ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Apologetics in Christian Apologetics
D.Apol. credential
Explore thoughtful answers to questions about Christianity, and share the reasons for your faith with clarity and grace.
Doctor of Apologetics in Christian Apologetics: Your Grant Price
Applications are free. Eligible applicants receive their admission and Grant decision before any one-time program fee is requested.
Published tuition
$24,900.00
$649.00 Registry & Assessment Fee
$149
Doctoral Degree
2026 Life in Christ Grant is active
Ministry Experience, Evaluated Against Academic Standards.
Documented prior learning may be considered when it aligns with program outcomes; every credit decision follows academic review.
Program Overview
About this program
Doctoral study in Christian Apologetics is for those teaching the discipline and engaging its current literature. Most objections to Christianity are not new, and most deserve a better answer than they usually get. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University program works through the arguments for and against theism, the historical evidence about Jesus, the problem of evil and the science questions, with the aim that you can state an opposing case well enough that its holder would recognise it.
Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
Recognition of demonstrated learning in theology and ministry
Experienced ministry practitioners demonstrate competencies developed through years of service, theological study, and continuing learning. The assessment connects that learning with the published outcomes of the Doctor of Apologetics in Christian Apologetics through biblical understanding, theological reflection, research, and ministry judgment.
70
Audited questions in this pathway bank
30
Questions drawn for each sitting
60 minutes
Time available for the knowledge component
24 hours
Interval before reassessment
Theological knowledge and degree outcomes
- Published bank title
- Christian Apologetics - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Apologetics (D.Apol.) in Christian Apologetics
- Question construction
- 14 pathway subject-bank sources contribute 5 questions each, producing the complete 70-question bank.
How completion is reported
- The knowledge component contributes 40% and assessed ministry experience contributes 60% to one weighted result.
- The reported result is no lower than 80%, matching the 80% degree pass mark.
- Reassessment draws a fresh question set and is included in program access, with no additional fee or limit on sittings.
- The integrated assessment covers the published degree plan; separate course assessments, a capstone paper, and a dissertation defense are not required.
Program Objectives
What you will achieve
Integrate advanced theological inquiry and ministry judgment in service to the church and its mission
State the main arguments for and against Christian belief in their strongest forms
Choose an apologetic approach suited to the person and setting in front of you
Handle the problem of evil with intellectual honesty and pastoral care
Represent a competing worldview accurately before responding to it
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Construct and defend an argument for a Christian claim against its best objection
Assess the historical case for the resurrection by the standards historians use
Distinguish a scientific finding from the philosophical gloss placed on it
Engage a public objection to Christian faith without caricature or evasion
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Apologetics minister
Christian educator
Writer or speaker
Campus ministry leader
Major Subject Areas
The fourteen subjects you study, and the ones the ministry assessment draws on
Foundational and Major-Core Subjects
Four foundations every pathway shares, then four that belong to this field.
Doctoral Seminar: Biblical Interpretation
Reading Scripture when a sceptic is reading over your shoulder: the historical questions, the apparent contradictions, and the difference between a real problem and a manufactured one.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament passages that actually cause people to lose faith — conquest, sacrifice, the imprecatory psalms — handled honestly rather than defensively.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament's historical claims, examined by the standards historians use, and an account of what the sources can and cannot establish.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
The doctrines being defended, stated precisely, because a great deal of apologetic effort is spent defending positions the church has never actually held.
Doctoral Seminar: Philosophy of Religion
Arguments for and against theism as philosophers state them: cosmological, teleological, ontological, and moral, together with the standard objections to each.
Doctoral Seminar: Reason, Faith, and Revelation
How faith and reason have been related, from Tertullian and Aquinas to Reformed epistemology and evidentialism, and what each position expects an argument to accomplish.
Doctoral Seminar: Historical Case for Christianity
The historical evidence bearing on Jesus and the resurrection, the criteria historians apply to it, and the range of explanations that have been offered.
Doctoral Seminar: Apologetics and Culture
Apologetics addressed to a specific culture rather than in the abstract: reading the assumptions, authorities, and plausibility structures of the people actually being addressed.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: The Problem of Evil
The logical and evidential problems of evil, the main theodicies and defences, and the pastoral difference between answering an argument and answering a sufferer.
Doctoral Seminar: Science and Christian Faith
Cosmology, evolutionary biology, and the mind, and the models of relating scientific and theological claims, tested on cases where the two are said to conflict.
Doctoral Seminar: Worldviews and Religious Pluralism
Naturalism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and post-Christian spiritualities described accurately, with the pluralist and exclusivist accounts of religious diversity.
Doctoral Seminar: Public Theology and Witness
Christian claims in public argument: civility, burden of proof, and the difference between winning an exchange and making a case worth considering.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
The apologist's own faith, which argument does not sustain, and the vocational hazard of becoming better at defending belief than at holding it.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
One objection taken the whole way: the strongest version of the case against, the literature on both sides, and a response you are prepared to defend.
Admission Requirements
What you need to apply
- Master's degree in theology, ministry, or a relevant field from an accredited or recognized institution
- Official graduate transcripts demonstrating advanced academic preparation
- Research statement identifying a proposed area of theological or ministry inquiry
- Scholarly or ministry-focused writing sample
- Current curriculum vitae documenting relevant research, church, or ministry leadership experience
- Three ministry or academic recommendations and a faculty interview
Degree Completion Requirements
Requirements for the Doctor of Apologetics
Graduation Requirements
- Complete at least 60 doctoral semester credits in the approved degree plan
- Pass the Competency-Based Ministry Assessment for the degree
- Satisfy every doctoral-core, research-methods, specialization, elective, and Competency-Based Ministry Assessment requirement group
- Integrate theological knowledge with assessed ministry experience under the published result-weighting policy
- Recognize demonstrated learning against every published degree-plan requirement
Culminating Experience
Demonstrate doctoral-level theological synthesis, research judgment, and ministry leadership through Competency-Based Ministry Assessment, combining theological knowledge with assessed ministry experience.
Credit Distribution
| Requirement Area | Credits | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Doctoral Core | 24 | 8 courses. Doctoral theory, disciplinary foundations, and scholarly leadership. |
| Research Design and Methods | 12 | 4 courses. University-wide doctoral preparation in quantitative, qualitative, measurement, and research-ethics competencies. |
| Area of Specialization | 15 | 5 courses. Focused doctoral inquiry supporting the learner's research agenda. |
| Doctoral Elective | 6 | 2 courses. Any doctoral-level major course from any school that is not already part of this degree plan. |
| Competency-Based Ministry Assessment | 3 | 1 course. Integrated doctoral theological knowledge and assessed ministry experience, recognizing demonstrated learning across the published degree plan. |
| Total Degree Credits | 60 | All requirements must be completed within the approved degree plan. |
Program Details
Program Length
Self-Paced
Self-Paced Learning
Total Credits
60 credit hours
Up to 30 Transfer Credits
Published Degree Plan
20 courses
Across 5 required curriculum groups
Format
Flexible Study
Assessment Format
Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
Selected Degree
Doctorate
School
School of Theology and Ministry
Institutional Status
ICAS Accredited
Ready to Begin Your Accredited Christian Apologetics Degree?
Applying costs nothing, and the work you have already done may count. Have a look at what this pathway asks for before you decide.