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NEGST
Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology

Doctoral Division

Doctoral programmes have either an academic or a professional orientation, or combine the two. NEGST is actively developing doctoral level programmes to meet the needs of advanced level evangelical training on the continent of Africa.  These are aimed at those who would serve in either academic or professional fields of ministry.

Three doctoral degrees are being developed: a fully academic Doctor of Philosophy (PhD); a PhD in Theological Education; and a Professional Doctor of Ministry.  The academic Doctor of Philosophy will be launched in 2005.

General Description

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The academic doctorate is the familiar PhD, focused on scholarly research in a specific discipline. It prepares candidates for a senior teaching vocation, scholarly research and writing, and consulting in the discipline of specialisation.

The PhD in Theological Education

This programme will combine professional preparation for administrative roles in theological education with the academic development necessary to fulfil a senior teaching vocation.

The Professional Doctor of Ministry

This programme focuses on professional specialisation of a practical nature at an advanced level, in preparation for senior ministry responsibilities in a church-related vocation.

Objectives and Goals

In their chosen discipline or field of study, those graduating with a doctoral degree should be able to engage in
  1. competent research and critical analysis of major issues and current views
  2. developing informed critical positions
  3. professional competence and skilled leadership in the practice of their discipline and vocation
Graduates will also demonstrate appropriate, mature qualities of character.
More specific outcomes are listed under the separate entries for each doctorate.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Biblical Studies or Translation

Purpose

Biblical Studies and Translation Departments cooperate in offering a doctoral programme in Biblical Studies or Translation. The programme seeks to specifically promote excellence in African Christianity by providing advanced academic research studies, and is designed to enable learners to collaborate in a scholarly community, thereby integrating their knowledge, research, critical reflection, and voice to the African and global community.

The programme provides opportunities for candidates who are spiritually and academically suitable to do research at the highest levels in order to produce scholars, teachers and educational leaders in theological and related studies.

Outcomes

In addition to the general objectives of the doctoral programmes, the PhD in Biblical Studies or Translation has the following intended outcomes: These outcomes are means by which the students address their community in its language in direct ways. This presentation of the (on-going) results of their reflection is designed to ensure that their learning is intimately connected with the African church and wider community.

Programme Design

The curriculum:

  1. is inter-disciplinary and integrative
  2. is organised conceptually around five areas of concern
    1. a hermeneutic model that gives due consideration to the world of the author, interpreter and hearer-reader
    2. the social worlds of the Bible and of contemporary Africa
    3. applying the tools of biblical studies and recent linguistics to the study of the biblical message
    4. critical reflection on the encounter between biblical values and contemporary socio-cultural realities in Africa
    5. the application of the results of reflection to learners’ home communities by ‘theologising’ and translating, completing the ‘hermeneutical circle’ in ways that traditional programmes have often omitted
  3. is organised practically around an integrative seminar which engages attention throughout the period of study (and focuses reflection in the fourth area of concern above)
  4. is organised around a cohort learning community, in which learning is collaborative
  5. creates learning opportunities in the home community, part of the ancient world, and the international scholarly community, and through visits to NEGST of international scholars.

Entry Requirements

1. General Admissions Criteria

Suitable applicants must

  1. demonstrate Christian maturity, a professional level of experience, responsible leadership and current participation in Christian service.
  2. enjoy the commendation, prayer, personal and financial support of an organisation to which they are committed to return after studies.
  3. display a proven record which indicates talents for consistent achievement; creative, imaginative and profound reflection; focus and persistence in scholarly activity; competence in oral presentation and academic writing; and the support of their peers and supervisors in their current professional activities.
  4. hold a Master’s degree in biblical or translation studies, and meet the formal admissions criteria for doctoral studies at NEGST (see below)
  5. submit a concise thesis proposal (2–4 pages).

2.  Formal Admissions criteria—Biblical Studies

  1. a B+ (3.30) average in OT or NT courses (according to specialisation)
  2. a working knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, competent for exegetical work on the biblical text, as demonstrated, for example, by successful performance on Hebrew and Greek entrance exams. The biblical language requirement normally means a minimum of Hebrew 6 or Greek 6, or equivalent, in the language of specialisation and Hebrew 4 or Greek 4, or equivalent, in the other biblical language. Students who do not  meet this requirement will be recommended a course of action for upgrading their language skills.
  3. a Hebrew or Greek exegetical paper, written either for the application or for previous studies (suggested length: 1500-3000 words).
  4. 12 hours of theology and 12 hours of English or French Bible at graduate level.
  5. adequate proficiency in spoken and written English.

3.  Formal Admissions Criteria—Translation Studies

  1. a B (3.0) average in Master’s work plus a minimum of two years assigned to (and with close practical involvement in) a translation project; plus written commendation from a translation consultant.
  2. a working knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, competent for exegetical work on the biblical text. The language requirement normally means a minimum of Greek 3 or Hebrew 3 equivalent, and a strong preference for Greek or Hebrew 5/6 in the other language.
  3. a Greek or Hebrew exegetical paper.
  4. proficiency in English academic writing.
  5. appropriate biblical studies in hermeneutics, exegesis, biblical theology, and linguistic studies in syntax, semantics, pragmatics, discourse.
Applicants may also be required to attend an interview.

Programme Structure

The programme consists of two cycles: a research colloquium lasting 18 months followed by a dissertation cycle of 30 months. Both cycles are continuous and are not organised around either semesters or terms.

