Where do billionaires go to university?

By Sean CoughlanBBC News education correspondent

The ultra-rich are more likely to be graduates, not self-taught self-starters

Continue reading the main story

Knowledge economy

• Debt campaigners tear up student loans
• Tony Blair: Fight the ideas behind extremism
• The biggest course in the world
• Brazil wants teachers not footballers

Are the super-rich more likely to be better educated? Or have they spurned scholarship and dedicated themselves to the serious business of being seriously rich?

According to a global census of dollar billionaires, almost two-thirds have a university degree. That means that even for countries with a high level of graduates, billionaires are disproportionately likely to have gone to university.

In the UK, more than four out of five billionaires were in higher education - not so much rags to riches as rag week to riches.

The educational insights are from an annual profile of the uber-rich, the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census, produced by the Swiss banking group and a Singapore-based financial intelligence firm.

It examines the wealth and background of more than 2,300 billionaires - and the findings undermine the image of the wealthy as being self-taught self-starters trained on the market stall.

As well as being much more likely to be graduates, a quarter have postgraduate degrees and more than one in 10 has a doctorate.

This map of wealth also shows that these dollar billionaires - worth at least £620m and typically more than three times this amount - are likely to have attended some of the traditionally most prestigious universities. 

The top 20 for universities producing billionaires is dominated by blue-chip, elite US institutions, which take 16 of the places.

Elite institutions

The University of Pennsylvania has produced more than any other institution, followed by Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern California, Princeton, Cornell and Stanford.

And the most likely way of making money is by dealing in money, with billionaires mostly making their fortunes through finance, banking and investment.

University of Pennsylvania has produced the most billionaires

But there are also some indications that the geography of the super rich is changing. Reflecting India's growing economy, the University of Mumbai is in ninth place in the league table.

The only UK university in this wealth list is the London School of Economics, in 10th place, with no place for Oxford or Cambridge.

The rise of Russia's wealthy is reflected in the 11th place for Lomonosov Moscow State University.

But the dominance of the US universities is not simply about the US producing more billionaires. More than a quarter of the billionaires who attended US universities to take undergraduate degrees were from other countries.

This was even more the case for postgraduate courses in the US, where 39% came from overseas.

There could also be something of a time-lag, because the average age of this group is 63, attending the university systems of four decades ago.

University donations

The connection with university carries into later life. More than half of billionaires are involved in philanthropic projects and the biggest single cause they support is education - and within this category, it is particularly higher education that gets their backing.

It helps to explain how Harvard's fundraising drive could set an eye-watering target of $6.5bn (£4bn).

Billionaires are increasingly concentrated in a few global cities, such as London, Moscow and New York

The study shows a pattern of wealth being concentrated in a small number of places. More than 40% of billionaires in Europe live in just 10 cities, headed by Moscow and London. Globally the biggest city for billionaires is New York.

It also creates some jarring contrasts. Nigeria has become the country with the most number of children without access to any education - while this report shows that Nigeria is on course to have the most billionaires in Africa.

There have been repeated international studies from organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing that going to university remains a strong investment in terms of improving the chance of a higher-income job.

Such studies have rejected the idea that not going to university could be a smarter move or that the value of a degree will fall below the cost of tuition.

But Frank Furedi, author, social commentator and former professor of sociology, says that one of the "big secrets" of the expansion of higher education has been a growing gap between the most prestigious universities and the rest.

"The hierarchy has become more fixed," says Prof Furedi.

These top universities have become the place where "global players gather".

He says there has always been a tension between universities promoting social mobility and being the route for handing on advantage to the next generation.

"Education has always been contradictory, it's the way that some people make their way up and it's the way of consolidating privilege."

Most billionaire graduates
1. University of Pennsylvania
2. Harvard University
3. Yale University
4. University of Southern California
5. Princeton University
6. Cornell University
7. Stanford University
8. University of California, Berkeley
9. University of Mumbai
10. London School of Economics
11. Lomonosov Moscow State University
12. University of Texas
13. Dartmouth College
14. University of Michigan
15. New York University
16. Duke University
17. Columbia University
18. Brown University
19. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
20. ETH Zurich

What Good Is a Ph.D. for Reading the Bible?

by Rev. Dr. Guy Nave 11-11-2013 | 1:56pm

Share on emailShare on twitterShare on facebook

Print

11 Comments | Post a Comment | Write to the Web Editor

Donate

Editor's Note:

Recently, a faculty colleague of Rev. Dr. Nave at Luther College publicly criticized the academic study of the Bible and stated that people who do not accept everything in the Bible as "historically accurate" should not consider themselves "Christian." This piece was written in response to that criticism.

