Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology PhD

Admission Requirements

All applicants must meet the Graduate Programs Admission requirements. Admission to the PhD in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology program is granted to applicants who

• Hold an MA (or its equivalent) from an accredited institution in an appropriate field (Ancient Near Eastern history and/or archaeology, biblical history, anthropology).
• Show high promise of future usefulness to church and/or society.
• Read proficiently required ancient and modern languages as noted in the Language Requirements below.
• Minimum GRE score of 288.
• Demonstrate the ability to handle doctoral-level work in English according to the following guidelines:
  1. Applicants for whom English is not a primary language of communication are required to take the TOEFL exam and must achieve the entry level score of 90 for iBT TOEFL exam (equivalent to a paper based ITP TOEFL exam score of 575) for regular admission to the PhD program.
  2. Applicants who have received a bachelor’s or higher degree in the past 5 years from an institution where English is the medium of instruction are exempt from the requirement to take the TOEFL exam.
  3. All international students applying to the PhD programs are required to have a language evaluation interview with the program director whether or not they are required to take the TOEFL exam. The content of this interview may include reading and listening comprehension components and writing and speaking components. The interview can be in person or via Skype if the applicant is not in the Berrien Springs area. A proctor will be involved in any reading and writing components of the interview.
  4. Based on the results of the language evaluation interview the applicant may be required to take ESL courses to enhance their English language ability in one or more of the areas covered in the interview (reading, listening, speaking, writing).
  5. For an iBT TOEFL score between 80 and 89 (equivalent to a paper based ITP TOEFL score between 550 and 574), the applicant is eligible to enter the Seminary ESL Bridge program in which the student takes two courses with ESL and one 3 credit course in the PhD program. This is counted as full time student status.
  6. For iBT TOEFL scores below 80 (550 for ITP TOEFL) the applicant is ineligible for the Seminary ESL Bridge program.
  7. For further details regarding the Bridge program and its policies see the ESL website.
• Have 15 prerequisite credits in the chosen area of concentration.
• Have a graduate course in Research Methods (e.g. ANEA 640 - Research, Method and Theory in Archaeology   )

Admission to Advanced Standing. Advanced standing for the PhD in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology program may be granted for students who have post-MA or post-MDiv work in an approved institution if the work is appropriate to the program, carries grades of B or above, and was taken within six years of each student’s first enrollment in the program. Credits earned towards the MA and MDiv degrees are not considered for advanced standing. The director of the program determines the appropriateness and relevance of the work considered for advanced standing and authorizes such standing. The minimum residence requirement cannot be reduced.

Time to Apply. Students who desire to enter the program in the fall semester (the normal entry point) must submit all application materials to the Office of Graduate Admissions, usually by January 15. Some students may be allowed to enter the program in the summer, in which case the application materials must be at the Office of Graduate Admissions by November 30. The number of students who may enter the program in any given year is limited. Rarely is one accepted who applies late. Students whose applications are late may request consideration for admission in the following year.

Items to Submit. In addition to submitting the items required of all graduate students, applicants to the program must also submit

• A 600-word personal statement including their philosophical perspective and the relationship of their values to their responsibilities as a teacher-scholar and leader; an indication of what they hope to accomplish professionally in the future, and a topic for the dissertation if one has already been selected.
• A significant research paper (term paper or thesis). This paper should show the applicant’s ability to carry out research and to present the results and conclusions of such work with correct English and acceptable style. The topic of this paper should coincide with the area of concentration.

Core Language Requirements. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in specified ancient and modern foreign languages either by passing language proficiency examinations or by taking specified graduate-level language courses and earning a grade of B or above. The foreign language requirements are listed below.

• Biblical Archaeology. An ancient language appropriate to the student’s research goals—typically Biblical Hebrew, Greek, or Latin at the Intermediate Level. Two modern languages relevant to research goals such as French, German, Italian, modern Hebrew, modern Arabic, modern Greek.
• Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology. An ancient language appropriate to the student’s research goals - typically Biblical Hebrew, Greek, or Latin at the Intermediate Level. Two modern languages relevant to research goals such as French, German, Italian, modern Hebrew, modern Arabic, modern Greek, or computer database skills.

Upon approval by the program committee, the Program Director may require additional ancient languages as required by the area of emphasis students choose.

Schedule of Meeting Language Proficiency Requirements. All language prerequisites should be completed before entrance. If that is not possible, students may be required to take a reduced load in order to meet these prerequisites.

Language prerequisites should be met by the end of the third consecutive semester (including summer). Students who fail to meet this schedule cannot take any further regular courses until all the language prerequisites are met.

Because of the amount of study and the length of time usually required in developing prerequisite-level skill in languages, the program committee may require applicants to clear all the language prerequisites prior to admission.