Of the SAIACS doctoral degrees, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) has two components: (a) the Pre-Doctoral Programme (PDP) and (b) Candidacy, which entails thesis writing.
- THE PRE-DOCTORAL PROGRAMME
- PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
- AWARD OPTIONS
- ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
- PERIOD OF STUDY
- RESIDENCY AND STUDIES ABROAD
- COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS
Prior to formal acceptance as a PhD candidate, students join the Pre-Doctoral Programme (PDP) under a Supervisor. The PDP has several objectives:
- To develop the student’s comprehensive general knowledge of their discipline.
- To reach reading competency in research languages as relevant to the specialization.
- To identify a possible topic for research.
- To allow the Supervisor to assess the student’s ability to engage in PhD level research.
The PDP will normally take 6-12 months when the student will:
- Read at least 1500 pages per month.
- Meet every two weeks with the Supervisor, bringing a written report or paper for discussion.
- Credit or audit modules (at MTh level) deemed relevant.
- Attend and participate in departmental doctoral seminars.
- Attend and participate in Doktorklub;
- Complete the required language studies.
(The following are the Departmental language requirements in addition to English: Biblical Greek and Hebrew; one modern European language; other languages as deemed necessary e.g., Aramaic, Arabic, Sanskrit, Urdu, Syriac, Ugaritic, Arabic.)