When I was a Ph.D. candidate in Yale University's New Testament program, I had the honor of preaching at an ordination service for a classmate who was being ordained as a Presbyterian minister. Following the service, a number of my classmates asked me why I wanted to spend four-seven years working on a Ph.D. in New Testament when I clearly had a "gift" for preaching. I responded that it was actually my academic study of the Bible coupled with my life experiences that illumined and enlivened my preaching.

A close-up of a christian woman reading the bible. Kjetil Kolbjornsrud / Shutterstock

Related Reading

• Key Domestic Violence Resources
  by Elaina Ramsey
• Alternative Seasonal Reading
  by Julie Polter
• Works of Economic Fiction
  by Elizabeth Palmberg
• 'A Sower Went Out to Sow'
  by Sara J. Wolcott
• Beyond Anger Management
  by Tony Lapp

Take Action on This Issue

Circle of Protection for a Moral Budget

A pledge by church leaders from diverse theological and political beliefs who have come together to form a Circle of Protection around programs that serve the most vulnerable in our nation and around the world.

• +Take Action
• +Tell A Friend

I did not grow up reading the Bible. I was almost 19 years old and a U.S. Army soldier stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany when I purchased my first Bible. A series of life-changing events led to me "accepting Jesus Christ as my personal lord and savior." A few months after purchasing my first Bible, I attended a revival service at a local church. I returned to post that evening describing the service to fellow soldiers, who, along with myself, comprised a group self-identified as the "Soul Patrol." We were African-American Christians who strongly believed in the necessity of Christian evangelization.

As I told them about the revival service, I emphasized what I considered the "miraculous." I described how people were getting up out of wheelchairs and throwing away crutches, and how blind people were claiming to see and deaf people claiming to hear. I described how people were prophesying and"speaking in tongues" and being "slain in the spirit."

At some point in my description, three of them stopped me and said, "Brother Nave, what did you just say?"

I repeated my description of all the miraculous events, but they impatiently interrupted with, "No … no ... the preacher …, you said something about the preacher."

I responded with, "Yes! The preacher was powerful! She was …"

They interrupted again saying, "Stop … Did you say she?" 

"Yes," I responded somewhat confused, "the preacher was a woman."

Immediately the retort was, "Brother Nave, you know women can't preach."

"What do you mean, 'women can't preach'? That was some of the most powerful preaching I have ever heard."

"Brother Nave, you believe the Bible is the 'Word of God' don't you?" 

"Of course, I believe the Bible is the 'Word of God.' What does that have to do with anything?"

Ironically, I was defending the Bible as the Word of God after only having read it for about three months. They confidently responded that the Bible clearly states that women are not permitted to speak in church or to have authority over men. One of them opened the Bible to 1 Timothy 2:8-15, and proceeded to explain how God had entrusted spiritual leadership to men.

I looked at the passage for quite some time, deeply confused and perplexed. I shared with them experiences of growing up in Indiana where my father would wake up every morning before the rest of us in order to remove burning crosses from our front yard because we were the first black family to integrate an all white neighborhood. I shared stories of being confused as a 7-year-old kid wanting to eat at a particular restaurant where I saw a lot of white children eating and being told by my father we could not eat there.

I shared how I had spent what felt like all of my life resisting and fighting against being told I could not do something because I was black, and that there was no way I was now going to do to women the same things that had been done to me. While I thought they would clearly understand my line of reasoning, they were adamant that the Word of God was clear. I was deeply conflicted, but I was sure about one thing: I could not do to anyone else what had been done to me all of my life. I believed the Bible was the Word of God, but I could not accept the teachings of 1 Timothy. If that passage of scripture accurately reflected the will of God, then I wanted nothing to do with God.

I did not realize it at the time, but that moment began my journey toward attaining a Ph.D. in New Testament studies.

More than 30 years, three master's degrees and one Ph.D. later, I can clearly and confidently articulate how 1 Timothy (like all biblical writings) is a product of its social-historical context. I can illustrate how and why the author of 1 Timothy is responding to accusations that the early "Jesus movement" was promoting a "discipleship of equals" and disrupting the patriarchal social order of imperial Roman society by promoting notions of "equality" among women and slaves (e.g., Galatians 3:28). I can demonstrate how many of the Christian writings of the late first century were written to encourage Jesus followers to honor and respect the social mores of the Roman Empire and to promote the acceptance of this new religious movement within the pantheon of "accepted" Roman religions (Religio licita).

