Doctorate in Spiritual Theology (Ph.D)

Doctorate in Spiritual Theology offered by the IIS is oriented to assist doctoral students to make personal contribution to scientific and theological research through the writing of a dissertation, which is to be accomplished under the guidance of a competent professor, within a reasonable time-limit. The candidates study in depth and specialize in one specific theme, without neglecting the over-all comprehension and mastery of the vast field of Spirituality.

Eligibility:

Admission to the Doctoral Studies in Spiritual Theology demands a canonically valid Master’s Degree in Spiritual Theology (MTh) with at least a high first class, the validity of which will be adjudged by the competent authorities of the Institute. In case of necessity, the student should pass a qualifying examination conducted by the Institute.

Participation:

In the first year of the research the student has to attend the Methodology Seminar and the Inter-Disciplinary seminar organized by the Faculty and validate the specialized courses prescribed by his/her moderator in consultation with the concerned Head of the Department. Doctoral students have toparticipate in all the doctoral programmes organized by IIS in association with St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute and in alliance with certain norms followed by the Bangalore University. These programmes are aimed at expanding the candidate’s knowledge and experience through in-depth and scientific methodological training, systematic guidance, discussion with fellow researchers, consultation with professors in their areas of specialization, presentation of the results of research, publications and development of further progressive skills through workshops, learning of source-languages and hermeneutic and analytic intellectual pursuits. Participation in the doctoral programmes is a sine qua non for obtaining the Doctor’s Degree in theology with specialization in Spirituality. The work can be done in the form of courses, seminars or paper of specialization determined by the Department of Spirituality.

Moderators:

The research will be conducted under the guidance of a moderator chosen by the candidate and approved by the Board of Post-Graduate Studies. Depending on the nature of the research, the board, if it deems it necessary, can suggest the second moderator already at the time of the registration of the topic. The first moderator should be a qualified member of the faculty. In rare cases, if necessary, the board can permit the first moderator from outside the Faculty. In such cases the second moderator should be from the Institute.

Requirements:

Besides English, the Doctoral Candidates should have an advanced knowledge of the classical languages, such as, Hebrew, Greek and Latin as may be required by the nature of the research and also a working knowledge of at least one of the modern languages, such as, German, Spanish, Italian or French.

Doctoral Seminar :

Every doctoral student is obliged to take part in all the doctoral seminars conducted by IIS from the beginning of their doctoral studies till the doctoral defense and present at least two scientific seminar papers during the course of their research. Each presentation of the seminar paper is equivalent to a two credit course. The doctoral seminar is to enhance the knowledge of the candidate regarding a topic of relevance and importance, within the scope of his/her study. The seminar is offered by the Institute every year under the guidance of competent professors. The topics of the seminar are allotted by the Department of Spirituality.

Doctoral Colloquium

The doctoral colloquium conducted by IIS is intended to ensure the continuityof the research and to enhance the quality of the content of the research. Once in a year the doctoral students of IIS come together, along with the Staff and members of IIS, for a constructive and critical evaluation of the progress of their doctoral studies. The initial two days of the doctoral colloquium will be dedicated for an input session on any one of the relevant themes in Spirituality. Thereafter, each student will present a report of the progress, the content, relevance and the originality of his/her research in a scientific manner. Participants will be given an opportunity to evaluate, criticize and to suggest changes for the further betterment of the presented exposition. Participation of every doctoral student in all the doctoral colloquiums is obligatory.

Publications:

One of the requirements to complete the Doctoral Programme in IIS is the publishing off a scientific article in a journal or publication with international distribution. The elaboration of the article has to be directed by the moderator of the candidate. The publishing of these articles would be equivalent to a three credit course. The writing of these articles have to be supervised by the moderator of the thesis.

Other Requirements:

The participation of the doctoral student in various activities like, Study Meetings, Seminars, Study Trips and International Scientific Congresses would be acknowledged by the department as equivalent to a one credit course. So too, supervised study trips to other universities or research centres and a written report on it would be equivalent to a one credit course.

Dissertation

• The proposal of the doctoral dissertation has to be examined and approved by the board of Post-Graduate Studies along with the moderator and two or three members of the concerned department.
• The candidate shall meet his/her moderator regularly to discuss the progress of the research. The moderator requires to prepare an annual report on the performance and progress of the candidate and send it to the Director of the board of Post-Graduate Studies.
• Upon the completion of the research three unbound copies of the dissertation are to be submitted by the candidate to the registrar who will give them to the three moderators. The page limit of the doctoral dissertation is 250-400, excluding the Bibliography and the Appendices. The dissertation, before being defended, has to be evaluated by the moderator and by two other readers, one of whom may be preferrably from outside the institute. The second and third readers are to be fixed by Director/Dean in consultation with the head of the concerned department. The readers shall submit their reports of the dissertation within four to six weeks. Only when two of the three readers have given their approval in writing, the thesis will be accepted for the defence. The candidate is expected to incorporate the corrections and suggestions given by the moderator and the two readers and submit four copies to the office of the Dean. If the dissertation is found below the required standard, it shall be returned to the candidate for further improvement and a second session may be arranged for approval after six months.
• The bound copies of the thesis are to be submitted at least one month before the defense. The duration of the defense will be one hour and a half.
• The public defence: The public defence shall be fixed by the moderator in consultation with the director of the faculty of Spirituality. It shall be for the duration of one and a half hours. The moderator and the co-moderator, along with competent staff delegated by the institute, constitute the panel of examiner.
• Marks and grading system: The final grade of the doctoral candidate will be determined by adding up the marks according to the following proportions: Out of 100, Research Papers and Seminars will occupy 20%, Written Dissertation will contribute 60% and Public Defence will complete 20%.
• Special Fees: Besides the annual fees, the candidate shall pay special fees as prescribed by the Institute for the Research Proposal, Dissertation Approval and for the Public Defence.
• Publication of the Thesis: To obtain the doctoral certificate one has to publish the whole or a part of the thesis and submit 30 copies of the same to the Institute. Books should be printed on a quality paper with the standard size (demy 1/8 = 8.5′ x 5.5′).

Guidelines for the Presentation of Dissertations:

• The candidate has to fill-in an application prescribed for this purpose after selecting the topic and hand it over to the Dean.
• The Dissertation should be typed in white paper of good quality and sufficient opacity. All sheets of paper used should be of the same quality. Manifold paper should not be used.
• An “A 4″ size paper should be used for the dissertation. The text of the dissertation should be typed with 1.5′ line spacing, except in the case where quotations are given in indent. A space of 1.5” on the left margin and a space of 1′ on the right margin should be kept. A space of 1′ should be kept on the top and at the bottom of the page. Dissertation should be typed only on one side of the paper.
• The cover page shall have the format approved by the Institute.
• A dissertation, which is submitted without following the above requirements will not be accepted.

Fees