27. Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Divinity

[These regulations are currently suspended. They are being replaced by the General Regulations for the Higher Doctorates from MT 2018. ]

1. Any person belonging to one of the following classes may become a candidate for the Degree of Doctor of Divinity under the conditions set forth in this section:

• (a) Masters of Arts who have incepted in this University and have entered upon the thirtieth term from their matriculation;

• (b) Masters of Arts of the University of Cambridge or Dublin who have been incorporated in this University and have entered upon the thirtieth term from their matriculation at Cambridge or Dublin;

• (c) Undergraduates or Bachelors of Arts of the University of Cambridge or Dublin who have been incorporated and have incepted in the Faculty of Arts in this University and have entered upon the thirtieth term from their matriculation at Cambridge or Dublin;

• (d) Persons on whom the Degree of Master of Arts has been conferred by decree or special resolution, other than a degree honoris causa, and who have entered upon the ninth term from their admission to that degree;

• (e) Doctors of Philosophy, Masters of Letters or of Science, and Bachelors of Letters or of Science who have entered upon the twenty-first term from their matriculation.

2. A candidate for the Degree of Doctor of Divinity shall apply to the board through the Registrar and shall submit with his or her application work dealing with some subject or subjects in the area of Theology or the Study of Religions. At least three printed copies of all the work submitted shall be provided by the candidate. This evidence must consist of published papers or books and one year at least must elapse between the publication of any such paper or book and its submission as evidence in support of an application. The evidence may include published work previously submitted successfully by the candidate for the Degree of Bachelor of Divinity.

A candidate who submits work which has been produced in collaboration shall state in respect of each item the extent of his own contribution.

3. The application shall also be accompanied by the fee prescribed in the appropriate regulation (see Appendix I) and by a certificate signed by some officer of, or some person deputed by, the society to which the candidate belongs, and showing that his or her application has the approval of such society.

4. The work submitted by the candidate shall be examined by at least two judges appointed by the board. They shall report to the board through the Registrar, and it shall be the duty of the board to consider their report, and to decide whether the evidence submitted constitutes an original contribution to the advancement of theological knowledge of such substance and distinction as to give the candidate an authoritative status in this branch of learning.

5. If the board, after consideration of the reports of the judges, shall approve the evidence as sufficient for the degree, it shall give leave to the candidate to supplicate for the degree, and shall notify its decision in the University Gazette. One copy of each of the papers and books submitted as evidence shall remain in the possession of the University for deposit in Bodleian Library, provided that no book or paper of which the library already possesses a copy shall be so deposited except with the consent of the candidate and of the librarian, unless the copy submitted by the candidate shall be of a different issue or shall contain alterations or additions.