Doctor of Intercultural Studies (DIS)
The purpose of the Doctor of Intercultural Studies – (DIS) is to prepare leaders more deeply for religious leadership and scholarship in intercultural settings through advanced study and research in the interdisciplinary field combing intercultural studies and missiology from the Korean Protestant perspective. The program is intended to qualify graduates for intercultural ministry and academic teaching.
Program Learning Outcomes
Degree Requirements
At the end of the program, graduates will be able to do the following:
Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the history of intercultural studies and missiology including contemporary and Korean church perspectives.
Demonstrate a mastery of theological foundations and methodology of the interdisciplinary field of intercultural studies/missiology.
Demonstrate advanced competence to apply research methods and conduct original research and writing that contributes to intercultural studies/missiology.
Demonstrate capacities for religious leadership in intercultural settings and teaching suitable for higher education.
This degree requires 60 semester credits, which may be completed within three to four years of full-time study – two years of coursework followed by one to two years of comprehensive examinations and dissertation research and writing.
The Coursework encompasses four areas: biblical and historical studies (3 courses), intercultural studies (3 courses), missiological studies (4 courses), and contextual studies (3 courses). All students must complete all coursework with a min. 3.30 GPA to qualify for graduation.
All doctoral students are required to take comprehensive examinations to demonstrate that they are prepared to advance to candidacy and undertake independent research. Students who successfully achieve candidate status by passing the exams will enroll in a doctoral dissertation course to begin independent research and dissertation under the supervision of a faculty mentor.
All students must present an acceptable dissertation and pass an oral defense of the dissertation before the student’s dissertation committee to qualify for the doctoral degree.
The maximum time limit for completion of the DISM is eight years. This time limit may only be extended in special circumstances by petition to the academic dean.
Curriculum
BI 712 - Mission of Acts
FM 503 - Family Ministry & Mission
IS 721 - Global Culture and Religion
IS 758 - 리더십 개발론 Intercultural Leadership
IS 770 - 언어와 문화 Language and Culture
MN 522 - 리더십 평생개발론 Leadership Development
MN 543 - 가정사역과 상담 Family Ministry & Counseling
MN 585 - 통합적 가족 치료 Integrative Family Therapy
MN 781 - 맨토링과 은사개발 Mentoring & Giftedness
MS 481 - 하나님형상 회복과 치유 The Counseling Ministry for Restoration
MS 501 - 성서의 선교원리 Biblical Principles of Mission
MS 534 - 바울의 선교신학 Pauline Theology of Mission
MS 543 - 교육을 통한 라이프 비젼 세우기 Building the Life Vision Education
MS 553 - 비전과 교육 Lifelong Vision and Learning
MS 556 - 자녀교육과 상담 Christian Parenting and Counseling
MS 558 - 세계 선교 역사 History of Christian World Mission
MS 565 - 선교 문화인류학 Mission and Cultural Anthropology
MS 568 - 타문화권 전도와 교회개척 Cross-Cultural Evangelism and Church Planting
MS 710 - 현대선교 신학 Contemporary Missiology
MS 800 - 논문 작성법 Missiological Research and Writing
MS 818 - 선교와 지역연구 Mission Strategies Seminar
MS 893 - 이슬람 확산과 선교 Spread of Islam and Mission
TH 590 - 신학 영어 Theological English
TH 710 - Asian Religions History of Church (Asia)
Comprehensive Examinations and Dissertation
Completion of the coursework phase of the doctoral program requires a mastery of the four subject areas of the doctoral curriculum: biblical/historical studies, intercultural, missiological, and contextual studies.
The mastery of the subject areas is demonstrated by sustaining four written comprehensive examinations during the regular semester following the completion of coursework. Comprehensive examinations will take place over five days.
Questions will be given at the beginning of the exam week, and answers must be submitted electronically to the program director at the end of the exam week.
Students will be able to use all printed and electronic resources they desire to formulate their answers.
No proctor is required.
Completion of examinations requires a two-hour oral examination based on the four written exams.
The exams will be graded by a select committee of the faculty using the categories Fail, Sufficient, and Exceptional.
No examination, written or oral, may be attempted more than twice.
Students must submit an acceptable dissertation proposal to the faculty mentor within one year after advancement to degree candidacy. A carefully designed dissertation proposal (10 pages in length) must demonstrate that the research topic is chosen thoughtfully, appropriate methodology is applied, the chapter-by-chapter outline is logical and coherent, and the bibliography is relevant and reasonably comprehensive.
Doctoral candidates must submit an acceptable scholarly dissertation and pass an oral defense of the dissertation before the dissertation committee as the final requirements for graduation.
As the centerpiece of the doctoral study at Vine, the dissertation must demonstrate competence to conduct independent scholarly inquiry using appropriate research methods and to produce original research and writing that contributes to the interdisciplinary field combining intercultural studies and missiology.
The normal length of the dissertation is between 150 and 200 pages.
The student’s dissertation committee consisting of the primary mentor (chair) and two other members of the Vine faculty will examine the dissertation and will decide whether the dissertation is ready for a public defense.
Dissertation Committee
The faculty mentor and two other members of the Vine faculty constitute the student’s dissertation committee. Serving as the committee chair, the primary mentor identifies the remaining committee members to serve as internal readers. When the student prepares an acceptable dissertation proposal, the mentor brings the proposal and the names of the committee members to the program director for the academic committee’s final approval. The mentor/chair determines the extent to which the other committee members are asked to participate in the dissertation process.
Doctor of Education in Intercultural Studies
A. Program Core (Advanced Foundations)
EDIS 800 Advanced Foundations of Intercultural Studies
EDIS 810 Globalization, Culture, and Education
EDIS 820 Advanced Intercultural Communication and Negotiation
EDIS 830 Worldviews, Religion, and Cultural Systems
EDIS 840 Equity, Social Justice, and Global Education Policy
EDIS 850 Ethical Leadership in Intercultural and International Contexts
B. Research Methods & Inquiry
EDIS 860 Doctoral Research Design and Methodology
EDIS 870 Qualitative Research in Intercultural and Global Contexts
EDIS 880 Quantitative and Mixed Methods Research
EDIS 890 Advanced Program Evaluation and Impact Assessment
C. Leadership, Policy, and Practice
EDIS 900 Strategic Leadership in Multicultural and International Organizations
EDIS 910 Comparative and International Education System
EDIS 920 Policy Analysis in Global and Intercultural Education
EDIS 930 Organizational Change in Cross-Cultural Settings
D. Professional Practice & Applied Scholarship
EDIS 940 Intercultural Leadership Practicum / Residency
EDIS 950 Action Research and Practitioner Scholarship
E. Dissertation Sequence
EDIS 960 Dissertation Seminar I: Problem Identification and Literature Review
EDIS 970 Dissertation Seminar II: Proposal Developmen
EDIS 980 Dissertation Seminar III: Data Collection and Analysis
EDIS 990 Dissertation Completion and Defense
F. Optional Concentration Electives (Choose as approved)
EDIS 995 Migration, Diaspora, and Transnational Educatio
EDIS 996 Peacebuilding, Conflict Transformation, and Education
EDIS 997 Faith, Mission, and Intercultural Engagement
EDIS 998 Global Higher Education Leadership
EDIS 999 Technology, AI, and Intercultural Learning