On a number of occasions I have been asked what led me to decide to do my doctoral studies at the University of Pretoria. Many of those inquiries have come from those considering doctoral research. What follows is my answer. Toward the end of 2002, I decided to pursue doctoral research and considered both PhD and DMin programs. I chose the PhD, since an academic degree is certainly more useful in my field and it would provide the opportunity for me to do the additional research I desired in the area of my primary interest: the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. 

At the time of my decision I was living in Virginia Beach with no plans of moving. I loved my occupation, where I lived, and had no ambitions of teaching as a university professor. So, relocating my family was not on the table when making my decision. The only institution with a PhD program within driving distance was Regent University which offered the opportunity to study under the supervision of respected historical Jesus scholar Graham Twelftree. Although that was very attractive, the PhD program at the time was in Renewal Theology, which, although interesting, was not a field which I desired to devote a few years of my life. 

Gary Habermas suggested that I look at the University of South Africa (UNISA), since it offers a doctoral program that can be completed via distance learning. I looked at UNISA and a few other institutions in the process. The University of Pretoria (UP) caught my attention, since it is a leading university in South Africa and had a respected New Testament scholar who was head of the department of New Testament, Jan van der Watt.  Although Prof. van der Watt is what North Americans call “evangelical,” the New Testament department has professors with a variety of theological views. In fact, at the time I was accepted into their PhD program, Andries van Aarde, who is a member of the Jesus Seminar, was teaching New Testament there.  He has since retired.   

Just prior to my inquiry, UP decided to offer their PhD via distance learning. UP follows a European method of graduate and doctoral level studies, that is, pure research in the form of papers and a dissertation with no classroom time. Distance learning is very friendly to such an approach. I also looked at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. where I had corresponded with Mark Goodacre (now at Duke) about their PhD program, one that can largely be accomplished via distance learning. However, the price tag of more than $30,000 was prohibitive for me.   

Reputation: I was quite impressed with what I discovered about UP.  The school appeared on the 2008 THES-QS World University Rankings as #501 [1].  In addition, I was informed that UP has reciprocal agreements with Princeton, Univ. of Edinburgh, Univ. of St. Andrews, Univ. of Munich, and others. These universities maintain a close relationship and mutual respect. My supervisor Jan van der Watt was not only the head of the New Testament department at UP but also the General Editor of the Review of Biblical Literature (which is part of the Society of Biblical Literature), and the top ranking New Testament scholar in South Africa. Prof. Jan is a humble gentleman for whom I have a great deal of respect and admiration. In 2005, I learned that when the prominent New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall retired from Aberdeen, he had a number of doctoral students who had not completed their dissertation. Marshall sent those students in Johannine research to complete their studies with Prof. Jan at UP. In November, 2005 I had the privilege of meeting Richard Burridge, dean of King’s College in London and a highly respected scholar who wrote the influential What are the Gospels? During our conversation, Burridge shared with me that he had taught at UP and knew Prof. Jan well. I once asked Ben Witherington regarding UP and he answered that he regarded it to be on the same level as a major U.S. state university. These opinions tell me a lot about the respect other scholars have for Prof. Jan and for UP.   

UP is a member of CDIO, an educational initiative that was formally founded by MIT. According to Wikipedia, in 2000 “it became an international collaboration, with top universities around the world adopting the same framework. The collaborators maintain a dialogue about what works and what doesn't and continue to refine the project. Determining additional members of the collaboration is a selective process managed a Council comprising original members and early adopters.”[1] 

Accreditation: Since accreditation of U.S. universities is awarded by U.S. accrediting agencies, universities overseas are obviously not recognized by the U.S. system. If you are considering UP and wonder how this may impact your ability to teach in a major university, keep in mind that there are no universities overseas that are accredited by U.S. accrediting agencies. The real issue is the reputation of the school among scholars.

Cost: Because UP receives a great deal of its funding from the South African Government and because the exchange rate between the South African Rand and U.S. Dollar is around 7:1, tuition costs for my entire doctoral program were less than $4,000. 

Downside: The downside to UP is that many in the U.S. are unfamiliar with the institution. 

Other: If you are considering doctoral work, you definitely should keep the following in mind: Talk with your would-be advisor and ensure that he or she is interested in your topic of interest. You should also try to get a feel about what they think about your topic and how they would feel if you ended up supporting a conclusion contrary to their own. I am aware of several nightmarish stories involving doctoral advisors who would not approve of a dissertation because of theological differences. I know of this occurring at both secular and Christian institutions in the U.S. and overseas. One final thought: You should be passionate about your research topic. My doctoral research was very demanding. I loved it because I’m passionate about my topic. If such a strong interest had not been there, it would have been VERY tough. 

In summary, convenience, cost, and the opportunity to study under a leading New Testament scholar who was interested in my research topic and at a leading university made the University of Pretoria a great choice for me.  My experience was extremely pleasant and I can say only good things about it. 

ONE FINAL BUT IMPORTANT MATTER

As of January 2009, my supervisor Jan van der Watt has taken a new post at Radboud University in the Netherlands. A PhD in New Testament at Radboud requires a few weeks oncampus for external students and is very economical in terms of tuition costs.