Doctor of Ministry
The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is designed to sustain pastors and ministry leaders for the challenges of ministry. This 30-credit-hour degree (8 classes) lets you learn from leaders in ministry and has a dissertation that will send you deeply into a practical area of ministry that you are currently facing. The result is that you are better equipped and sustained for the mission the Lord has called you to.
Questions Ministry leaders face
How do I develop needed skills for the ministry challenges I am facing?
Where do I find renewed energy and vision for the next season of ministry?
With whom can I safely explore sustainability questions in a life of ministry?
Covenant Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry gives pastors and ministry leaders the space to ask these questions and the environment to find answers.
As you work towards your dissertation, you will also gain skills and wisdom from ministry mentors to provide solutions specific to your ministry context. Through flexible seminar-style residencies, you can develop relationships with peers, faculty, and other experts to gain clarity and growth towards your next season of fruitful ministry.
Benefits of the Doctor of Ministry
theory meets ministry
The Doctor of Ministry is designed to meet your actual ministry challenges. Rather than offering a philosophical experience, the DMin is a practical ministry degree designed to pair advanced theology and ministry theory with the needs of the church and your actual ministry.
Learn from seasoned pastoral leaders
Have you ever wished you could consult with experts in the challenges you are facing? You can. Courses are taught by leaders in their fields of ministry expertise. Learn from people who have been where you are and can offer wisdom and guidance for your ministry journey.
A dissertation rooted in your actual needs
You determine the trajectory of your dissertation based on your unique experience and ministry area. Want to learn how to navigate your local culture? How to understand your ministry’s power dynamics? How to preach to your mission field? All topics that can be pursued within your dissertation.
Learn alongside others like you
Ministry can be lonely. Fight back against the isolation by learning alongside other pastors and ministry leaders like yourself who can sharpen you for the task ahead.
Additional DMin benefits
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One-Week Residencies
Courses are offered as a series of one-week residencies. Most courses take place on our St. Louis campus, though some are occasionally hosted at other strategic locations around the United States.
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Be renewed by work you enjoy
Dive into topics that will have a direct benefit to your personal spiritual life, your ministry, and thus the health of your church. Your dissertation will focus on a personal ministry topic of your choosing.
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Scholarships available
Covenant Seminary will match funds that students receive from their ministry organization or church up to a maximum of one-third of tuition per course. See more details about this and other scholarships below.
Program Requirements
Applicants must have an accredited Master of Divinity (MDiv). For applicants without an accredited MDiv, exceptions can be made for those who hold an accredited theological master’s degree (or academic equivalent), with a minimum of 48 credit hours and a minimum 3.0 GPA.*
All applicants will be evaluated in six areas of ministry competency, including significant ministry experience that enables them to engage as a ministry peer with other students pursuing an advanced, professional doctorate.
The DMin application essay will look for applicants to express understanding of scriptural interpretation, their theological context, an understanding of their ministry identity and calling, and a readiness to engage in ongoing personal and spiritual formation.
* Applicants who do not meet these requirements should read exceptions in the FAQs below.
Format
The Doctor of Ministry is a 30-credit-hour degree that ordinarily takes 3–4 years to complete. Courses are offered as one-week residencies, mostly on our St. Louis campus, but with occasional courses offered at other strategic locations around the United States. Readings and other preparation for week-long courses take place before the course meets in person. Often there will be appropriate follow-up assignments afterward.
Students learn under a faculty of pastor-scholars alongside a community of peer learners.
Degree Tracks
Cohort Track
The DMin Cohort Track is structured for individuals interested in focusing on a key area of learning and development. The cohort-based approach provides focused, collaborative instruction by experienced ministry leaders in the context of trusted peer relationships. Both the structure of the cohort and the self-reflection it promotes allows participants to hone their capacity to lead through the challenges of growth, change and loss.
Cohort: Christian Formation and Practice (January 2027). The Bible makes it clear that there is a direct correspondence between personal piety and shepherding capacity for pastors and ministry leaders. The purpose of the Christian Formation and Practice Cohort is to cultivate both the formative practices of church leaders and the impact that formation has on pastoral care and leadership. The program will focus on biblical and theological principles that inform personal formation of church leaders, mutual service as ministry teams, and practices of shepherding the flock. Facilitated by Associate Professor of New Testament and Vice President of Academics Dr. Brad Matthews and Dean of Students Mark McElmurry, the cohort begins January 2027. Cohort meeting dates:
Module 1: January 19–22, 2027 in St. Louis: Personal Formation
Module 2: May 24–28, 2027 in St. Louis (Off-Campus Retreat): Intentional Community
Module 3: January 18–21, 2028 in St. Louis: Ministry Teams
Module 4: May 22–26, 2028 Off-Site: Congregational Formation
Module 5: January 8–12, 2029 in St. Louis: Shepherding and Suffering
ADVANCED MINISTRY PRACTICE TRACK
The Advanced Ministry Practice Track offers a dynamic framework for those eager to blend diverse disciplines, crafting a personalized academic journey at their own pace. Students have the flexibility to delve into concentrations that resonate most with them. Additionally, students have the freedom to enrich their studies with self-guided explorations on niche subjects of vocational and personal relevance.
