The best way to choose a PhD degree is to consider what sort of seminars will be required in each degree and what kind of dissertation each candidate might hope to produce. PhD work is demanding, as it should be, and that work will require specific kinds of reading, writing, and reflection. As you consider which degree might be right for you, keep in mind the goal you have for your degree and the skill set that each degree will form.
Types of PhD Degrees
MBTS offers research doctoral degrees in biblical studies, theological studies, and applied theology, with multiple emphases under each of heading.
Biblical Studies
Biblical studies is ‘language-intensive,’ which means that it will attract students who loved Greek and/or Hebrew in seminary and want to go further expand that knowledge base.
Theological Studies
Theological studies draws upon biblical interpretation, but emphases under this heading deal with ‘second-order’ reflections on (a) how the results of exegesis have been received historically (Historical Theology and Church History), (b) how they should be received theologically (Systematic Theology), (c) how they should be communicated (Expository Preaching), and (d) what significance they have in drawing lines between right and wrong, good and bad (Ethics).
If you like to explore complex ideas and wrestle with them in written form then you would enjoy the PhD, Biblical Studies or PhD, Theological Studies.
Applied Theology
A PhD, Applied Theology program keeps a sharper eye on the pragmatic significance of its results while still operating as a research degree that deals with matters of theory. What defenses of the faith are best suited to our modern context (Apologetics)? How does the sufficiency of Scripture affect the work of counseling (Biblical Counseling)? What is the best way to contextualize the gospel in animistic cultures or cultures dominated by Islam (Missiology)? Which models of leadership, evangelism, and spirituality are most faithful to foundational Christian commitments (Leadership, Ecclesiology, Biblical Spirituality)? Questions of this kind set the agenda for doctoral study in applied theology, and they matter most to candidates who see their doctoral studies as beginning with theory and moving inevitably toward hands-on ministry implementation. The PhD in Applied Theology is also MBTS’s only fully online doctoral track, making it a meaningful option for pastors and ministry leaders seeking an online PhD in theology without relocating or leaving their current ministry context.
