Online Doctor of Ministry

The Online DMin degree is a three-year, thirty-credit advanced program focusing on public ministry. The DMin curriculum will equip leaders for serious engagement with significant public issues from the perspective of diverse religious, spiritual, and ethical traditions. This fully online degree is organized around CTS’s Mission and Commitments of Interreligious Engagement, the Study of Black Faith and Life, LGBTQ+ Religious Studies, and Chaplaincy Studies. The partnership with the Bayan Islamic Graduate School will allow students to pursue a degree at CTS that prepares them for Islamic Religious Leadership. A faculty advisor will work closely with each student to identify appropriate advanced courses and research questions that bring the school’s distinctive emphases to bear on specific issues in religious leadership. Such issues might involve traditional practices of ministry such as preaching, worship, pastoral care or more specialized ministries such as those associated with social service agencies, community activism, or specific types of chaplaincy.

View the Most Recent Handbook

Application Due Date: February 1
Tuition: TBA

Program Goals
At the conclusion of the CTS DMin program, a student will be able to:

  • Reflect critically from the perspective of diverse religious, spiritual, and ethical traditions integrated with advanced theories of leadership in order to engage significant public issues effectively
  • Analyze the religious and social dimensions of particular, real-world contexts so as to design fresh approaches to public ministry
  • Demonstrate growth in spiritual wisdom, personal integrity, and the competencies necessary for effective leadership in public ministry
  • Communicate persuasively insights gained from research and reflection on significant social issues in ministry both to peers in ministry and to the wider public

Learning Outcomes

  1. Integrating Theory, Theology, and Leadership: Demonstrate advanced critical thinking within a student’s lifestance or tradition, and the ability to integrate that knowledge with theories of religious leadership that can transform individual and communal practices to advance justice and mercy in the world.
  2. Contextual Understanding: Design and implement a focused research project that demonstrates deep understanding of a particular cultural context and the ecology of public ministry in that context.
  3. Leadership in Public Ministry with ethical and spiritual integrity: Demonstrate advanced understanding of and increased personal capacity in the practical skills, cultural competencies, and professional characteristics necessary for leadership in the work of public ministry.
  4. Persuasive Communication: Write a coherent and persuasive thesis and demonstrate the ability to communicate insights gained from DMin research and their relevance to peers in ministry and to the wider public to promote effective strategies for change.