I can explain how and why the content of 1 Timothy contradicts much of what Paul writes in his earlier letters where he acknowledges and commends female church leaders, identifying them with the same title he uses to identify himself — "servant of Christ" (diakonos tou Christou). I can clearly demonstrate the transition from the acceptance of female leadership in the early Jesus movement to the eventual rejection of female leadership. I can even show how the name of a female apostle, "Junia," is erased from Paul's letter to the Romans and replaced with the male name, Junias (Romans 16:7).

Of course, one does not need a Ph.D. in order to read the Bible, but my academic study of the Bible has taught me more than I can begin to articulate in this blog post. Most importantly, it has taught me that there has never been one monolithic understanding of God or of Jesus; instead, the Bible demonstrates that there always have been multiple ways of thinking about the divine. Furthermore, the canonization of various literary genres — satire, apocalyptic, poetic, psalms, short stories, gospels, letters, history, etc. — clearly demonstrates the necessity of multiple reading strategies.

Unfortunately, a significant number of students arrive in my Introduction to Biblical Studies course having been taught there is only one way to read and think about the Bible. However, when these students, who have struggled for so long with their own religious identity, realize they are not "less than" because they read and understand the Bible (and even Christianity) differently, it is though they are actually experiencing "salvation"— deliverance from oppression.

Many passages in the Bible are clear and do not require a Ph.D. to understand. When the authors of Colossians, Ephesians, and 1 Peter declare, "Slaves obey your masters," the meaning of the text is clear. American slave masters in the 17th and 18th centuries read the passages to their slaves because the meaning of the text is clear. Similarly, when Martin Luther King Jr. was sitting in a jail cell in Birmingham, Ala., his Ph.D. along with his life experiences contributed to his reading Romans 13:1-7 differently from white ministers in Alabama who criticized him for disobeying the "Word of God."

While a Ph.D. is not necessary in order to read and/or understand the Bible, my reading of the Bible since receiving my doctorate promotes the inclusion of far more people than my reading of the Bible before my Ph.D. My doctorate has taught me to read and understand the Bible in ways the church never taught me — to read in ways that promote the worth, value, and acceptance of all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, or any other category.

Because of what my Ph.D. has taught me about the Bible, I reject the assertion of anyone who attempts to diminish and deny my claim of being a Christian and/or a child of God because I don't read the Bible the one way that individual says it has to be read. As a biblical scholar and a professor of religion, I also teach my students not to allow anyone to diminish and deny their claim of being a Christian and/or a child of God because they don't read the Bible the way someone else tells them they have to read it. There is no one correct way of reading the Bible, and anyone who tries to teach otherwise would benefit greatly from a Ph.D. in biblical studies.

Rev. Dr. Guy Nave is an associate professor of religion at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, focusing on the topics of Christianity, the New Testament, and race. He received his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. in New Testament studies from Yale University. He also blogs for Luther College's Ideas and Creations page, where this post originally appeared.

Photo: Kjetil Kolbjornsrud / Shutterstock

Biaknak lam Degree Pekawk Daan

San No Thuan

Thuhmai hruai

            Vei khat ah lai lam pitar pakhat in,  ram dang ah biaknak lam in Doctorate zir ding ih a pok zik pa thawn an tong aw. Cuih pitar nu cun, “Saya Pa, a tu hi ziangso na zir bet ding?” tiah a sut. Cui pastor pa khal in, “Doctor, ka va zir thlang ding” tiah a ti. Cu tikah cuih pitar nu cun, “Lungawi a um tuk aw. Na ra tlun cun sii in ra dawt thei thlang ding ti” tiah lungawi zet in a ti. Pastor pa cun a sim fiang rero nan cuih pitar nu cun, doctor sive si ih siidawt lo doctor tla a rak um ve maw si tiah thu a ruat nasa. Laimi tampi in Doctor ti ih kawhmi hmuahhmuah in an bangrep theh ah kan ruat theu. Cuih ruah daan cu a dik lomi a si. 

