Doctor of Philosophy

The minimum time for candidature in the Doctor of Philosophy is three years and the maximum time is six years. Candidates may study full-time or part-time, with full-time students normally taking 48 credit points per semester.   Credit points refer to the overall student effort, including contact hours and time spent on assessment tasks. The degree requires the satisfactory completion of 288 credit points.   Higher Degree Research candidates may not be granted more than two (2) semesters of suspension of candidature during the term of their candidature and may be granted no more than two semesters of extension of candidature prior to the examination phase of their candidature. The R&RSC will accept applications for suspension beyond the two-semester limit on a case by case basis, only for extraordinary circumstances and supported by written evidence.  

Research Thesis

The PhD research thesis must be 80,000–100,000 words in length and must adhere to the following rules:  

• • The thesis must embody the results of independent scholarship and research. It may be either a critical and analytical study of existing material or, as is more usual, an original contribution to the subject. In either case it must show evidence of originality and independence of thought, posing a new insight into the topic or formulating an existing issue in a novel and useful way.

 

• • Thesis length can be ±10%, with no more than 100,000 words in total (everything between the covers submitted to the examiner, including appendices, excurses, bibliography, footnotes and title page).

 

• • The candidate must demonstrate that he or she is aware of, understands and is able to read and analyse the literature — including primary source and scholarly material in languages other than English—that is directly relevant to the topic as well as related areas of significance, and is able to make considered judgments.

 

• The thesis must be a work of appropriate literary standard. While assessing what constitutes a “distinct contribution to theological learning” is no easy matter, one way of gauging whether a candidate’s work meets the criterion is to consider the extent to which the thesis is publishable. Criteria that will help determine whether a thesis is publishable are:
  • • there is emerging and/or growing interest in the subject area of the thesis such that the thesis, if published, would complement what has been published already, or, the thesis makes a radically new contribution to the subject area;
   
  • • the thesis is well-written, its ideas are accessible, and it would lend itself to easy conversion to published format;
   
  • there are well-known, international scholars who could be advocates for the published version of the thesis.