Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The 32-credit hour curriculum is structured to be completed over three years of part-time study. Course instruction takes place online, however it includes four short stays on Candler’s campus.

DMin students will be assigned a mentor who will assist in designing the final project required for the degree. Courses in each track are structured so students make steady progress on the project’s planning and design throughout the program.

The heart of the final project consists of crafting an innovation in ministry practice in the student’s location of choice. The design will build upon the issues and questions that arose during coursework, and the final product will serve as an ideal example of how Candler prepares real people to make a real difference in the real world.

Final projects in the Class of 2017 include:

• Racial inclusivity in college chaplaincy setting
• The efficacy of the district superintendent role in United Methodist history and polity
• Adult education and formation in a local church
• The role of “boundary leaders” in chaplain ministry
• The decline and possible revitalization of Wednesday evening suppers in a local church context
• How to help a local church better deal with issues of race and class
• How to help African American congregations become a more hospitable environment, especially to visitors
• Developing and teaching a college course strengthening town/gown relations
• Working with a church and a local elementary school to develop a program that reduces bullying
• Developing a training program to mentor at-risk children in church community
• Developing an interactive, communal approach to preaching
• The prophetic aspects of the pastoral task and the role of preacher
• The question of Christian authority in consumer culture, especially in an age of social media
• The role of the Magnificat in the rise of women leadership in the Alliance of Baptists
• The doctrine of resurrection in relation to the problem of church decline in North America
• The role of violence in the understanding of the peaceful God of the Bible
• Church revitalization in the Ninth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
• Helping a local church become more missional and more sensitive to interreligious dialogue
• Developing a program to help Christian professionals (especially business executives) unite faith and occupation
• Studying and implementing a program of contemplative prayer in a local church
• Church revitalization in a local church setting, particularly around the implementation and assessment of new Eucharistic worship service
• Studying the efficacy of the narrative lectionary for deeper biblical literacy, especially in African-American worship communities

At the beginning of the semester in which a student plans to graduate, the candidate must submit a formal application for the Doctor of Ministry degree before the deadline stated in the academic calendar. A late fee of $25 will be assessed for applications submitted after this date. The Application for Degree is available in OPUS during a window of time set by the university registrar each semester, approximately four weeks prior to the submission deadline.

The DMin is designed to be completed in three years. In extraordinary circumstances, a student may be allowed to complete the Final Project during a fourth year. When such a program extension is granted, a student enrolls in DM799. Doctor of Ministry Library Use and must pay the residency fee (currently $85 per semester) as well as other mandatory student fees for the fall and spring semester of the fourth year. Projects are then presented at the Festival of Learning at the end of the fourth year.