89-87 / B (3.0) : 86-83 / B- (2.7) : 82-80

C+ (2.3) : 79-77 / C (2.0) : 76-73 / C- (1.7) : 72-70

D (1.3) : 69-6075 / F (1.3 lower) : lower 60

Auditing regulations

Any student who wants to attend a class can contact the doctoral office and apply for a auditing.

Doctoral Program

Grace Mission University offers doctoral programs in two areas: The DMiss program is a professional degree program designed to develop the ability to solve practical problems in the field of mission and ministry. The PhD program is a research degree program aiming to present the theoretical, empirical, and academic viewpoints from the social science perspective in the mission field and the field and ministry scene of 21st Century Global culture.

Seminar Curriculum

Common Required Courses

1 year

RW911            Research Introduction Seminar: 4unit

TM912             Biblical Foundations of Missiolog: 4unit

AT916             Anthropological Theory: 4unit

AT917             Social Science Methodology: 4unit

2 year

AT921             Religion and Worldview: 4unit

ET922              Cross-Cultural Teaching and Learning: 4unit

AT926             Culture Transformation: 4unit

TM927             Cross-Cultural Leadership: 4unit

3 year

ET931              Advanced Teaching Method: 4unit

RW932            Research Methodology: 4unit

TM936             Gospel and Contemporary Culture: 4unit

RW937            Research Design: 4unit

4 year

CE942             Comprehensive Exam: 2unit

RW941           Dissertation Writing1: 4unit

RW941           Dissertation Writing2: unit

Common Elective Courses

Missionary Member Care

Missional Church

Contemporary Issues in Mission

Mission History

Cross-Culture Church Planting

Tutorial Seminar

Comprehensive Examination

Composition of Comprehensive Examination

Comprehensive examinations are offered to PhD students who are eligible for a comprehensive examination after completing all coursework, including a ‘Dissertation Preparation’ class. To take a comprehensive exam, you must enroll in the ‘CE942 Comprehensive Exam’. Students who are absent from school can not enroll in ‘CE942 Comprehensive Exam’. ‘CE942 Comprehensive Exam’ means that you must complete the comprehensive exam by the end of the course. The grading of the comprehensive examination and all administrative procedures are handled by the doctoral research committee.

Procedure of Comprehensive Examination

Students who wish to take a comprehensive examination should follow the procedure below.

1. Comprehensive exams should be based on what you have studied, without any reference to any type of data. When a student breaks and refers to any type of material, the student is expelled.
2. Students should be prepared on the basis of what they learned in class.
3. Comprehensive exams are taken at the student’s choice of campus or one of the designated place in the school. If you are taking the test on campus, you should tell the doctoral office who will take the test one month before you take the test.
4. The doctoral office will provide the test site to the students who visited the campus to take the comprehensive examination. We also provide a test venue for students who have visited the school in order to take the test at a designated place.
5. You can not bring your personal belongings, such as cell phones or books, at the test place.
6. Comprehensive examinations must be completed by the last week of the ‘CE942 Comprehensive Exam’ course.

Evaluation of Comprehensive Examination

Comprehensive test results are treated as acceptance and rejection for each area and retest for the relevant area within one month after failing in any area. The retesting method is the same as the method described above. If you do not pass the exam again, you will be required to retake the ‘CE942 Comprehensive Exam’ course in the next semester with a Academic Warning, and you will take the exams only for the failed courses. If the exam is rejected in the relevant area of the comprehensive examination even though it has been retried, there will be no chance of retesting and the expulsion will be processed. Students passing the comprehensive examination will be eligible to write PhD. dissertations and will be PhD candidate or ABD[All but dissertation].

Dissertation Research and Writing

Submission of the Dissertation Proposal

A doctoral student must submit a dissertation proposal to the doctoral office at the end of the final class in the coursework. The thesis topic should be decided by consulting with the professors of the doctoral.

Contents of Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal of doctoral thesis should be about 30 pages excluding cover and references and must include the following contents.

1. Cover: Complete the official cover form of the school. The title should be clearly and concisely presented on the cover page.
2. Introduction: Describe how to conduct research on a topic and why it is necessary to conduct research on a selected topic.
3. Preliminary Study Outline: Describe which scholar or researcher has conducted any preceding research related to the selected topic.
4. Suggested Topic Research: Describe what kinds of problems the topic of the paper has and which contributions it can contribute to the ministry and academic field.
5. Methodology: Describe which methodology to use to carry out this study. In other words, it describes the research methods and processes that will be used for the research.
6. Outline of the paper: Describe how each chapter of the thesis will develop.
7. List of reference books: References to be included in the paper describe at least 100 books.

