Doctoral Degree in Theology

Paurastya Vidyapitham (PVP) is the theological faculty instituted for the promotion of scientific research in Oriental ecclesiastical heritage, with special emphasis on the East Syrian, St. Thomas Christian and Indian heritage. In order to facilitate the research based on the primary sources, PVP demands profound knowledge in the classical languages like Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Latin and Sanskrit. The research is done in three main fields like Biblical Theology, Syriac Theology and General Eastern Theology.  In each field the student can choose his or her specialization.  Though all the three fields demand a systematic knowledge of the classical languages, a more detailed systematic study of the languages is required for Biblical Theology and Syriac Theology.  In the field of Biblical Theology PVP gives special stress on the study based on Pshitta version of Bible and the biblical exegesis of Syriac Fathers. In Syriac Theology the liturgical, theological and spiritual heritage of both the East Syrian and West Syrian traditions is explored. The students doing research in the field of General Eastern Theology make profound study of any Oriental tradition, making comparative study of oriental heritage with contemporary theology and Indian religious traditions. The following are some specific guidelines for the doctoral research programme.

1. A student with Licentiate in Theology or Master’s in Theology from an approved Institute, having passed with the grade of Magna cum Laude and above or corresponding parallel grades, can apply for doctoral research at PVP.
2. Formal recommendation of the superior of the candidate (Bishop, Provincial Superior, in case of lay persons the recommendation of the local ordinary of the person) is required for the admission.
3. The candidate is required to submit a copy of his/her Licentiate/MTh thesis.
4. A person with valid certificates, mark lists and the required documents can register as a research student paying the registration fees. The process of registration is completed in consultation with the President and the Co-ordinator of the Doctoral Programme.
5. Research students may reside in the PVP hostel only after the registration.
6. The Candidate needs to have required credits of language. For biblical theology those who specialize in Old Testament shall do 14 credits of Hebrew and 8 credits of Greek (Total 22 credits) and 6 credits of Syriac language. Those who specialize in New Testament shall do 14 credits of Greek and 8 credits of Hebrew (Total 22 credits) and 6 credits of Syriac language. For Syriac Theology 26 credits of Syriac. For General Eastern Theology 6 credits of Syriac, Greek, Latin or Sanskrit depending on the choice of the thesis. Besides these classical languages all doctoral students are required to have 4 credits each of German and French.
7. The candidate has to do at least two courses and submit two assignments related to the subject, on which he/she is planning to do the research, as per the direction of the Guide.
8. A student who has done Licentiate or Master of Theology course in a different theological institute may be asked to do some specific courses if he/she has not done such courses which are essential for the research in oriental heritage.
9. A student who has done the Master’s degree in Syriac language and literature at any secular university can be admitted to doctoral research only after taking a regular Licentiate degree from PVP. However, the Syriac language courses and some of the Syriac literature related courses will be accredited to that student.
10. Only a candidate with sufficient knowledge of the biblical languages shall be permitted to do research in Biblical Theology.
11. Research in  Syrian Liturgies and Patrology shall be permitted only for students with a profound knowledge of Syriac language.
12. For the students from the West Syrian tradition, either the Guide or the First Reader shall be from the West Syrian tradition.
13. The students have to follow the methodology prescribed by PVP.
14. For the first six months after the registration the candidates have to undergo the course of research methodology, with special emphasis on the area of the proposed research.  During this pre-doctoral period the candidate has to remain at PVP during the class hours, except for a grave reason. One may be absent from PVP only with the permission of the Doctoral Programme co-ordinator.
15.  During the pre-doctoral period a pre-doctoral research paper (of at least 7000-8000 words) has to be prepared by the candidate under the guidance of the prospective guide.
16. On the basis of the evaluation of the pre-doctoral research paper, and on the basis of the result of the methodology exam (both written and viva) the doctoral committee will decide upon the eligibility of the candidate for doctoral research.
17. The doctoral committee consists of the President of PVP, Vice President, Registrar, Dean of Theology, Heads of the Departments of the Licentiate Courses (Biblical Theology, Syriac Theology, General Eastern Theology) and one permanent teacher from Theology nominated by the Syndicate for a term of three years.

