ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Ministry in Practical Theology
D.Min. credential
Examine what your ministry actually does and why, through a professional doctorate in disciplined theological reflection on practice.
Doctor of Ministry in Practical Theology: 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
The Doctor of Ministry in practical theology is for practitioners researching the theology embedded in ordinary practice. Ordinary ministry practice already contains a theology; the discipline is describing it accurately before judging it. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University pathway covers the main theories, thick description, methods of theological reflection, qualitative inquiry and its ethics when you are researching your own community, and the reform of inherited practice.
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 Ministry in Practical Theology 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
- Doctor of Ministry: Practical Theology - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Practical Theology
- 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
Describe ministry practice as it is rather than as it is described
Apply a defensible method of theological reflection
Conduct qualitative inquiry ethically within your own community
Claim only what your evidence supports about change
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Produce a thick description of a ministry practice and its operative theology
Carry out and analyse a set of qualitative interviews to disciplinary standards
Design and evaluate a reform of an inherited practice
Complete a doctoral project meeting practical theology's methodological standards
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Senior pastor
Practical theology instructor
Ministry consultant
Denominational trainer
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
Exegesis as one voice in theological reflection rather than the whole of it, and the discipline of letting the text disturb the practice.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament's practices — sabbath, festival, sacrifice — as a case study in theology carried by repetition rather than statement.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament's congregational practices, and the theology visible in what the churches did rather than what they said.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
Doctrine as it appears in practice, including the operative theology a congregation would deny if asked directly.
Doctoral Seminar: Theories of Practical Theology
Theories of practical theology, covering the main schools, their differing accounts of the relation between practice and theology, and their disagreements.
Doctoral Seminar: Describing Ministry Practice Accurately
Describing practice accurately, covering thick description, the gap between espoused and enacted practice, and researcher bias in one's own setting.
Doctoral Seminar: Methods of Theological Reflection
Methods of theological reflection, covering the established cycles and models and the criteria for judging a reflection sound.
Doctoral Seminar: Qualitative Inquiry for Ministry
Qualitative inquiry for ministry, covering interviewing, observation, coding, trustworthiness, and research ethics in a pastoral relationship.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Practice, Habit, and Formation
Practice, habit, and formation, covering the theoretical accounts of how practices form people and the evidence behind them.
Doctoral Seminar: Reforming Inherited Practice
Reforming inherited practice, covering the discernment of what a practice is actually for and the pastoral cost of changing it.
Doctoral Seminar: Evaluating Change in Practice
Evaluating change in practice, covering baseline, indicators, attribution, and the modesty appropriate to claims about causation.
Doctoral Seminar: Doctoral Practical Theology Project
The doctoral practical theology project, covering design, fieldwork, analysis, and the written argument.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
The researcher's own practice under examination, and what it costs to describe your own ministry honestly.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
A doctoral practical theology project with fieldwork, qualitative analysis, and claims proportionate to the evidence.
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 Ministry
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 Practical Theology 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.