current Catalog - Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

MASTER OF THEOLOGYHebrew for admission into the program, while those concentrating in the OldTestament must be competent in Hebrew and those concentrating in the NewTestament in Greek. Advanced competence in the requisite biblical languages mustbe demonstrated through examination before the comprehensive examination.In historical and theological studies and in world Christianity and mission,students for whom English is not a primary language may petition to have advancedacademic English count as their modern research language. Students for whomEnglish is the primary language often select German, French, Spanish or Arabic astheir modern research language, although students are encouraged to petition to havethe language most central to their research interests accepted. Competence in theselected research language must be demonstrated through examination before thecomprehensive examination.Application from the Th.M. Program to the Ph.D. ProgramStudents admitted into the Th.M. program who want to be considered for admissioninto the Ph.D. program must submit• a written petition to take the Th.M. comprehensive examination at the qualifyinglevel,• three letters of recommendation with at least two written by LSTC facultymembers,• a two-page essay of intellectual and vocational goals,• GRE scores if not already submitted,• two academic papers from courses taken at LSTC,• any other materials required by the faculty division.In addition, the petitioner must demonstrate fulfillment of the first languagerequirement(s) for the Ph.D.This petition and all supporting documents listed above must be submitted tothe Advanced Studies Office along with the comprehensive/qualifying examinationproposal, for action by the faculty division in advance of the comprehensive/qualifying examination.If the petition is approved, the student will be allowed to take the Th.M.comprehensive examination at the qualifying level. A decision regarding admissioninto the Ph.D. program will be made subsequently by the entire faculty divisionon the basis of this examination as well as on the strength of the other materialssubmitted and of the student’s performance during the entire program. Strategicinterests related to faculty workload and the development of selected academic fieldsof study will also be considered.Admission from the Th.M. program into the Ph.D. program is highly selectiveand not automatic. In successful cases, the Th.M. comprehensive examination passedat the qualifying level serves as the Ph.D. qualifying examination, and studentsreceive credit for courses taken during the Th.M. program as part of the twelvecourses required for the doctorate.57