DTL Program Description

The degree has three primary OPTIONS for focus:

(Option 1) City Transformation: Engages leaders in the process of exegeting their cities and mobilizing city leadership to address the core problems and best opportunities in their city, culminating with a city consultation project and doctoral final project focused on a transformation process in their city.

(Option 2) Entrepreneurial Organizational Transformation: Focuses leaders in assessing their own organization’s potential contribution to city transformation culminating in a change process project and doctoral final project focused on their organization. Leaders in the following areas receive specialized curriculum:

1. Non-profit/NGO leaders: focuses on the non-profit in any global context.
2. Transformational Business leaders: focuses on the business context.
3. Leadership Foundations: focuses on the Leadership Foundation context.
4. Emerging Urban Leaders: focuses on the student ministry context.
5. North American Urban Leadership: focuses on North American urban contexts, including non-profit leaders.

(Option 3) Cultural Transformation: Equips leaders to discern their gifts and calling; intensify their spiritual development; and create opportunities for transformational influence in the cultures where they live and work.

Relationship of the DTL to the DMin:

The DTL will take a similar format to BGU’s current DMin:
(1) An Overture section (8 credits) that introduces students to new global city themes and paradigms. While the DMin requires 16 hours in this section including cross-continent exposure, the DTL will require 8 hours with opportunities for students to expand this to 16 hours if they feel the added exposure will enhance their doctoral final project. For many students, the DTL will add a section between the Overture and Project Design course that will be an Organizational Assessment course (8 hours) which is in the place of the DMin Overture 2 cross continent exposure course.
(2) A Project Design / Methodology Course (2 credits) which helps a student develop their project. Unlike BGU’s current DMin Research Bridge which focuses heavily on Bible research and communication as the basis for the dissertation project, the Project Design course will focus more on organizational needs and leadership issues.
(3) Electives (12 credits) which are focused on the three primary areas of focus listed above.
(4) Doctoral Final Project (8 credits) which is focused on an organizational or city wide project, unlike the DMin which has a strong emphasis on Biblical communication or a local church-based project.