ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy in Disability Ministry
Ph.D. credential
Help shape churches where disabled people can belong, share their gifts, grow in faith, and take part fully in community life.
Doctor of Philosophy in Disability Ministry: 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 Disability Ministry is for those leading inclusion across congregations and training others. The argument of this ICAS-accredited program is that inclusion is ecclesiology, not hospitality — the body has indispensable weaker members, and a congregation that cannot receive them is missing something rather than being generous. Kingdom of Life University covers accessible worship, teaching, family support, mental health, and disabled people in leadership.
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 Philosophy in Disability Ministry 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
- Disability Ministry - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Disability Ministry
- 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
Ground inclusion in ecclesiology rather than in hospitality alone
Read the healing narratives without making cure a condition of belonging
Design worship and teaching for participation rather than accommodation
Support advocacy led by disabled people themselves
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Conduct an accessibility audit of a congregation and prioritise the findings
Adapt a teaching programme for people with intellectual disability
Design a family and carer support plan
Identify and address barriers to disabled leadership in a specific setting
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Inclusive ministry director
Pastoral care minister
Christian education leader
Ministry accessibility consultant
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 the healing narratives without making cure the price of belonging, which is the single most damaging habit in this area.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
Disability in the Old Testament, including the purity legislation and the prophetic vision of a restored community.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament's body imagery taken as an argument rather than a metaphor, and what indispensable actually claims.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
The doctrines at stake: the image of God, the resurrection body, and what is and is not promised about healing.
Doctoral Seminar: Theology of the Body of Christ
The body of Christ with its indispensable weaker members, read as an argument about belonging rather than as a metaphor for tolerance.
Doctoral Seminar: Disability in Scripture
Disability in the biblical texts, including the healing narratives and the interpretive damage done when they are read as requiring cure for acceptance.
Doctoral Seminar: Accessible Worship
Accessible worship in practice: physical access, sensory environment, communication, liturgical pace, and participation rather than accommodation.
Doctoral Seminar: Inclusive Christian Education
Teaching and formation for people with intellectual disability, covering method, materials, sacramental participation, and presumed competence.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Supporting Families and Carers
Support for families and carers, including respite, sibling experience, the diagnosis journey, and the reasons families leave congregations.
Doctoral Seminar: Mental Health and the Church
Mental health as a disability question in congregational life, covering stigma, inclusion in leadership, and practices that help and harm.
Doctoral Seminar: Advocacy and Community Partnership
Advocacy alongside disabled people rather than on their behalf, with local partnership and the principle of nothing about us without us.
Doctoral Seminar: Disabled Leadership in the Church
Disabled people in ministry and leadership, including the barriers in selection and training and what genuine access to vocation would require.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
Formation in a congregation where not everyone can do the disciplines as usually described, and what that reveals about the disciplines.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
An accessibility and inclusion project, audited, implemented and evaluated with disabled people leading rather than consulted.
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 Philosophy
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 Disability Ministry 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.