- How much does the PhD programme
cost?
- Is there any scholarship that I
can apply? Do I qualify?
- Will fees increase every year?
- Why is it so much more expensive
than the programmes offered by other Bible Colleges in
Singapore?
- Who are the supervisors?
- Who decides on the supervisor?
- What is the cost if I were to
complete a PhD overseas?
- What is a Viva?
- What is the cost of the Viva?
- What is the dissertation
proposal phase?
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1. How much does the PhD programme cost?
Total course fee for 4 years (excluding the cost
of the viva) is approximately ₤11060 after the scholarship, which
converts to roughly S$34,000. <top
2. Is there any
scholarship that I can apply? Do I qualify?
TCA College provides scholarship of up to 30% of the course fee.
To qualify, you should be:-
- an alumnus of TCA College, having completed a full Bachelor or
Master’s degree with TCA College; or
- a church pastor/minister or bible school faculty, having served in
full-time capacity for at least 3 years, and recommended by your
current church/ministry/school.
Minus the 30% scholarship amount, the total course fee is
approximately S$34,000. <top
3. Will fees increase every year?
Inflation in the U.K. can be expected and fees will be adjusted
accordingly. The rise in fees will not exceed 10% every year. <top 4. Why is it so much more expensive than the programmes offered by
other Bible Colleges in Singapore?
First of all, no other Bible Colleges in Singapore offers a PhD
programme, although they may offer doctoral programmes like the ThD
or DMin.
More significantly, what we are offering is not just a seminary
degree, it is an internationally recognised degree from a well-known
U.K. University (University of Wales). The programme can be
completed in Singapore or in your home country.
You will be assigned a supervisor; you and your supervisor can
communicate by email, telephone or meeting-up for your discussions.
You will meet up at least four times a year. This may be done via
electronic means like Skype if the supervisor does not live in
Singapore.
You will need to attend a viva in the U.K. after the completion of
your dissertation. The total course fee is about S$34,000 if you are
eligible for the scholarship – a very attractive price for a U.K.
University PhD degree.
Upon completion of the programme, the degree is awarded directly by
the University of Wales, U.K. <top
5. Who are the supervisors?
The supervisor may be a member of our own Faculty or he/she may be a
scholar from the region (ie. Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong or even
the U.K.) We will assign the best scholar specialising in the area
of your interest to you from the pool of supervisors who work with
us. <top
6. Who decides on the supervisor?
The Director of the PhD programme will make recommendations to the
Post-graduate Programme Committee which considers all matters
relating to PhD admission and supervision. <top
7. What is the cost if I were to complete a PhD overseas?
The total cost, including living expenses, for completing a PhD
programme in the U.K. would be in the region of S$450,000. If it is
done somewhere closer to home, eg. Australia, the total cost is
about S$150,000.
Our course fee of S$34,000 is but a fraction of what you would have
to spend otherwise.
You do not need to uproot yourself by moving overseas so you save on
travelling and overseas living expenses. The programme is hugely
subsidised making it possible for our students to further their
studies locally. At the end of the studies, the degree awarded is an
internationally-recognised, U.K. University PhD degree. <top 8. What is a Viva?
The viva involves flying to the U.K. for what is effectively an
interview of no more than 2 hours. This will take place after you
have completed and submitted your dissertation.
The viva is usually chaired by the head of department of Theology
and Religious Studies of Bangor University, U.K. The chair
is not there to act as an additional examiner, but to see ‘fair
play’. The internal and external examiner will both be present in
your viva and they can ask you any question relating to your work.
Once your viva is over you will be asked to leave the room so the
examiners can discuss any issues that may have arisen from the viva.
You will then be invited back into the room where you will be told
the result. Examiners will then send their written reports to the
University who will send you a letter officially notifying you of
your result.
Most candidates will need to make some amendments to their PhD
following their viva before the dissertation is permanently bound.
It is usually up to the candidate and their supervisor to check such
amendments are made, however, the examiner(s) may wish to see a
revised copy. <top
9. What is the cost of the Viva?
Estimated cost of the viva:-
Airfare: roughly S$1,700 (depending on time of the year)
Accommodation: roughly ₤80 per day on weekdays and ₤50 per day on
weekends (for travel lodges that cater to business people)
Fee for external examiner: less than £200
Travel cost of external examiner: vary depending on where he or she
is coming from. <top 10. What is the dissertation proposal phase?
You are admitted as a Research Student at the first instance when
you apply to the programme. A supervisor specialised in the area of
your field of interest will be assigned to you.
You will have to submit a formal Thesis Proposal within 6
months of enrolment. An additional 3 months and a second 3 months
may be granted to the Research Student if needed. During the period,
the supervisor will see that an adequate proposal is drafted for
submission to the University of Wales.
The cost for the first 6 months is $500 and $250 for any additional
3 months. <top 11. Does the 5-year PhD candidacy include the time spent in writing
the dissertation proposal?
No.
Dissertation proposal writing is excluded in the 5 years. So you
have five full years for your research and actual writing of your
PhD dissertation. <top
12. How long does a PhD usually take to complete?
This will depend entirely on your background, the nature of your
research topic and whether you are a disciplined person. You should
expect to take at least 4 years part-time.
