Professional Doctoral Degree Program: Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The Doctor of Ministry degree is designed for ministry professionals who desire to enhance their leadership skills and theological imagination. While fully immersed in your own ministry context, you are invited into a process of engagement with a community of scholarship and a cohort of peers in order to cultivate creative and effective ministries in a changing world.

At the Toronto School of Theology (TST), you will experience a flexible, ecumenical, cross-cultural program that draws on your own expertise in ministry, and enables you to pursue your most fascinating and urgent questions about ministry. Intended for those with a Master of Divinity or equivalent Master’s degree, the DMin is a doctoral degree offered conjointly with the University of Toronto. Your studies will be supported by the vast resources of the University of Toronto and the member colleges of TST, including world renowned faculty and one of the best library systems in the world.

This 4-year program allows you to work full-time in your ministry context, spending 2-3 weeks on campus at the University of Toronto each spring. Other program requirements are fulfilled right where you live and serve.

Are you ready to transform your ministry? Are you yearning for space to grow and learn? We are excited to work with you as you imagine your future. Please contact the Interim DMin Director or the DMin Administrator for a conversation about how this program might revitalize your ministry and your vocation.

Overview of the Program

A full description of program requirements can be found at: DMin Handbook.

The DMin program involves learning that is self-directed, communal, interdisciplinary and integrative. The key aspects of the program are:

• A Collaborative learning group (CLG) that meets together on campus for 2 weeks each June, and continues to provide support and inspiration online throughout the year. This group will work through three core courses together: Contextual Theology; Theology of Ministry; and Qualitative Research Methods.
• A Ministry Base Group (MBG) involves individuals from your own ministry context who are co-learners on your journey – offering wisdom, support and insights into your unique ministry practices.
• Four elective courses give you an opportunity to engage with a variety of gifted faculty members whose teaching and research abilities will deepen your understanding of both the theology and practice of ministry.
• You will work with an advisor from your college of registration (one of the TST member colleges), as well as a Thesis Supervisor with expertise in your specific area of interest. With the support of these faculty members, the DMin Director and DMin Administrator, you will develop an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP); engage in a process of interdisciplinary learning which will result in a comprehensive examination; create a thesis proposal that addresses a specific question relevant to your ministry context; and finally, create and defend a thesis that integrates theology, practice and context.