Welcome to the home page for the research doctoral programs. We are a close-knit community of scholars committed to guiding and shaping the next generation of religious teachers and leaders. Our faculty and students are active members of various professional societies, engaging in research aimed at producing healthy churches.

Be sure to check out our two newest majors, Christian Apologetics and Christian Leadership, both of which are available by synchronous interactive video (SYNC) as described below. For details on these majors, see our Program Description page.

In June 2016 the ATS Board of Commissioners approved a three-year experiment allowing an exception to the Commission's PhD residency requirement that "courses, seminars, and colloquia for research doctoral degrees shall normally be completed on the main campus" (Degree Program Standard J, section J.3.1.1). This experiment is limited to offering those courses (roughly two-thirds of the PhD program's total credits) through synchronous interactive video, not through asynchronous means.

Approval of this exception means that students who are unable to take advantage of the campus scholarly environment can participate fully in seminars and colloquia through live Internet connections. Some workshop courses still will require travel to the main campus in January or summer breaks.

Interested? Read more about the NOBTS SYNC delivery system and the breakdown of delivery options by major.

You also may want to consider visiting the campus during our October 25-27, 2018 Campus Preview. In addition to registering on the Campus Preview page, be sure to contact the Office of Research Doctoral Programs so we can arrange for you to meet with professors in your area of interest.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Jeffrey B. Riley Associate Dean, Research Doctoral Programs      Professor of Ethics