1. Laimi le Doctor Degree

            Veikhat ah Laimi ih suahmi Megazine pakhat ah Laimi sungin kan neihmi Ph.D ngah pawl tiah an ngaan ih cu tawk ah biaknak lam ih Ph.D a ngahtu pawl hmin cu an telh lo. Ziangruangah si pei tiah khua i ruah ter zet. Mihrek khat in ka sut lo nan an ttongmi ka theihmi cu, “Biaknak lam Doctor degree cu ol tuk in ngah a theih si, telh a tlak lo” tiah an ti. Hivek ttong le ruahnak hi khui in a ra ti ka zingzoi tikah a cang theimi thu pathum tar lang ka duh: (1) Tulai Bible tlawng tampi in a dotdot ten zirnak um lo in, duh poh in Doctor degree an pe aw, (2) Kawlram acozah in Khrihfa pawl ih biaknak lam fimthiamnak cu ziang hman a rel sak lomi lungput in in ciah, (3) a thupi bik cu, laimi mipi in biaknak lam ih degree um daan kan fiang lo ruang ah a si bik ti in ka hmu. Cu ruangah a tanglam ah tlawng tambik ih an fehpimi degree pek daan hi run simfiang ka duh.

2. Biaknak lam Degree a phunphun

            Aniam bik in ka thok ding ih a saang bik tiang a sangsang in ka tar lang vingvo ding. Cun a bang aw mi cu numbat pakhat sungah ka ngan cih ding. Cun hi ka nganmi hi a tlaangpi thu in Association of Theological Schools[1] pi feh daan a tlaangpi thu in ka thlun. Asinan, ziang kim ah daan leeng (exceptional) ih tuahmi cu a um ringring ti hi kan thei cia ding ah ka duh. Simduhmi cu tlawng zate in a tanglam ih ngan vek ciah in an feh lo tla a si thei.

            Biaknak lam degree ah hin lamzin pahnih in a um. Pakhatnak cu practical rori in mah in tuah ih zirmi Practical/ministerial degree timi an um. Cu pawl cu Master of Divinity (M.Div), Master Of Religious Education (MRE), Master Of Sacred Music (MSM), Doctor of Ministry (D.Min), Doctor of Missiology (D.Miss), Doctor of Music (D.Mus) tvp., tla an si. Pahnihnak cu Academic degree timi a si ih cu pawl cu Pathian thu (subjects) a phunphun kha a kau thei tawk in library ah research tuah in zirmi a si. Cupawl cu Master of Divinity (M.Div), Master of Theological Studies (MATS), Master of Theology (M.Th), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), Doctor of Theology (Th.D), le Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D) ti pawl an si. A tanglam ah a niambik in a saangbik tiang a dotdot in ka run simfiang ding. 

1. Licentiate in Theology (L.Th) cu ramdang ahcun mipi (laymen) pawl Pathian thu zir theinak ding ih tuahmi a si. A tlaangpi thu in kum thum lole kum li kai a si theu. Kawlram ah cun phun hra a ong lomi pawl in Pathian thu an zir theinak ding ih tuahmi a si ih cu pawl cu pastor khal an tuan thei thotho.

2. Bachelor of Theology (B.Th) le a dang Bachelor (e.g. Bachelor in Music, B.Mus) pawl cu a tlaangpi bik in M.Div kai peh in Pathian hnatuan tumtu pawl ih kaimi a si. Ramdang ahcun, B.Th cu University pakhat tangih tuahmi program a si. Kum li sung kaimi a si. Kawlram ahcun phunhra “A” list in a ongtupawl in Bible tlawng ih an kaimi degree hmaisabik a si. 

3. Master of Divinity (M.Div) cu pastor a tuan tumtupawl hrang zirhnak ih tuahmi a si. Ram hrek khat ahcun, Bachelor of Divinity (B.D) tin an ko. Asinan, a tam sawn ram ah cun M.Div program tiah an ko. Kum thum sung full time rori in an kai. Secular tlawng ih B.A culole Bible tlawng ih B.Th a thehtu pawl ih kai theimi a si. M.Div thawn a level a bang aw mi degree pawl cu:

1. Master Of Religious Education (MRE) Kum hnih sung full time ih kaimi a si. Hi degree pakhat khat a ngahtu pawl cu biakinn le biaknak lam pawlkom pakhatkhat ah Christian Education Department hruaitu si dingih a tumtu pawl hrangah tuahmi a si.

2. Master Of Sacred Music (MSM) cu kawhhran sungih hla le on mawi pawl tuanvo latupawl ih kaimi a si. Kum hnih sung full time rori in zirmi a si. Himi kai dingah cun, Bachelor of Music kaita a tul theu. 

