Admission to the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Program at BGU is based on a selection process conducted by the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC). The AAC reviews each application thoroughly to determine the applicant's qualifications as well as compatibility of the university programs to the applicant's educational goals. The applicant will be presented to the AAC for consideration after all required application materials have been received by the university.
Admission Requirements
Applicants are required to provide documents attesting to:
Degree Credential
A Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree or equivalent, a minimum of five years of ministry experience, and present engagement in ministry.
Applicants not holding a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree or its equivalent (defined as a student who has taken and passed with a B or better at least 80 (semester/trimester) credit hours in a master's theology program in one or more USDE recognized accredited programs, yet was not awarded the actual MDiv degree), but meeting and exceeding all other requirements, may pursue admission to the Extended DMin program as a Special Student. Only a limited number of applicants will be admitted as Special Students.
Standard admission requirements for the 60-credit Extended Doctor of Ministry degree program include a master's degree, a minimum of five years of ministry experience, and present engagement in ministry. Students completing their MTS at BGU have fulfilled the necessary prerequisites to be considered for the Extended DMin program.
The Extended DMin program requires additional graduate courses, e.g., Old Testament Theology, New Testament Theology, Global Christian History, and three electives for the total additional 20 credits. If the applicant has completed these courses at graduate level prior to entering the DMin program, they may be asked to complete other courses to fulfill the 20-hour graduate credit requirement. Although if a student has achieved some master's level courses, he or she is encouraged to enter into one of BGU's master's degrees and then move into the DMin.
English Language
Each student must demonstrate English-proficiency by: (1) showing that it is his/her native language, or (2) by having successfully completed an undergraduate or graduate school program in which English is the primary method of instruction, or (3) exhibiting sufficient English-language capabilities to succeed in the classroom and in the BGU DMin program as measured by a score of not less than 80 on the internet-based TOEFL or TOEFL-equivalent exams taken within the last five years. As an alternative to the TOEFL, BGU will accept the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), where the students have scored 6.5 or better.
Alternatively, if the student is from Mainland China, he or she will be required to attend the Total Immersion Program (TIP) that is held at Beijing University and must present a copy of the certificate that is awarded at the completion of that program. All students who are admitted using the TIP program will be admitted on a conditional basis. Once the student has successfully completed their first three courses (9 credit hours), they may be admitted under regular status if their course performance has proven satisfactory for graduate level work.
