The Doctor of Theology Program: From Conception to Birth
An Interview with the Three Professors
After more than three years of preparation, HKBTS will launch the Th.D. Program in the spring term in the 2012-13 school year. Three Preparatory Committee members, Dr. Andres Tang, Dr. Wong Fook-kong and Dr. Sam Tsang, were pleased to share with our readers the preparatory process, the program conceptualization, theiraspirations and commitment…
| Question: | When did the Th.D. Program begin to conceive? Was the preparatory work smooth and plain sailing? |
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| TANG: | At the time of his inauguration in 2009, President Cho began to conceive of the idea. Then in the Faculty Meeting and Faculty Retreat, President Cho and the faculty team exchanged ideas about setting up the Th.D. Program. In February 2011 at the Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Worship Service, President Cho shared his vision and dreams for the future development of the Seminary. Once again, he spoke of the plan to set up the Th.D. Program. At the beginning of this year, President Cho saw that the time had come. A Th.D. Program Preparatory Committee was set up to formally get things started. Even before the preparation work began, ideas had already been brewing and consensus had been reached. After our proposal has been submitted and then scrupulously discussed in the Faculty Meeting, the design of the Th.D. Program is produced. |
| TSANG: | Before the meeting, we had put in tremendous amount of effort to study the program design. This thorough research work has made our meeting all the more effective. It was to our benefit that the three of us came from different backgrounds that allowed us to go through different formats of graduate school education in Britain and America. With President Cho’s unique American educational experience our views are greatly enriched due to our diverse experiences. We together weighed the merits and weaknesses of each design and format. Finally, the committee members agreed to integrate the graduate school training formats of Britain, America and continental Europe. From such an array of curricula, we pick what seem best from various systems for our graduate students. We want to enable our graduate students to develop their potentials while providing them a solid foundation in their pursuit for truth and knowledge. |
| Question: | What kind of graduate students do the Seminary want? |
| WONG: | Applicants must first of all have good spiritual life and strong character. They are required to hold M.Div. and Th.M. degrees with GPA exceeding 3.75 in their Th.M. studies. The purpose of setting such a high qualification is to ensure that each graduate student who is committed to serve the Lord has the intellectual competence to succeed in the study. I believe that this will be a challenging program for the applicants. Furthermore, another basic requirement is that before taking the comprehensive examination for candidacy, students must first pass a translation test in either German or French that warrants the students’ mastery of a second European language besides English. |
| TSANG: | Since learning a second language is also the basic requirement of doctoral students in Europe and America, it cannot be speculated that we deliberately set an additional hurdle for admission. We believe that a mastery of a foreign language can widen students’ horizons and help equip them to become scholars of a new generation, ready to acquire a global perspective, and be prepared to face global challenges. |
| Question: | Why does the Seminary devote manpower and other resources to nurturing Th.D. students? What are the rationale and commitment behind such an effort? |
| TANG: | As President Cho reiterates, the purpose of delivering the Th.D. Program is not to seek out the most brilliant students, nor to become a factory mass producing doctoral graduates. We establish the program because we treasure our students with academic potentials. We hope that through the design of the Th.D. Program, we help them actualize their potential, and advance their abilities and talents for a life-long development. |
| TSANG: | Is it true that the local seminaries have already trained many scholars with the ability to do public speaking and engage in research writing? If the answer is negative, does this suggest that there is still much room for improvement in this area? Hong Kong is a special region in Asia and a society that enjoys freedom of speech. It is advantageous for students to study theology in such an environment. I feel strongly that our Seminary should seek to nurture a new generation of scholars. This will ensure that there will be no shortage of talents in the future generation, and the needs of churches, society and the theological community can be met. |
| WONG: | I know that some students cannot go overseas for further studies because of family or other reasons. There are some seminaries in Hong Kong that already offer doctoral studies, and what HKBTS should think is this: in this important training work, do we have our own contribution to make? As long as the answer is positive and the Seminary is now able to play a good part, it is well worth making the effort to set foot on this new path. |