If you cannot complete in 4 years, you may take another year to do
your writing. The fifth year is free of charge. <top
13. What if I cannot finish in 5 years?
If you cannot finish in 5 years, we have to ask for extra time. This
is normally allowed if there are good reasons for the request. Good
reasons are most easily understood as (a) medical reasons or (b)
severe personal circumstances. However, it ought to be possible to
detect well in advance if a student is not likely to finish on time
and, in such circumstances, the student may be advised to
'interrupt' which means temporarily losing the privileges of being a
student. We do ask for an annual report on the student's progress
from the supervisor so any problems should show up well before the
fifth year. <top
14. Is the PhD Programme for me?
It is for you if
- you are willing to make a significant commitment to the PhD
programme. Successfully completing the PhD programme requires a
tremendous time commitment from students. It cannot be completed in
a couple of hours per week over a number of years.
- you work well in unstructured situations. Because a tremendous
amount of what you learn in the PhD programme occurs outside the
classroom as you work on your own research and with your supervisor;
you need to be able to work well and learn without the structure of
weekly assignments, homework and test. <top
15. Do I need a PhD to teach at a Bible College or University?
The answer to this question depends on the type of College or
University. Students in our PhD programme will be working towards a
PhD degree which is the standard requirement for a faculty position
in a College or University. Full time faculty are usually expected
to continuously renew and improve their knowledge and having the PhD
is seen as an important capability in this process. <top 16. What areas of study are offered?
You may specialise in the area of your interest in the area of
divinity/theology:
Biblical Studies
Theology
Missions
Evangelism
Church History
Christian Education.
The list is not exhaustive as divinity and theology encompass a wide
range of subjects. <top
17. What are the key factors on which admissions are based, and who
decides?
Admission is based on undergraduate and graduate transcripts, TOEFL
score if applicable, recommendations from former professors or
employers who can speak to your ability to do doctoral-level work at
a University. A major factor is the initial proposal and the
statement of purpose that the applicant provides in the application.
We are looking for evidence that the applicant understands the
specific nature of the programme, can articulate scholarly
intentions, and is academically prepared to undertake the demands of
the programme with a high likelihood of success. The initial
proposal and statement of purpose are perhaps the most important
parts of the application. Applications from individuals with fine
academic credentials who cannot construct a clear, persuasive,
well-written initial proposal and statement of purpose will likely
be rejected. Thus, outstanding grades and test scores are important
for admission but they are not sufficient.
Applications are reviewed by the Post-graduate Programme Committee
which makes the final decision. <top
18. How long does it take to process applications?
It normally takes two months after the deadline of application to
process all applications.
If you are offered admission to the programme, your letter of
admission will identify a supervisor within your area of
specialisation who has agreed to serve as your supervisor when you
enter the programme. <top 19. Is there an application cut-off date?
For the January intake, applications must reach us by 31 October.
For the July intake, applications must reach us by 30 April. <top
20. What are the PhD Programme’s admission standards?
Admission standards are generally high. In appraising your previous
academic work, the Post-graduate Programme Committee will consider
where you received your previous degrees and your GPA (among other
things). It is helpful if you received your previous degrees from
recognised and accredited institutions or Universities. You should
also have been exposed to research and critical thinking. Your GPA
is an indicator of success at your previous institution.
For the last intake, our admitted applicants have the following
profile:
Mean GPA: 3.71
As noted above, the academic quality of the institutions you
attended is important in determining what your grade point average
means. Also, in making admissions decisions, the Post-graduate
Programme Committee often looks at the grades you received in
specific modules that are relevant to your area that you intend to
specialise in. <top
21. What is the minimum GPA requirement?
Admission requirement is a theological master’s degree with GPA of
3.3 or above. <top 22. Can I apply with an MDiv degree?
Yes.
If your master’s degree is without a thesis component, you may be
enrolled into the MPhil programme (1 year) first before receiving an
upgrading to the second year of the PhD programme in the following
year.
You will need to submit your full dissertation proposal. And within
the 1st year of studies (MPhil), you must fulfill the requirement of
writing 20,000 words of the thesis for assessment. If you
demonstrate through your writing that you possess the aptitude and
writing ability essential for handling the PhD dissertation, you
will then proceed to the second year of the PhD programme in the
following year. <top 23. Do I need to submit TOEFL score?
If English is not your first language, you are required to provide
evidence of your English language ability.
A
TOEFL
score of not less than 560 (with a TWE score of 4.0) or an IELTS
score of not less than 6.0 is normally acceptable.
Test dates must be within 2 years or less from the date of your
application.
TOEFL or IELTS are not required if you have had your work published
in academic journals before and thus can demonstrate your writing
abilities.
You are also exempted from English language tests if you have done a
previous degree taught through the medium of English. <top 24. What must I submit for my application?
See checklist
here <top 25. Where can I get the forms?
Forms can be downloaded from
here. <top
26. Where do I send my application to?
The completed application should be sent to:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
(PhD Application)
TCA College, School of Divinity
Singapore Post Centre Post Office
P.O. Box 616
Singapore 914021 <top
27. Can I talk to someone about all of this?
Yes. You can contact:-
Bernard Koh
Director of PhD Programme
School of Divinity
TCA College
Tel: 65 6304 7652
Fax: 65 6749 7197
Email: bernardkoh@tca.edu.sg <top
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