ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy in Women in Ministry
Ph.D. credential
Grow as a woman who teaches, disciples, and leads, and give years of service in the church the theological depth behind it.
Doctor of Philosophy in Women in 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 Women in Ministry is for those leading ministries and training other women. Women have taught, led, written and been martyred throughout Christian history, and have often been trained less well than the men they serve alongside. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University program treats the disputed texts seriously and fairly, covers the historical record, and prepares for teaching, mentoring, crisis care and leading teams within whatever polity you actually serve in.
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 Women in 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
- Women in Ministry - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Women in 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 the main interpretive positions on the disputed texts and the grounds for each
Teach Scripture to women with full exegetical seriousness
Care competently in crises that disproportionately affect women
Lead teams and ministries within the polity you actually serve in
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Exegete a disputed passage and set out the positions fairly before taking one
Design and lead a Bible teaching programme for women
Respond appropriately to a disclosure of abuse, including referral and safeguarding
Build a mentoring structure that multiplies rather than depending on one person
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Ministry leader for women
Bible teacher
Discipleship and mentoring leader
Pastoral care minister
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
The interpretive work the disputed passages require, with the main positions set out on their exegetical grounds rather than their conclusions.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
Women in the Old Testament: the matriarchs, judges, prophets and queens, and the narratives that are told about them without comment.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament's women — in the Gospels, in Acts, in the Pauline greetings — and the texts that have been read to limit them.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
Doctrine taught with full seriousness, because the assumption that women's Bible study needs less theology is itself the problem.
Doctoral Seminar: Women in Scripture
Women in the biblical narrative and in the disputed texts, with the main interpretive positions set out fairly and the exegetical grounds for each made explicit.
Doctoral Seminar: Women in Christian History
Women in Christian history from the martyrs and desert mothers through medieval writers and reformers to the modern missionary movement.
Doctoral Seminar: Teaching the Bible to Women
Teaching Scripture to women, covering exegetical preparation, group and plenary settings, and the assumption of theological seriousness.
Doctoral Seminar: Discipleship and Mentoring
Discipling and mentoring, including the structure of a mentoring relationship, its boundaries, its duration, and the multiplication of mentors.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Caring for Women in Crisis
Care in crisis, covering domestic abuse, sexual violence, pregnancy loss, and infertility, with the referral and safeguarding these require.
Doctoral Seminar: Leading Ministries and Teams
Leading ministries and teams: recruitment, delegation, difficult conversations, budgets, and the specific obstacles women encounter in church leadership.
Doctoral Seminar: Ministry in the Local Congregation
Ministry within the local congregation, whatever its polity, including how to work well in structures that vary in what they permit.
Doctoral Seminar: Calling, Endurance, and Vocation
Calling, endurance, and vocational sustainability over decades, including discouragement, criticism, and the support that has to be built deliberately.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
Calling and endurance over decades, including criticism, and the support networks that have to be built rather than found.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
A ministry project among women, with teaching or mentoring designed, delivered 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 Women in 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.