18. Once the doctoral committee approves the candidate, he/she can begin the preparation of the schema and synopsis of the research thesis under the guidance of the prospective Guide.
19. The work of the synopsis shall be finished in one year after the registration, so that the syndicate of PVP can verify the doctoral proposal (synopsis and schema) and give final approval to it.
20.  The thesis proposal is to be first submitted to the Faculty Council. The thesis proposal shall be verified by two experts nominated by the Faculty council. The Faculty Council shall submit the Thesis Proposal along with the report of the Experts to the Syndicate.
21. If there are serious drawbacks in the schema according to the Experts, then it should be considered by the Guide, in consultation with the Co-ordinator of Doctoral programme. The Guide can propose modifications in the schema and synopsis. The modified text of the proposal shall be submitted to the Syndicate of PVP.
22. Once the schema is approved by the Syndicate, it shall be formally communicated to the candidate.
23. In the file of the student, copies of the text of proposal presented to the Faculty Council, the report of the Experts and the copy of the final modified text (if done so) shall be kept.

24. Doctoral research student shall publish two scientific articles in any of the International Journals. This will be added to the credits of the student (3 ECTS) . The 3 ECTS from publication are required for the defence of the Thesis.
25. Participation and the presentation of papers by the students in the National and International Seminars and Symposia will be added to the credits of the students. Presentation of paper in a National or International Seminar or Symposium will be counted equal to 1.5 ECTS of publication.
26. For the sake of a more profound research the student may be asked to consult some of the important libraries in Europe.
27. Doctoral students will be asked to take classes at PVP based on the field of their research. Classes on the area of research in any other recognized Institute also will be counted.
28. The research student has to submit to the PVP office a report of the work done each year with the signature of the Guide on or before 15 March. In the report, the future timeline of the work also should be mentioned. The Doctoral Committee shall evaluate this report and make suggestions to the student if needed.
29. Those students not residing at PVP have to put their signs in the register kept in the PVP office, at least three times in a semester. It is strongly recommended that as far as possible the students come every day to the PVP library. The student has to get the signature of the Guide one time each in both semesters.
30. A resident research student is required to finish the work within three years after the registration. However, he/she shall apply to PVP for the extension of the stay at PVP for two more years.
31. In case of grave reasons attested by the guide and the respective superior of the candidate, a student can request for the renewal of the registration after 5 years for another two years. After this extended period of two years the candidate loses his/her right to continue the work. PVP shall terminate the research of such students.

32. The thesis shall have a minimum of three chapters with the sum total of 60000 to 80000 words.
33. With the official approval of the doctoral thesis proposal, the Syndicate nominates a Reader for the thesis, who may be either the expert who verified the proposal or a new person. Each chapter should be given also to the Reader for the observations. The Reader shall not contact the student with regard to the thesis.  The observations of the Reader shall be communicated to the Guide and it is the Guide who informs the student about the corrections to be made in the chapter. In case of any disagreement between the Guide and the Reader, the Co-ordinator of the Doctoral Programme shall intervene, in consultation with the President.
34. For the viable progress of the research, the Guide and Reader (if any) shall return to the candidate each chapter submitted for correction, at the earliest possible, however not exceeding more than two months.
35. After the completion of each chapter the Guide shall scrutinize the text to find out plagiarism of any sort. When the entire thesis is submitted, the Co-ordinator of the Doctoral Programme shall check the entire text to find out plagiarism if any. If there is a considerable amount of plagiarism, then the student has to re-work the thesis before pre-defence.
36. The final text of the thesis shall be submitted only after the language scrutiny of an expert of the language. Translation of Hebrew, Greek, Syriac and Latin texts should be verified by another scholar of the respective language.
37. When the whole thesis is submitted, the Guide or the Readers have to make its evaluation at the earliest. However, it should not exceed more than three months.
38. When the work of the Thesis is completed, the Doctoral Committee shall decide to submit to the Syndicate. The Syndicate shall propose the Thesis for pre-defence or for further modifications, on the basis of the recommendation of the Doctoral Committee.
39. For the pre-defence there should be the Candidate, the Guide, the Readers, the Doctoral Committee members and the Controller of the Examinations.
40. The student shall make all corrections proposed during the pre-defence. If the student wants to discard some of the proposals, it should be done so with the consent of the Guide.
41. For the public defence of the thesis, the First Reader or the second Reader shall be from another theological faculty.
42. The result of the defence shall be announced ten minutes after the completion of the defence, after the short meeting of the panel members.
43. After the successful defence of the thesis, the student shall make all corrections proposed by the panel and then publish the entire thesis or an extract of the thesis and submit to the PVP Office the number of copies required by PVP. Only after this publication, the student can make use of the title of ‘Doctor’.
44. The entire thesis may be published only if the thesis gets the grade of Summa cum Laude or Magna cum Laude.

These requirements will be applicable to all research students of PVP. However, the details concerning the courses of modern languages will be applicable to the students registering from the academic year 2023-2024 onwards.