Doctor of Philosophy, Organizational Leadership: Ministerial Leadership

Program Plan

Doctor of Philosophy, Organizational Leadership: Ministerial Leadership Plan  

Program Overview 

PhD-DSL Program Overview  

Mission

Students will use their Divine Design, God-given talents and passions, as Organizational Leadership scholars to serve Christ and the world in their life, careers and ministry, learning, and leadership. They will exemplify leader traits (Be), leadership studies (Know), and work in academia or business (Do). Courses contain face-to-face (F2F) residencies on the SEU campus in Lakeland, Florida, and virtual asynchronous and synchronous components online.

Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership: Ministerial Leadership

A research-based, multidisciplinary program designed for individuals called to advance Christian leadership and organizational scholarship within ministry contexts. This program prepares students to teach and conduct research at colleges, universities, and seminaries, or to serve as researchers, consultants, or leaders within churches, denominational bodies, nonprofits, mission agencies, and other faith-based or global organizations. Emphasizing both academic rigor and spiritual formation, this concentration integrates biblical principles with leadership theory and practice to address the evolving needs of contemporary Christian ministry in diverse cultural contexts.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLO)

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to do the following:

• Core 1: Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of leadership theory by analyzing and evaluating organizational trends.
• Core 2: Apply qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research to study and advise organizations.
• PhD 1: Advance Organizational Leadership scholarship toward current and future applications.
• PhD 2: Conduct Organizational Leadership scholarship through regular publication, collaboration, and education.
• Ministry PLO: Advance and conduct leadership and ministry scholarship toward current and future applications of contemporary Christian ministry by analyzing and evaluating global trends of Christianity in diverse organizational contexts.

Career Options

• Professor or Scholar of Ministry Leadership in universities, seminaries, or Bible colleges
• Director of Leadership Development for churches, denominations, or global ministries
• Faith-Based Organizational Consultant or Think Tank Contributor
• Ministry Researcher for nonprofit organizations, mission agencies, or educational institutions
• Executive Leader in parachurch or international relief and development organizations
• Strategic Advisor for Christian nonprofits, church networks, or denominational leadership teams
• Author or Speaker specializing in ministry leadership, culture, and organizational health

Program Summary

The PhD in Organizational Leadership consists of 16 courses (48 credit hours) plus a minimum of 12 credit hours of dissertation work. Our delivery model is hybrid. We will conduct residencies each semester. Summer residency is 5 days in early May, typically the week before Mother’s Day. Fall residency is 3 days, just before and during Labor Day weekend at the end of August, beginning of September. Spring residency is 3 days in March and coincides with SEU’s Leadership Forum. It falls during the middle of that semester. Courses are offered in 8-week sessions. Some courses contain face-to-face classroom time during residencies. Others are completely online. These will contain both asynchronous and synchronous sessions, like webinars and virtual lectures.

Graduation Requirements

• PhD students complete 48 hours of coursework and 12 hours of dissertation for a total of 60 credit hours.
• The minimum GPA requirement is 3.0. Grades of less than C- will not be counted toward degree completion.
• Pass all questions on the comprehensive exam
• Successfully defend their dissertation.

Entrance Requirements

Prospective students must provide evidence of character, excellence in scholarship, experience with leadership, and potential to conduct scholarly research and present results at the doctoral level. Requirements:

• Master’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Official transcripts are required.
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae. We will holistically evaluate this to determine how the person’s past education and work experience have established a basis for continued development of higher-level academic skills in the study of leadership.
• Doctoral Writing Sample that demonstrates your research, writing, analytical, and problem-solving skills. See specific requirements below. Writing samples play an important role in helping the Admissions Committee evaluate a doctoral applicant’s research, writing, analytical, and problem-solving skills. Please provide a 600-word essay addressing the topic. E-mail your doctoral writing sample to the Admission Office at admission@seu.edu.
  • What is the most pressing leadership issue of today? We will evaluate it with the following criteria:
    • Thesis Development and Critical Thinking. The thesis expresses the main idea of the paper in one sentence and informs the reader of the paper’s focus. Critical thinking is the act of examining, analyzing, and evaluating information, followed by drawing accurate conclusions.
    • Paper is a professional product. It is separated into clear sections. It includes a clear transition from one section to the next. The paper is free of capitalization, format, grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
    • Correct writing style. Professional publications require specific writing styles in order to get published. Compose the writing sample in APA, MLA, or another acceptable style. Please state the style you use. Ensure you use the style’s paper format, in-text citations, and reference/works cited/bibliography section.
    • Use one leadership book, one scholarly journal article, and one online news article in your essay.

Other policies specific to this program 

Transfer credits

Doctoral coursework from regionally accredited universities may be transferable to your doctoral program on a case-by-case basis. Transfer courses must have been at the doctoral level, earned a grade B or higher, and should be an appropriate match to the courses required in SEU’s doctoral program. If you have completed graduate coursework after your master’s degree that was not included in another degree and which you believe should be counted toward your doctoral plan of study, discuss these courses with your academic advisor in your first advising session. You must submit copies of your unofficial transcript, the course catalog description, and official information from the institution’s catalog. Transfer courses must be approved by the academic advisor at the point of admission to the program. Future courses from other universities will not be transferred without prior approval from the academic advisor and PhD Coordinator.

Overview of the Dissertation Process 

Once you have passed your comprehensive exams, you must continuously register for dissertation credits. The dissertation is the capstone research and writing project designed to demonstrate program mastery and to make an original contribution to the leadership literature. The dissertation is required, and all doctoral candidates must enroll in a minimum of three dissertation credits each semester while working on the dissertation. A minimum of 12 dissertation credits must be earned before students can graduate. If a student has not successfully defended their dissertation, professionally edited their dissertation, and published to ProQuest and Fire Scholars, they will enroll in a 1-credit dissertation continuation course until those tasks are completed. Students will be actively involved in selecting their dissertation chair and committee members, and will be expected to collaborate and communicate with their chair and committee members on a regular basis throughout the entire dissertation process. The dissertation consists of six phases.

• Chapter 1 Introduction. The first phase of the dissertation process is designed to prepare doctoral students to develop and defend a research proposal. The proposal defense will take place after chapters 1 – 3 are completed and accepted by the committee.
• Chapter 2 Literature Review. Second, students will conduct and write a review of the literature related to their dissertation research.
• Chapter 3 Methodology. Third, students will write the research methods section of the dissertation and begin the data collection phase of the dissertation.
• Chapter 4 Results. Fourth, students will analyze their research data and write the results section of the dissertation.
• Chapter 5 Discussion. Fifth, students will write the discussion section of the dissertation.
• Defense. This is the final phase of the dissertation. Students will defend the research study and prepare the dissertation for dissemination to the public.