Style of the Dissertation Proposal

Footnotes and reference forms of the dissertation proposal will follow the format recongnized by the American Society of Missiology and use the template provides by the school.

Submission of Dissertation Proposal and Appointment of the Dissertation Committee

When a doctoral dissertation proposal is submitted, the director of doctoral will evaluate whether the proposal can be received based on the submitted proposal and conclude as follows. First, pass without modification. Secondly, the passage requires modification. Third, the hold that requires full correction. Fourth, not passed.

1. If a decision is made that requires a ‘full revision’, the student must make a full revision of the thesis proposal within three months and submit it again. If a decision is made, the student must retake the ‘RW937 Research Design’ course. You must change the subject and resubmit it until the end of the course.
2. Students who receive a ‘pass’ decision will be assigned three academic supervisors. Students can recommend all three academic supervisors who will lead their dissertation. One of them must be a professor or visiting professor of the school, and the second committee member can be selected as an expert who is working externally. The Dissertation Committee is composed of the 1st advisor and the 2nd advisor. The supervisors must be a PhD or DMiss dgree. In addition, DMin Degree with professional knowledge or experience on a specific subject can also be lead advisers.

Length of the Dissertation

A PhD dissertation must have more than 200 pages of text. A shorter paper can only be obtained with the approval of three dissertation advisers and a doctoral office. References should be at least 250(including interviews and 250 dissertations), including monographs and dissertations, and all academic documents. More than 20% of the references should be in a second language.

Edit and Submission of the Dissertation Draft

When all of the three academic supervisors approved by the committee members are completed, the dissertation must be corrected through the editor together with the graduation application form. The editor can be introduced at the doctoral office. Upon completion of the correction, you must sign the school’s Research Librarian and submit it to the doctoral office.

Dissertation Oral Defense

Oral Defense procedure

Upon completion of the student dissertation draft, the 1st advisor shall consult with the 2nd advisors and the student to determine the date and time of the oral defense and notify the doctoral office. Three oral dissertation committee members must be present at the oral defense and one or more professors appointed by the doctoral may evaluate the dissertation as a participant.

Oral Defense Decision

The final decision of the oral defense shall be made by the First advisor and the 2nd advisors. Participating members may submit opinions on student dissertation but have no decision. When the opinions of the first and second advisors are different, the first advisor decides the final decision. The oral defense conducted in accordance with the standard of PhD dissertation and the PhD defense.

The oral defense determines the results in the following four stages. 1) Pass through without modification 2) Pass necessary to revise 3) Hold: Rescheduling after major revision 4) Failed: Wait for doctoral research committee to wait for disposition.

If a student receives a pending verdict on three options, the student must revise all the fixes pointed out within three months and then re-examine the oral the doctoral research committee to consider whether the student will be allowed to make full-scale corrections or to be removed from the program. If it is concluded that a full revision is necessary, all revisions must be completed within 6 months after oral defense and the corresponding amount must be paid.

Submitting the Final Copies of the Dissertation

If the student passes the oral defense, the student shall revise the portion of the oral defense that has been recommended at the time of the oral defense and receive the signature of Research Librarian. Then submit the final copy of the paper along with the signature of the research library to the school as follows.

1. The final copy of the disseratation must be signed by Research Librarian.
2. Send final copy of the dissertation PDF file to doctoral office. ([email protected]).
3. Basic four hard copies (1 student, 2 copies of Grace Mission University Library, 1 copy of the doctoral office), and if you wish to bind additional copies, you must print and submit. A 1.5 inch margin should be set on the left side of the paper for binding.
4. The four hard copies must be printed on water-marked, 20 pound, 100% cotton rag, acid-free paper. All copies must be of a high quality, clean, consistent, and free of smudges, having a 1.5 inch margin on the left side for purposes of binding.

If you want to graduate, you have to write your dissertation according to the following schedule.

1. Upon graduation in June
   – Feb. 15: Deadline for submission of the final dissetation to the final doctoral office and submission of graduation application.
   – April 1: Deadline for oral defense.
   – May 1: Deadline for submission of final disseration to be binding

Copyright and Database Submission

Dissertation Copyright

The copyright to the dissertation belongs to the student. As a condition of being awarded the degree, however, the student grants Grace Mission University the non-exclusive right to retain, use and distribute a limited number of copies of the thesis, together with the right to require its publication for archival use.

Database Submission

Students are expected to submit an electronic copy of the dissertation to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Database. Students will also have the option, for a fee, to submit the dissertation to the Open Access Publishing PLUS option available from ProQuest. The Doctoral office will provide instructions on completing this.