A Song at SATS

A newsletter received today from the South African Theological Seminary announces the presently available opportunity to do doctoral research at SATS by distance education. Further Prof Arthur Song of Unizul will head that new SATS graduate studies department.

It is my understanding that Song is truly qualified , that degrees earned at SATS are truly accredited, and that tuition at SATS is truly cheap (by Western standards).

Hence there now is truly made available yet another opportunity, to add to the several already existing options, to do inexpensive distance learning graduate studies in a respectable manner instead of doing them at schools which require slender amounts of rigor.

(Song, BTW, is a Baptist!)

I hope some might take advantage of this and add rigorous strength to the voice of higher Christian ed and scholarship instead of adding to the death rattle of it.

 

Bill--you are very welcome.

Paidagogos--I appreciate you saying that.


Bill

 

Coker

I have completed the dissertation (they say "thesis) with Unizul which is a "big brother" of SATs in that: (1) for years Unizul accredited SATs before SATS ventured out on its own, (2) several SATS profs are Unizul grads, and (3) as now Song, former Dean at Unizul will be working with SATS.

There may be factors which limit utility of the SATS doc in the USA:

(1) It can be done, as can the SATS masters, entirely by dissertation. In contrast USA sort of docs in Theology require coursework plus dissertation. Some in academe may consider that too narrow or slight in substance.

(2) The SATS D.Th (ThD) will be wholly by distance education. While distance learning is now common in the USA, NO USA accredited (ie, REAlly ACCREDITED) seminary gives a PhD/ThD by distance learning only--although some require only modest residencies. But as the SATS is entirely by distance that might be frowned upon in some circles of academe.

(3) When considering "foreign" docs, South African degrees may not be as well received as, say European degrees. Nevertheless, some scholars recently have taken SA docs. For example, Philip W. Comfort, Prof of Greek and NT at Trinity Episcopal and author of The Text of The earliest NT Greek MSS, has his D. Litt. et Phil. from Unisa (along with his PhD from Fairfax). Lioy who last year presented a paper to the NW ETS and who for years taught at TTS of Newburgh after his ThM from DTS took a SA doc. Also, did Walston who wrote the Guide to Christian DL degrees. I'm sure there are many others.

4) I have heard rumors that SATS tends to be Pentecostal in outlook, if that may be considered a drawback.

5) While I hate to be critical of Unizul or SATS, the 'master of Theology' , the prereq for entering the ThD there, is NOT the USA sort of four year ThM. It rather is a one or two year masters! [in my case I completed work in USA schools for MA, MDiv, ThM],IMO that may be slender preparation to do doctoral work in any area of Theology , save in, perhaps, praxes where one may more likely base research on experience too.

.........

On the otherhand,

(1) A SATS doc should be IMO accepted by USA schools as RA equivalent since SATS is GAAP,as it is approved by the proper South African agency. This alone, in my estimation, puts the SATS program heads and shoulders above the vast majority of unaccredited (as in REALLY accredited) US doc programs in Theology.

(2) Song who will supervise SATS grad School is indeed a well respected scholar and gentleman!

(3) That "South African" doc research can equal USA doc research is IMO indicated by an informal Reader of my dissertation, a prof of NT at a RA school, a PhD grad of Dallas Seminary, who opined that my dissertation was the equivalent of what DTS might expect.

I don't know what SATS will charge , but my Unizul doc, wholly done by DL, by research, cost less than $3000, and Unizul is a public SA university with a fine campus and 7000 students in residence.