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MA in Christine Doctrine

The M.A.C.D. degree requires 30 credit hours of course work. Up to 9 credit hours of 5000-level courses are acceptable for graduate credit if additional readings and writing assignments are arranged with the respective professor and completed satisfactorily. After successfully completing all course work, students will be required to write a comprehensive paper that integrates what they have learned in their courses and applies what they have learned to their career goals. M.A.C.D. candidates have no foreign language requirements. The M.A.C.D. is intended to be a terminal degree.

Core Courses and Electives

Of the 30 total credit hours of course work, 21 credit hours must be taken from the core courses:

In certain circumstances and in consultation with a student's academic adviser, equivalent courses may be taken.

For the 9 credit hours of electives (three courses), the student must choose one course in each of the principal theological disciplines: Judaism and Christianity in antiquity, historical and systematics/ethics. In certain circumstances, and with the permission of the M.A.C.D. program adviser, the elective courses can be chosen from the following course ranges.

One from any of the following Judaism and Christianity in antiquity courses: THEO 5000 Digging the Bible: Archeology and Biblical Studies to THEO 5190 Studies in Biblical Theology;

One from any of the following historical courses: THEO 5200 Theology in the Early Church to THEO 5290 Studies in Historical Theology; and

One from any of the following systematics/ethics courses: THEO 5300 Contemporary Atheism and Theism to THEO 5540 Hinduism, Yoga, and Buddhism.

Edit CIM Program Requirements

Theology

A master's student must complete 30 credit hours of course work, submit an approved research project, fulfill the department's foreign language requirement and pass a comprehensive examination.

Core Courses and Electives

Master's students may pursue either a Plan A or Plan B course of study. The student is assumed to be in Plan B unless a formal request to transfer to Plan A is approved by the department chairperson and the Graduate School.

The course work requirement for Plan A consists of 18 credit hours of core courses, six credit hours of electives, and six credit hours of work on the research project. Course work for Plan B consists of 18 credit hours of core courses and 12 credit hours of electives, in addition to completing a non-credit research project.

Master's students in both Plans A and B must take 18 credit hours of required core courses:

In consultation with an adviser, and not later than the end of the first year of study, each student will choose a specialization (Judaism and Christianity in antiquity, historical or systematics/ethics). A student in Plan A must complete three credit hours of elective course work in each of the areas not chosen for specialization and six credit hours of work on a research project in the area of specialization. A student in Plan B must complete six credit hours of elective course work in the area of specialization and three credit hours in each of the other two areas.

Foreign Language Requirements

All students in the master of arts program in theology are required to pass a competency examination in German, French or another modern foreign language recognized as essential to the student's research.

M.A. Comprehensive Examination

After all other requirements have been met, the comprehensive examination is administered by the Master of Arts Examination Committee. The exam is offered in April, July, and November. The examination is in three parts, each of which has two sections.

1. Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity: Old Testament, New Testament
2. Historical: Origin to Late Medieval, Late Medieval to Early Modern
3. Systematics and Theological Ethics

The three parts, each two hours in duration, are taken at the same examination session. Each part of the comprehensive examination consists of six questions, from which the student must answer three, including at least one from each section. All questions are based on the current master's bibliography and questions. The bibliography and questions are available through the departmental website at marquette.edu/theology. Additional information may be found in the department's Procedures and Policies handbook.

Edit CIM Program Requirements

Religious Studies

All students entering the doctoral program are required to take the master's proficiency exam, a minimum of 60 credit hours of graduate theology course work, plus 12 credit hours of dissertation work, fulfill the department's foreign language requirement, pass qualifying examinations, and submit and successfully defend a dissertation.

M.A. Proficiency Examination

All students entering the doctoral program are required to take the master's proficiency examination (equivalent to the master's comprehensive examination described in the M.A. section above) approximately two weeks before beginning their program. Passing the examination demonstrates a broad, master's level proficiency - the equivalent of material covered in Marquette's core courses - in each of the three major theological disciplines: scripture, historical theology and systematics/ethics. The examination helps students and advisers to identify those areas which require additional preparation before beginning doctoral-level course work. This is in keeping with the character of the Marquette doctoral program in which specialization builds upon a sound knowledge of the history of the theological tradition. The bibliography and questions for the exam are available through the departmental website at marquette.edu/theology/. Additional information may be found in the department's Procedures and Policies handbook. Any student who does not demonstrate proficiency in one or more of the sections on the examination, or after a second examination during the first term, is required to take the related master's level course. These courses do not count toward the final 30 hours required for doctoral-level course work.

