Center for Missiological Research

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The School of Intercultural Studies' Center for Missiological Research (CMR) contributes to the ministry and witness of the global church by equipping men and women from around the world for faithful leadership in missiological education and practice. The Center for Missiological Research provides an exemplary doctoral-level missiological program centered on a community of scholars drawn from around the world and equipped to address the seminal missiological issues facing the global church in this century. The Center offers two advanced degree programs: the Master of Theology (ThM) in Missiology and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Intercultural Studies.

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DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN INTERCULTURAL STUDIES 

The Doctor of Philosophy in Intercultural Studies (PhD ICS) represents the highest level of academic certification, and is designed to contribute to the development of missiological scholarship and prepare a person to teach at university and graduate levels. The flexible tutorial-based structure of the program is designed to support students in the pursuit of a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives and topics while also ensuring that a core commitment and relevance to missiology is maintained. 

Students in the PhD in Intercultural Studies program are assigned a mentor at the time of admission to the program who helps to guide and frame the course of their study plan. Additionally, upon successful completion of the Initial Research Proposal Evaluation (at the end of the first year of study) the student is assigned a Guidance Committee of one or two additional faculty members to help further develop their study program.
 

 

Student Learning Outcomes
 

In accordance with our commitment to provide the highest level of educational effectiveness possible through a healthy culture of assessment, and in alignment with the Fuller Institutional Student Learning Outcomes, this program offers the following learning outcomes: 

  • Graduates demonstrate ability to think integratively about their subject area and its relationship with corresponding/related disciplines.
     
  • Graduates are equipped to engage in academic debate and critique work (theirs and others) for the benefit of the community of faith and scholarship.  
  • Graduates demonstrate ability to engage in significant missiological research and writing appropriate for their discipline and relevant to their context.  
  • Graduates demonstrate ability to apply research and missiological reflection to specific situations in the future (in their context). 
  • Graduates demonstrate an integrated lifelong learning posture, applicable to personal, professional, and spiritual growth. 
  • Graduates are equipped to contribute to learning and have the potential to exert influential leadership within their particular sphere of endeavor. 

Furthermore, students in the PhD in Intercultural Studies achieve the following portfolio of accomplishments: 

  • an original contribution to missiological theory and knowledge; 
  • a potentially practical contribution to God’s mission and God’s church; 
  • mastery in the discipline(s) and/or sub-discipline(s) relevant to the research focus; 
  • competence in research as a craft; and 
  • competence in thinking missiologically. 

The School of Intercultural Studies portfolio also includes three additional requirements: 

  • supervised experience teaching at the graduate level;
  • significant activities in the CMR Community of Scholars; and
  • attention to integrating spiritual formation and academic life.

 
 

Admission Requirements 

Applicants to the PhD in Intercultural Studies program must:

  • Complete an Application for Admission
  • Submit official transcripts of all postsecondary schools attended, showing a master's degree from an accredited institution with a grade point average of 3.7 or higher
  • Demonstrate successful completion of the following prerequisite coursework:
    • Theology: 40 quarter units (27 semester units). Note that 16 of the 40 quarter units may be taken at the undergraduate level. 
    •   Missiology: 40 quarter units (27 semester units) including theology of missions and cultural anthropology
     
  • Have significant practical experience (a minimum of three years) in the field of proposed research
  • Submit a Description of Proposed Research Interest
  • Submit a 40-50 page writing sample in English
  • Submit three academic references
  • Successfully pass a 3-hour PhD qualifying exam that will test their foundational knowledge of missiology and the specific area of their proposed doctoral research
  • If English is not the student's first language, submit an official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of at least 600 (paper), or 250 (computer), or 100  (internet) taken within the past two years, or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Academic Format, with a minimum score of 7.0, taken within the past two years.

 

Curriculum 

The School of Intercultural Studies PhD curriculum is based on a set of flexible tutorials and methods classes that begins after the completion of a structured series of classes to be finished by the end of the first year: 

 

  • MI803 Advanced Missiological Research (2 units)
  • MI804A/B/C Missiology as a Discipline (8 units)
  • primary discipline literature review (8 units)
  • MI806 Initial Research Design (2 units)

Remaining requirements include:

  • four tutorials (8 units each)
  • three Reserach Methods classes (4 units each)
  • dissertation (0 units)

The program also requires that the student successfully completes each of the following checkpoints at specified times throughout the program:

  • initial research proposal evaluation (end of first year);
  • research proposal defense (after fourth tutorial);
  • comprehensive examinations (during or after completion of sixth tutorial)
  • dissertation defense (after completion of dissertation)

While in residence, students are also required to participate in regular faculty and peer presentations and critiques, called CMR Colloquia.

