Thank you for your interest in the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree program at Hampton University. Individuals admitted in the Doctor of Philosophy program will successfully complete 54-hours above the Master’s degree. The PhD is an advanced research degree, which emphasizes the acquisition of knowledge in a specialized field using social scientific research skills. Courses in this program are 8-weeks in length, with the student typically completing four courses over the course of a semester, one following another. Each 8-week course requires the same number of hours of engagement as a 16-week course, assuring comparability in rigor, breadth, depth of content, and learning outcomes. This expanded university-based program of religious and theological study is undergirded by the larger academic community of Hampton University as a comprehensive research institution. In addition, communities of faith along with other diverse settings and organizations will serve as hands-on laboratories and teaching sites for supervised internships as a part of dissertation research, field education, and practical experiences in public theology and community engagement. The Doctor of Philosophy degree program is designed to produce pastoral scholars and theologians to advance original research delivered as the dissertation. The PhD is designed with a heavy concentration on research and writing in the theological disciplines and related fields. Doctoral Students, under the guidance of a research chair are required to immerse themselves in a multi-year continuous cycle of independent study and research in theology and its engagement in the public square.