Core Courses and Electives

The doctoral program in religious studies offers six areas of specialization. The doctoral qualifying examination (DQE) will emphasize the student's chosen area of specialization. A student specializing in Judaism and Christianity in antiquity, historical theology, systematic theology or theological ethics must complete 36 credit hours of course work in the area of specialization and approximately 12 credit hours of course work in each of the other two areas.

A student in the theology and society specialization must complete at least 30 credit hours of theology course work (primarily in one area of specialization: Judaism and Christianity in antiquity, historical or systematics/ethics) selected around the theology and society theme, at least 9 credit hours in each of the two other areas of theology (at least 18 total), and 12 credit hours in one or more related human sciences (anthropology, economics, education, English, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology). Students pursuing the healthcare mission and ethics track within the theology and society specialization must complete the 12 credit hours in healthcare related courses (such as: NURS 6007 Ethics in Health Care, NURS 6009 Creating Nursing Care Systems, HEAL 6841 Health Care Finance, HEAL 6846 Health Care Informatics, HEAL 6848 Health Care Policy, LAW 7156 Current Issues in Health Law, LAW 7181 Elder Law and LAW 7221 Health Law). Students in this track may be required to take additional course work, beyond the 60-credit-hour requirement, to certify their qualifications in both theology and the allied discipline. Qualifying examinations and dissertation topics for doctoral students in the theology and society specialization are expected to reflect the cross-disciplinary nature of the course work.

All doctoral students must complete an approved Doctoral Program Planning Form by the end of their first year of course work.

Doctoral Qualifying Examination (DQE)

This examination may be taken once the the student has fulfilled the language requirement and is in the final semester of course work. The student obtains a copy of the area topics from the Department of Theology Web page and then, working with his or her adviser, chooses three topics in the major area and one in each of the two minor areas for presentation in the examination. (Responsibility for preparing the lists of topics rests with the faculties of the separate areas of concentration with the approval of the Graduate Committee.) The student submits the application form with tentative examination dates, the list of topics and the names of eight regular faculty members who have agreed to serve on the board (including normally, that of the adviser) to the Graduate Committee. The student also submits a list of all graduate courses in theology, according to areas, whether taken at Marquette University or elsewhere. The Graduate Committee then approves an examination board of five members, three from the student's major area and one from each of the two minor areas and approves a chair for this board. The chair is normally a faculty member in the student's major area; the student's adviser may not serve as chair.

Once the Graduate Committee's approval is obtained, the student registers at least one month before the qualifying examination with the assistant to the chair for the examination. There are no scheduled dates for qualifying examinations in the department. A student is free to register for any date falling on a regular class day between Sept. 1 and May 10. Once a student registers, this date should not be changed except for serious reasons and with the approval of the departmental chair. Soon after the DQE has been registered with the assistant to the chair, the chair of the exam informs members of the board about the day on which the DQE questions are due to the assistant to the chair. The chair of the examination board is responsible, in consultation with the other members of the board, for preparing two questions for each of the four sections of the written examination.

The student has three hours in which to answer each of the questions given. The oral examination lasts approximately ninety minutes, unless the chair of the qualifying board wishes to extend this period. The examiners are free to question the student about the examination responses, the questions given in the written portion of the examination or any other aspects of the topic areas originally chosen by the student. Each examiner, after consultation with the other members of the board if he or she so wishes, provides the chair of the qualifying board with a written evaluation of the student's performance in both the written and oral parts of the examination. The qualifying board chair then submits these reports and his/her own chair's report to the departmental chair for a signature and forwarding to the Graduate School. While the board will normally give unofficial notification of the results of the examination immediately after the oral portion, the Graduate School will officially notify the student of the results after one or two weeks. A student needs four out of five 'satisfactory' judgments to pass.

To summarize the process:

The student obtains a copy of the topic areas and the application form.

In consultation with the adviser, the student selects three (3) topics in the major area and one (1) topic in each of the minor areas. The topic areas on the application form must match exactly with those on the topics list.

The student solicits three (3) faculty members in the major topic area and one (1) in each of the minor areas to serve as the examining board. Three (3) alternate faculty names must be provided. Note: The student's adviser may be on the DQE board but may not serve as the chair.

The student prepares the DQE application form and a list of courses that the student has taken both at Marquette and in the previous graduate institution. These are submitted to the Graduate Committee. Student and adviser are notified when the examination topics and board have been approved by the Graduate Committee and an exam registration form is provided.

The faculty member who chairs the DQE board is responsible for 1) contacting the other members of the examination board to solicit the examination questions, 2) arranging with the other members of the board the time of the oral examination, 3) communicating the time and place of the examination to the student and 4) preparing the examination questions. (The assistant to the chair schedules the exam on the departmental calendar.)

