ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy in Marketplace Ministry
Ph.D. credential
Bring Christian faith into your daily work, and learn to lead, serve, and speak for Christ in business and the professions as well as in church.
Doctor of Philosophy in Marketplace 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 Marketplace Ministry is for those leading faith-and-work ministry and teaching it. Most Christians spend most of their waking hours at work, and most theology has very little to say to them there. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University program builds a theology of work and calling, and covers money and enterprise, business ethics under real pressure, discipleship and witness among colleagues, labour justice, bivocational ministry, and pastoral care at work.
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 Marketplace 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
- Marketplace Ministry - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Marketplace 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
State a theology of work that dignifies ordinary employment
Decide ethically under commercial pressure and accept the cost
Witness among colleagues without exploiting a position of power
Sustain bivocational ministry with clear boundaries
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Produce a theology of work applicable to a specific occupation
Analyse a workplace ethical dilemma and defend a course of action
Design a workplace discipleship practice that is realistically sustainable
Advise on pastoral care for a colleague facing redundancy or burnout
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Marketplace ministry leader
Workplace chaplain
Christian business owner or executive
Faith and work teacher
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 for Monday, and the interpretive work required to get from an agrarian economy to a compliance department.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament on labour, wages, land and rest, which is where a Christian account of work has to start.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament on calling, service and the household economy, including the letters written to slaves and masters.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
The doctrines of creation, vocation and providence, which decide whether ordinary work has meaning or merely funds ministry.
Doctoral Seminar: Theology of Work and Calling
Work in Christian theology, covering creation and vocation, the dignity and the curse of labour, and the recovery of calling beyond church employment.
Doctoral Seminar: Faith, Money, and Enterprise
Money and enterprise, covering wealth, profit, risk, debt, and the tradition's teaching on what may and may not be done with capital.
Doctoral Seminar: Business Ethics and Christian Conscience
Business ethics under pressure, covering conflicts of interest, truthfulness, whistleblowing, and the cost of decisions taken on conscience.
Doctoral Seminar: Discipleship in the Workplace
Discipleship where people actually spend their time, covering the formation that work performs and the practices that can be sustained during it.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Witness Among Colleagues
Witness among colleagues, covering integrity, appropriate speech, power asymmetry between manager and staff, and legal constraint.
Doctoral Seminar: Justice, Labor, and the Common Good
Labour, justice, and the common good, covering wages, conditions, supply chains, and the Christian tradition's social teaching on work.
Doctoral Seminar: Bivocational and Tentmaking Ministry
Bivocational and tentmaking ministry, covering time, identity, legitimacy, and the practical arrangements that make it viable.
Doctoral Seminar: Pastoral Care at Work
Pastoral care in the workplace, covering redundancy, burnout, failure, and the support a Christian colleague can appropriately offer.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
Sustaining a spiritual life inside a demanding job, and the vocational question of whether to leave it for ministry.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
A workplace project: a discipleship practice, an ethical framework or a chaplaincy initiative, implemented and evaluated.
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 Marketplace 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.