| TSANG: | Some of our outstanding students who are unable to further their studies in Th.D. Programs overseas are due to family problems. Now that we have qualified students to be nurtured, why not nurture them? Besides, they are familiar with their alma mater’s environment and already trust their teachers. |
| TANG: | Every seminary with a Th.D. Program will recruit students who expect to pursue their studies in the areas in which the teachers there are experts. Each seminary will have its own special parameters. As for HKBTS, our special parameters are different from those of other seminaries. From this perspective, teachers of our Seminary will no doubt make our contribution in guiding our Th.D. students according to their particular fields of study. I believe that another important consideration is library resources. The Seminary library has developed very well, especially in the recent few years. Its collection, which is the largest among Hong Kong seminaries, is sufficient to cater to the needs of Th.D. students. |
| Question: | As the Th.D. Program will soon get underway, what are your expectations and how do you feel? |
| TSANG: | In recent years, President Cho has encouraged teachers to do inter-disciplinary studies and crossover. This would certainly help broaden their fields of study so that in the future they are more capable of guiding Th.D. Program students to engage in the academic studies that are pluralistic and multi-disciplinary. I think that such an emphasis on crossover studies prepares our teachers well to take up the challenges posed by the new program. The fact that the three of us serving together on the committee have so many similar views in the preparation process is a good thing. I expect that this program will nurture a new generation of scholars eager to contribute breakthroughs in their studies and offer contribution to Chinese theological circles. I especially accentuate students’ creativity and would not expect their creativity to be inferior to our fellow western doctoral students. |
| WONG: | When I first came to HKBTS, I remember once mentioning to Dr. Cho the possibility of setting up a doctoral program. After more than twelve years, I feel the time has come for God to act in the Seminary. I really feel excited about it! I can see that the Seminary has come to a new milestone. The fact that the academic level of the Seminary is higher will prompt teachers to devote themselves to more study and this will promote the overall learning and academic atmosphere on campus. |
| TANG: | An educational institution must have reached a fairly high level before a doctoral program can be set up. At present many of our teachers have ample teaching experience of more than ten years, with considerable of experience in guiding students, and doing research and writing. As our teachers are becoming more effective in teaching, setting up the doctoral program can double the effect with half the effort. It is natural that success comes when conditions are ripe. I anticipate that a higher academic level will give students on campus an optimum push. Even if they do not pursue further studies, they will have a vision and academic atmosphere which is no longer the same as before, enabling the Seminary as a whole to advance forward as never before. |
| Question: | What is the ministerial outlook for the doctoral students after graduation? What are the needs that they can be able to meet? |
| WONG: | Taking the doctoral students in biblical studies as an example, upon graduation they can either devote themselves to theological education or to join a church staff to minister to a congregation. In foreign countries, many degree holders serve in churches. In the case of Hong Kong, I think Th.D. graduates can be employed by medium or large churches or by those churches with a well-educated congregation. With their education and spiritual gifts, they can strengthen the teaching of the Bible and the Christian faith to help the church grow and develop in a healthy way. |
| TANG: | Many Christian organizations also need highly educated staff for promoting ministry development. A lot of foreign organizations, especially Christian publication organizations, would invite Christians with a doctoral degree to be editors. Although Hong Kong regards the literary ministry highly, it is a pity that there are far too few book-editing co-workers who have high educational qualifications and can assess the strengths and weaknesses of a manuscript. Other organizations certainly have the same need. If the leaders have a solid biblical foundation and a deep theological perspective, they would certainly be invaluable in vision sharing and ministerial development. My hope is that the Th.D.s nurtured by HKBTS will prove to be effective in these areas. |
| TSANG: | There are not enough Th.D.s in Hong Kong to engage in some meaningful research writing that speaks well for the Christians faith in the Chinese community. Although the quality of research writing in Hong Kong has reached a fairly high level in Southeast Asia, there are not many competent writers. It is not uncommon to find that those who are good writers have more assignments than they can handle. There is a need for more scholars to meet the demand. We cannot stay at this stage and must go a step further and nurture more scholars for the future generation who will devote themselves to theological and biblical studies. Offering the Th.D. Program is a good response to the needs of the churches and our society. |