Bible and Theology

Credential: Doctor of Theology (Th.D.)

Degree Level: Doctoral Degree

Credits: 69 total, with up to 0 transfer credits accepted

School: School of Divinity

Program Overview

The Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) in Bible and Theology is for those whose calling is to hold exegesis and doctrine together at the highest level. The two disciplines have a long habit of drifting apart: biblical scholarship that never asks what the church should confess, and dogmatics that cites Scripture without reading it. This doctorate is built for students who refuse that division — teaching pastors, seminary and institute faculty, and writers whose work must be both exegetically defensible and doctrinally coherent. Students work in both directions. From the text outward, they study the canon as a whole, the theological interpretation of Scripture, biblical theology across both testaments, and the history of exegesis, working in Greek and Hebrew. From doctrine inward, they examine how the church's central confessions were derived from Scripture, where the derivation is disputed, and what it means for a doctrine to be biblically warranted rather than merely biblically decorated. Seminars take up cases where the two disciplines collide — the use of the Old Testament in the New, the doctrine of God and the Old Testament's depictions of divine action, Christology and the historical study of the Gospels, ecclesiology and the diversity of the New Testament churches. The dissertation makes an original contribution at the junction of the two fields: a doctrinal question argued from the texts, an exegetical problem pursued to its theological conclusion, or a study in the history of interpretation with dogmatic consequence. Graduates teach Bible and theology, lead teaching ministries, write for the church, and supervise others' research.

Core Courses

  • BTH 801 — Theological Interpretation of Scripture (6 credits)
  • BTH 812 — Old Testament Theology at Doctoral Level (6 credits)
  • BTH 824 — New Testament Theology at Doctoral Level (6 credits)
  • BTH 836 — Doctrine and Its Biblical Warrant (6 credits)
  • BTH 848 — History of Exegesis (5 credits)
  • BTH 860 — Doctoral Research Design in Bible and Theology (4 credits)
  • BTH 899 — Doctoral Dissertation in Bible and Theology (24 credits)

Admission Requirements

  • Master's degree in biblical studies, theology, history, or a closely related field
  • Prior coursework in the biblical or historical languages the specialization requires
  • Statement of purpose naming the research question you intend to pursue
  • Academic writing sample, ideally an exegetical or historical research paper
  • Current curriculum vitae
  • Official transcripts from prior institutions when available

Degree Levels in Bible and Theology