The research colloquium consists of five core modules, which take the form of guided research and encapsulate the five areas of concern mentioned under Programme Design, plus a specialty module. In the specialty module, biblical studies students and translation students pursue separate pathways, in both cases designed to supply the further academic and/or professional competence of their specialisation. The series of modules runs throughout the 18 months.

There will be short breaks between modules, the month of December is given as vacation, and there will be a two-month break between the two cycles.
 
The curriculum employs two major strategies for achieving its assumptions and values. Firstly, learning is pursued within a learning community. Students will be admitted in cohorts, and each cohort, together with their core faculty, will form a collaborative learning community during the period of study. Ideally, the full cohort will graduate together.

Secondly, the colloquium is organised around a thematic seminar (Module 4), which uses a thematic study to intentionally create a cohesive centre for the colloquium. The thematic research seminar runs as a progressive sequence of units throughout the 18 months of study, with students, faculty, and visiting scholars both writing and presenting papers on different aspects. There is mutual interaction between this seminar and the other modules, which are introduced in a carefully arranged sequence. Students are able to develop their own interests while contributing to the learning community’s pursuit of the research theme. The dissertation cycle of 30 months is devoted to research and thesis writing. The four-year curriculum is conceived as follows:

During the research colloquium all students will visit a suitable region of the eastern Mediterranean for on-location study of some part of the cradle of Christianity. Between the two cycles, students will also visit their home community, in order to convey the results of their reflection, theologising and translation, through dialogue with some sectors of the community. Students will undertake a third trip during the dissertation cycle as part of their scholarly research (see below).  These trips are mandatory and must be financed by pre-arrangement by scholarship or private means.

Programme Requirements

Pre-registration

Students will undertake some pre-registration time to provide opportunity to catch up on Master’s level courses such as Social Worlds of the Bible, Semantics, Pragmatics, and refresher courses in Greek and/or Hebrew. This will last two months and is normally obligatory. Also during the pre-registration period, all students will attend an obligatory one-week retreat and seminar on orientation to community learning, a research course providing general tools for reading, critical thinking, writing and research; computer software; library; collecting sociological field data; oral historiography; programme evaluation tools; facilitation skills; “theologising”. This retreat is an obligatory introduction to the learning community for all students.

Registration

On admission, all students will register as Supervised Post-Graduate Students, and will register (and pay fees) once only on entry to the research colloquium, and pursue guided research through the sequence of modules.

A student’s registration will be changed retrospectively to Doctoral Candidate subject to the doctoral committee’s approval. Transfer of registration will take place after 12 and not later than 18 months into studies. There is no loss of time nor are there additional fees. The main purposes of this requirement are:
  1. to allow for occasional students who intend (or change their intention) to complete studies with MPhil or MTh and not proceed to the PhD dissertation cycle
  2. to protect students against the risk of embarking on an unsuccessful PhD thesis when they could produce a successful MPhil thesis.

Assessment

All students complete the six modules in the research colloquium, the sixth being in their specialty area. Students will compile their individual portfolio of work through the research colloquium. This portfolio will form the basis for assessment for transfer to doctoral candidature, serving the purpose of a formal comprehensive examination.

Thesis/dissertation

Students graduating with an MPhil (Translation) or MTh (Biblical Studies) will also complete a thesis. This will usually be based on the portfolio they compile during the research colloquium.

Those completing an acceptable doctoral thesis (maximum 60,000 words) will graduate PhD. Each student will formally present their proposal and each individual chapter to the learning community for critical evaluation.

During the doctoral cycle, students will spend approximately eight weeks in an institution of higher learning for the purpose of strenuous library work in support of their research topic, whenever possible attending a doctoral seminar, receiving mentoring on their dissertation, and possibly participating in a professional conference. For example, it is intended that Biblical studies students will spend approximately eight weeks in Tyndale House, Cambridge. The Tyndale House community normally has around sixty senior evangelical scholars in residence.

Language Requirements

Doctoral students are required to display competence in accessing scholarly literature relevant to their topic in the language of that literature.  Normally this will be either German or French. Students are recommended to pursue courses with Alliance Fran&caise and Goethe Institut and/or undertake personal study of appropriate books teaching these languages. Students will be able to present their thesis work in French or Portuguese, when appropriate and capable of supervision. In francophone Africa the three communities, international, national and local are distinct (the first two tend to coalesce in anglophone Africa) and important to address. A returning francophone student needs to be able to theologise within the national francophone community. This does not imply that a lower competence in English is required, nor that course work is acceptable in French rather than English.

Special Note

The four years of study are intensive and must be covered by full scholarship. Students must relinquish external responsibilities with church or para-church organisation for the duration, except for official visits for theologising, placements, and distance learning.

Content of the Research Colloquium

The research colloquium is organised around six modules, which are listed below in logical sequence. Each module consists of a number of units as indicated in brackets. Units run for approximately three/four weeks, and are regarded as equivalent in weight (cumulatively equivalent to circa 96 hours of credit). Local and international scholars will offer part of a module, or give one or more general lectures or seminars on their areas of expertise.

Communication, hermeneutics and interpretation

[1 unit]
The social worlds of the Bible and Africa

[4 units]
Interpreting the text-world from our world

[4 units]
Dialogue between the Bible and today’s African worlds

[4 units]
Theologising & translating the Bible into Africa’s worlds  

[2 units]
Specialty topics in biblical or translation studies

[3 units]
 

[total 18 units]