Faculty members who participate in DQE boards should clarify their expectations with the student. These include, at least, the list of required materials for preparation and the number of conversations the faculty member expects to have with the student prior to the examination.

Foreign Language Requirements

All doctoral students are required to pass a competency examination in two modern foreign languages (normally German and French; another language essential for the student's research may be substituted for one of these two in consultation with the student's adviser). Students with a master's degree from an institution other than Marquette are urged to pass their first foreign language examination before course work begins and must do so by the end of their first year in the program. Students must pass both German and French or other accepted modern language by the end of their second year in the program. Students must pass all language requirements prior to sitting for their doctoral qualifying examinations.

Language competency examinations are administered, for a fee, by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, which also offers courses in preparation for the examination.

Students who specialize in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible studies must also pass examinations in Hebrew at the advanced level and Greek at the intermediate level of competence. Students who specialize in New Testament studies must also pass examinations in Greek at the advanced level and Hebrew at the intermediate level of competence. Students in historical theology and in systematics/ethics within the Western theological traditions must also pass a competency examination in Latin; those studying within other theological traditions must pass a competency examination in Latin, Greek or another ancient language recognized as essential to the student's research. Students in systematic theology and theological ethics must also pass a competency examination in Latin. Students in the theology and society track have no additional language requirements beyond the two modern foreign languages (normally German and French; another language essential for the student's research may be substituted for one of these two in consultation with the student's adviser). Students in the healthcare mission and ethics track are required to pass competency examinations in Latin and one other modern language (normally German or French; another language essential for the student's research may be substituted for one of these two in consultation with the student's adviser).

Doctoral Dissertation

The student chooses a topic that falls within the scope of the department's understanding of religious studies and for which the student can locate a faculty director with the necessary competence and interest. The student is encouraged to identify a topic and an available director toward the end of course work or while preparing for the qualifying examination. A dissertation outline may not be submitted to the Graduate School, however, until the qualifying examination has been completed. Once the student and the director are in agreement on the dissertation proposal, the student fills out the Doctoral Dissertation Outline. The student submits this (unsigned) outline to the Graduate Committee, with a cover letter from the director indicating his/her willingness to serve as director, together with the proposal of at least six names, exclusive of the director's, of the full-time faculty of the department (who have also indicated their willingness to serve) for consideration as nominees to the four-person dissertation board. Outside the theology and society program, the members of a doctoral dissertation committee should be full-time members of the Theology Department unless a special request is made and approved. The departmental chair, after consultation with the departmental Graduate Committee, then nominates a board and notifies the director to convene a meeting within six weeks with the proposed board and the student to secure in writing the board's approval of the outline or their suggested revisions. Once the board has approved the outline, it is returned to the departmental chair for a signature. It is then sent to the Graduate School. In consultation with other members of the board, the student then completes the dissertation to the satisfaction of the director.

Dissertation Defense

Once the director judges that the dissertation is ready for a public defense, and at least one month prior to the date of the defense and two months prior to the Graduate School deadline for submitting final copies of the dissertation (this is more time than the Graduate School requires), the assistant to the chair distributes the defense copies of the dissertation to the members of the board. Board members have at least one month in which to read the dissertation by the last day of which they must inform the director whether they agree that the dissertation is ready for defense. If one or more members of the board determine that the dissertation is not ready for defense, the director, after informing the student of the situation, may reschedule it. Board members should feel free to communicate additional criticisms of the dissertation to the director before the defense. After the board members have read the dissertation, the final public defense is held. The date of the defense must be at least one month prior to the Graduate School deadline for submitting final copies of the dissertation (again, more time than the Graduate School requires). Furthermore, at least one month prior to the defense date the student must submit to the assistant to the chair an abstract (no longer than 350 words) and the announcement of public defense form. An electronic copy of the abstract should be emailed to the Graduate School. Additional copies of the program are made available to those attending the public defense. The entire board is present for the defense, with the dissertation director as chair. The candidate presents a brief summary of the work done. All the readers offer comments and question the student. Finally, the director offers comments and questions the student. Comments and questions from the floor may be invited by the director.

After the defense the student has at least three weeks to correct and revise the dissertation in light of the written and oral criticisms received. The final dissertation is submitted electronically to the Graduate School. Detailed instructions for electronic dissertation submission are available on the Graduate School's Web page.

The following items are not part of the electronic submission, but they are still due in the Graduate School by the dissertation deadline. They will be collected/provided by the Department of Theology.

1. One paper copy of the signature page.
2. Dissertation Committee Approval form.
3. One hard copy of the dissertation for the Department of Theology library. (Your dissertation director may also ask you to provide a copy of the dissertation for his/her personal library.)