Upcoming Courses
Dissertation Preparation
May 26–29, 2026
Instructor: Dr. Joel Hathaway, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, Covenant Theological Seminary
This workshop provides an overview of a qualitative dissertation development process, with an emphasis on gaining skills and practice in doctoral-level research and writing. Topics include identifying a researchable problem of interest, designing research questions, selecting and surveying appropriate literature, choosing research methods, practicing data analysis, and writing interview protocol questions. This course prepares students to pursue research for a standard 5-chapter “general” qualitative dissertation. Students should have completed their coursework or, with permission, have only one course outstanding. Meets in St. Louis, MO.
Vocationally Healthy Spirituality
August 3–7, 2026
Instructor: Dr. Damein Schitter, Senior Pastor, New City Orlando
This course is designed to explore the integral relationship between Christian spirituality and vocation, with a focus on cultivating a coherent, holistic, and healthy approach to discerning and stewarding one's vocation. Participants will engage with theological foundations of calling and vocation, current literature on work and calling, and emotional and spiritual maturity. The course will place special emphasis on the health of pastors and leaders as a crucial aspect of guiding others toward vocational health.
Leading a Divine System: Understanding Pastoral Ministry and Theology in the Context of Systems Theory
January 4–8, 2027
Instructor: Dr. Simon Stokes, Lead Pastor, Church of the Good Shepherd, Durham, NC
Systems are to our lives what water is to fish. We swim in them so thoroughly that we have little awareness of their scope or impact upon us. Yet, they are part of God’s design for our world, and if we do not understand them, or our place within them, then we will be blind to some essential realities. The challenge for ministry leaders is to understand the system in which they exist and the mutual impact that they have upon it, and it has upon them. In this class, you will learn from a few of the experts in the field, as well as some like-minded colleagues, and be better equipped to perceive systems and navigate their realities. This is a broad topic, but we will be covering the basics of Systems Theory with a particular emphasis on Bowen Family Systems.
Christ-Centered Preaching in Hip-Hop Culture
January 18–22, 2027
Instructor: Dr. Thurman Williams, Assistant Professor of Homiletics & Director of Homiletics, Covenant Theological Seminary
This course will examine the core concerns (e.g. dignity, identity, significance, empowerment) of today’s younger generations and what avenues people look to outside of Christ to have those concerns addressed. The course will explore how the vital doctrines of the reformed faith actually speak to those concerns and how to craft and deliver Christ-centered sermons that speak powerfully and effectively to them. Meets in St. Louis, MO.
Preaching Christ in a Digital Age
May 17–21, 2027
Instructor: Dr. Thurman Williams, Assistant Professor of Homiletics & Director of Homiletics, Covenant Theological Seminary
What does the faithful preacher make of social media, artificial intelligence, virtual church campuses, and the like? How does the expositor utilize the redemptive aspects of these tools, while avoiding their overuse, misuse, and abuse? This course will help the preacher to utilize digital means to effectively proclaim the gospel to a wider audience and to deepen discipleship in their context. Meets in St. Louis, MO.
Dissertation Preparation
May 17–22, 2027
Instructor: Dr. Joel Hathaway, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, Covenant Theological Seminary
This workshop provides an overview of a qualitative dissertation development process, with an emphasis on gaining skills and practice in doctoral-level research and writing. Topics include identifying a researchable problem of interest, designing research questions, selecting and surveying appropriate literature, choosing research methods, practicing data analysis, and writing interview protocol questions. This course prepares students to pursue research for a standard 5-chapter “general” qualitative dissertation. Students should have completed their coursework or, with permission, have only one course outstanding. Meets in St. Louis, MO.
Competencies in Intercultural Ministry: Theory and Practice for Serving Among Cultures
August 9–13, 2027
Instructor: Dr. Richard Joe, Associate Professor of World Missions & Paul D. Kooistra Chair of World Missions, Covenant Theological Seminary
Every Christian ministry is targeted towards one culture or another. Whether it is global missions, multiethnic church, local outreach, cross-cultural counseling or teaching and preaching to one’s own culture, the question is whether that targeting of culture is intentional or unintentional, led by proven theory and best practices or limited to good intentions and individual experience. This course will examine essential theories of culture that have been developed from missiology, social science and international business, examined through the lens of biblical wisdom and authority. Based on these principles, the course will provide training in best practices to engage in various types of ministries that serve other cultures and one’s own.
