The sats website said something about spending 1-2 months in Johannesburg for research at their library. But I couldn't find anything specifically about sats' library. Can you talk about that a bit?
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Hello
A trip to South Africa is not required.
My current three PhD students are:
(1) a SBC pastor in the USA still working on his research proposal [ the SATS RP may take months to get approved] and he will be researching ART V of his denominaltional creed. ART V concerns Predestination. SATS is Interdenominational, but quite Evangelical. So, a student may be either Calvinistic or Arminian. But a student must concur with SATS' basic belief statement (which consists of general, historical, Christian beliefs).
(2) Another of my students is a Korean trainer of missionaries in the Philippines now doing chapter three in his work on Hauerwas' reception of Barth's doctrine of sanctification , and
(3) My 3rd is a teacher in a seminary in Ethiopia who is now doing chapter one in his research on the issue of differences in Incarnational Christology in the two major denominations in Ethiopia. One is more Antiochene and the other more Alexandrian in Christology.
I think there are about 40-50 PhD students with SATS. When the research is finished both internal and external evaluators (professors from other accredited schools) will approve or disapprove the dissertation. Soon SATS will offer a DMin as well. PhD students must complete a course in research before beginning their dissertation. Course work and theses are done in either English or French. The SATS PhD supervisors are well educated with terminal, accredited degrees. See their qualifications at the SATS website.
(PhDs may also be done in Praxis).
My three are distance education students with no plans of spending time in Joberg. While SATS provides grad students with access to texts and journals online, as well as a person who acts as online librarian, I know nothing about a SATS physical library. There may be one, but I know nothing of it, and I know research in Joberg is not required!
My own doctoral work in SA with Unizul took four years after the Western ThM. SATS has its own online journal (Conspectus) which articles you can read including three of mine on Christology. SATS also has it own publishing house which recently published the required 600 page text on theological research & writing by Smith which grad students must follow.
The school which offers programs leading to diplomas, Bth, MTh,PhD, and soon DMin too ( being recently approved for the DMin) is honest, accredited, quite reasonable in cost, very user friendly and to the best of my knowledge is equally or more rigorous than my own experiences in completing the work for three grad theological degrees in two USA institutions and two grad teacher programs in two USA universites.
I am very thankful that at 71 I still can serve in this capacity.
Best regards,
Bill