 

Residency Requirements. Students are required to spend approximately 18 months on campus in total. Nine months of their first year in the program must be spent on the Pasadena campus. The remainder of the total residency requirement does not need to be continuous, and details are worked out with the student's mentor. In addition to the first year, students should plan to be on campus during quarters in which relevant methods and tutorial seminar classes are offered, and must plan to be on campus for:

 

  • their research plan defense, which takes place between the end of the fourth and before the sixth tutorial, and
  • the last quarter(s) when a student is completing and defending their dissertation, making their post-defense changes, and final editing.

 

Transfer Credit. Transfer credit is not accepted for this degree.

Distance Learning. While significant portions of this doctoral program, including field research, can be done away from the Fuller campus, this degree program is not considered a distance learning degree program. Students are expected to be in regular contact with their mentor and tutors for each part of the program. Online and other distance learning classes are not available.

Time Limits. The PhD in Intercultural Studies is designed to be completed in three to five years. However, in exceptional situations permission may be granted to extend the program to as many as ten years. Coursework is expected to be completed in the quarters in which it is registered. Students who have not yet completed their comprehensive exams, and who do not register for new tutorials or methods classes for eight quarters or more will be placed on inactive status. Students who do not reactivate their programs within four quarters of being moved to inactive status may be dropped from the program.

Reinstatement. A student on inactive status may reactivate their program with a petition to the Doctoral Committee including a plan for completion of their program and a brief reapplication form. Their progress will be closely monitored to see that they make steady progress.

 


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MASTER OF THEOLOGY IN MISSIOLOGY 

The Master of Theology in Missiology (ThM in Missiology) is a one-year degree which trains pastors, mission leaders, and denominational leaders to meet the challenge of ministering in an increasingly complex, multiethnic, multinational world. The ThM in Missiology provides students who have already earned the Master of Divinity degree (or its educational equivalent) the missiological framework for research and reflection by building on the biblical, theological, and historical studies gained through their previous work. The program enables practioners to pursue concentrated coursework in one area of missiological study, culminating in a reflective and research-based thesis.


Learning Outcomes 

  • Graduates will gain a missiological framework for research and reflection building on the biblical, theological, and historical studies gained through previous studies.
  • Graduates will demonstrate advanced understanding of a focused area of discipline within missiological study.
  • Graduates will demonstrate the capacity to use research methods and resources in the discipline, culminating in a thesis.

Crosscultural Ministry Experience 

The Master of Theology in Missiology is designed for practitioners with at least three years, or equivalent, of crosscultural ministry experience, i.e., ministry or service operating outside one's own cultural context with a people of different ethnicity.


Admission Requirements 

Students entering the Master of Theology in Missiology program must have earned a Master of Divinity degree from an accredited institution with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above. An official score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Academic Format, is required for those whose first language is not English. Please go to http://www.fuller.edu/admissions/apply/english-language-req.aspx for minimum required scores.

Students applying for the Master of Theology in Missiology are required to submit a 15-20 page research writing sample, indicate their choice of concentration, and provide a brief description of the topic they would like to pursue for the thesis.

The Master of Theology in Missiology is also available in the Korean language. English language ability is not required. For more information, contact the School of Intercultural Studies Korean Studies Office at 626-584-5574, by fax at 626-584-5275, or by e-mail at sisks-admissions@fuller.edu.


Residency Requirements 

At least 24 units (not including directed studies or the thesis) must be earned on the Pasadena campus. All work for the degree must be taken from the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Seminary.


Transfer Credit 

Transfer credit is not available for this program.


Curriculum 

The ThM in Missiology requires the successful completion of 40 quarter units in missiology and a thesis (8 units), all of which must be completed in the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller. Students may complete the degree in one year, or can pace the program over a longer period of part-time study.

Core Competencies in Missiology (20 units)

Each of the following:

  • MI610 Thinking Missiologically
  • MT620 Biblical Foundations of Mission

One of the following:

  • MB620 Anthropology
  • MB630 Language/Culture Learning and Mission
  • ME606 Intercultural Communication

Two of the following:

  • MC620 Church Growth in Contemporary Culture

    Choose One:
  • MH605 Introduction to Mission History
  • MH620 Expansion of the People of God
  • ML630 Lifelong Development

Concentration (28 units)

This area of the curriculum includes coursework (16 units), a Research Methods course (4 units), and a thesis (8 units). Students may choose from one of the following concentrations:

Children at Risk
Church and Culture
Global Christian Worship
International Development
Islamic Studies
Leadership