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Doctor of Ministry Scholarship
Covenant Seminary will match funds that students receive from their ministry organizations or churches up to a maximum of one-third of tuition per course, for a two-thirds tuition scholarship. In order to be eligible for this scholarship, the DMin student must apply and be admitted to the degree and apply for financial aid by completing the Application for DMin Scholarship by the appropriate deadline before the start of his or her course. The student’s ministry organization or church should complete the Ministry-Match Intent Form. DMin students who do not have funding from their ministry organization or church may also apply for scholarship. These applications will be considered based on need and availability of funds. DMin students are not eligible for federal student loans.
For more information on financial aid, please contact the Financial Aid Office.
Frequently asked Questions
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Yes. If an applicant does not meet the regular admissions criteria, the Seminary will review the applicant in the following areas: (a) the ability to interpret scripture and the theological tradition of one’s ministry context, (b) the capacity to understand and adapt one’s ministry to the cultural context, (c) a basic self-understanding of one’s ministerial identity and vocational calling, (d) a readiness to engage in ongoing personal and spiritual formation for one’s ministry, (e) an accredited master’s degree (or its educational equivalent) in an area related to one’s ministry setting or vocational calling, and (f) significant ministerial experience that enables the applicant to engage as a ministry peer with other students in this advanced professional doctorate.
If admitted, applicants who do not have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in their master’s degree (or its educational equivalent) will be on academic probation through their first 8-credits (2 standard courses).
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The DMin degree includes 30 credits spanning 8 courses. The program has two tracks. The Advanced Ministry Practice track allows students the flexibility to craft areas of concentration specific to their ministry passions. The Cohort track clusters students around a specific topic of research and exploration. Recent and forthcoming cohorts have focused or will focus on areas such as Apologetics & Communications, Ministry Leadership, and Leading the Cross-Cultural Church. Cohort options change periodically, so be sure to check this page for updates.
The first 5 courses in the program comprise specific areas of study and research. Each course is 4-credits. You may select from regularly scheduled courses and independent study courses. Your sixth course, Dissertation Preparation, strengthens your grasp of the qualitative method, and it helps you establish your topic of research. Your seventh course is a faculty-supervised writing course focusing on Chapter 2 of your dissertation, the literature review. Dissertation Defense is the last course in the program, and the only course that is 2-credits.
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To accommodate your demanding ministry schedule, DMin Courses are offered in one-week residency format. Residencies include five days of live, interactive learning. Most residency courses are held at the main Covenant Seminary campus in St. Louis, with occasional courses held at other strategic locations around the United States. Residencies are usually offered in January, May/June, and August. Readings and assignments in preparation for class usually take place before the residency week, with appropriate follow-up assignments afterward as applicable.
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Each DMin course requires about 48 hours of pre-course work (8 hours/week for 6 weeks). Students can expect about 80 hours of post-course work. Courses have approximately 2000 pages of reading and some writing elements. Each course includes a ministry project or paper.
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The DMin degree culminates with a practical dissertation or project using qualitative research that captures your insight into your area of research. You are guided through this life-giving process of researching literature and interviewing those with best practices in an area of ministry challenge that you find relevant to your skill development. Your final project is where your insights and encouragements are captured and presented. Many graduates use their final project as the basis upon which they pursue published writing or public speaking on their research topic.
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Students in the DMin program can take up to 8 credits of independent study. This allows them to focus on specific topics of interest and study. Students may also transfer doctoral level courses from other accredited institutions.
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Tuition total* = $21,300
Fee total** = $2,439
Maximum Ministry-Match Scholarship*** = –$14,271
Personal DMin Expense = $9,468
Tuition Details:
$710/credit hour x 4 credit hours/course x 7 cohort courses = $19,880
$710/credit hour x 2 credit hours/DM 898 Supervision = $1,420
Fee Details:
Application = $50
Admin, Enrollment, Infrastructure***($120/term) = $840
Technology*** ($190/term) = $1,330
Protecting Human Research Participants (PHRP) Training = $49
Library Dissertation Posting = $20
Graduation = $150
* Academic Year 2025–2026
** Includes up to 1/3 tuition support from your local ministry matched by a maximum 1/3 scholarship from the Seminary. Final scholarship is dependent on the number of credit hours for which a student is registered. Your church/ministry may contribute more than 1/3.
*** These fees are charged in the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms, but not the January term. Assumes four years for degree completion.
Ready to begin?
We have equipped thousands of pastors, counselors, and ministry leaders to fulfill their callings. We would love to help you fulfill yours.