3. Master Of Arts Theological Studies (MATS) Kawhhran sungah pastor tuan ding lam si lo in tlawnglam ih hnatuan a tumtu pawl in Pathian thu an zir hram thawhnak a si.

4. Master of Theology (M.Th/ Th.M) cu tlawng lam ih hnatuan a tumtu pawl hrangih tuahmi Academic degree a si. Ph.D/ Th.D kai theinak dingah tha deuh ih timtuah aw thei hngai seh ti duhnak thawn tuahmi khal a si. M.Div, lole M.A.T.S a thehzotu pawl ih kai theimi a si. Kum khat lole kum hnih sung kaimi a si. M.Th le D.Min cu an level a bang aw ko. Asinan, an dan awknak cu M.Th cu Academic degree a si ih, D.Min cu kawhhran lam hnatuannak  hrang deuh (professional) ih zirmi degree a si.

5. Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) cu hnatuan daan zirnak (professional degree) a si ih  full time ih hnatuan nei pastor pawl kha, part time in fimnak zir thei dingih onmi program a si bik. Pastor pawl in an hnatuannak ah hlawhtling sin thei dingin hnatuan daan le a tulmi dangdang an zirbetnak (continuation education) a si bik. Thuthimnak ah mikaihhruai daan le thusim daan, cun mission tuah daan tivek pawl an zir. M.Div a theh zotu pawl in kai theih a si. A tam sawn tlawng ahcun pastor hnatuan a malbik kum thum a tuanta pei tiah daan an ret. 

D.Min ngah dingah full time in kum khat kai thawn a bang awmi course work zir theh ding a tul. Course work an theh hnu ah an hnatuannak thawn pehpar awmi thu (project) pakhat an ngan ter ih a mal bik kum 1 in a tam bik kum 6 tiang rei a theih.

6. Doctor of Education (Ed.D) cu Christian fimthiamnak le kaihhruaiawk daan thansoter sinnak dingih hnatuan a tumtu pawl hrangih tuahmi program a si. Full time kum hnih kai thawn a bang awmi course pawl a theyta theh a tul. Cutheh in, Christian fimthiamnak thawn peh aw in practical project pakhatkhat an tuah ter. Amalbik kum 4 in a tambik kum 6 sung ah theh ding ih tuahmi a si.  Himi a kai duh pawl cun, Master of Religious Education maw, Education thawn a peh aw mi Master pakhat khat a theh ta a tul. Ed.D thawn an rei daan le an feh daan a bang awmi pawl cu:

1. Doctor of Music (D.Mus) cu awn mawi le hla lam a hlei in an zir. D.Mus ih a kai duh pawl cu music in master pakhat khat ngahtu si a tul.
2. Doctor of Missiology ( D.Miss)  cu mission lam Pathian thu, miphun kip hnen ih mission tuah daan ti pawl a hlei in an zir. A kai duhtu pawl cu M.Div lole M.Th a theh zotu pawl in kai theimi asi. 

7. Docotor of Philosophy (Ph.D)/ Doctor of Theology (Th.D)/ Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D) cu biaknak lam fimthiamnak degree ahcun a saangbikmi a si. A tlawng ih zir in Ph.D pena, Th.D, S.T.D a pena tin biaknak lam ih degree saangbik hi an pe. An bang aw theh ko. US ahcun kum hnih sung full time rori in tlawng an kai ter. Cui hnuah, a dang kum 2 in kum 6 tiang cu ca an siar ih ca an ngan. Curuangah amal bik kum 4, a tam bik kum 8 tiang a rei. U.K ahcun kum 2 tlawngkai ta ti a um nawn lo ih, kai vete in mah le Advisor thawn ca siar le ngan a si. Curuangah kum 3 in kum li sungah an theh ter. A hrek khat ahcun M.Div in direct ih kaiter tu tlawng pawl khal an um. Asinan, a tam sawn cu, a hlei in kan nih Asianmi pawl cu M.Th kai ter ta hi tlawng lam cun in duh sak ziangruangahtile kan casiar le ngan pawl anmaih level sungah lut thei ding in timtuah aw thei ta hngai seh tinak a si.     

Ph.D tuah dingah US ahcun, mirang ttong siar lo in, ram dang ttong pathum a siar tal siarih leh (translate) thei a tul. Cumi cu language exam an ti. Cumi theh in Comprehensive exam timi ca uk 150 hrawng an siar ter ih cumi sungin ni li sung sunvui cami buai an tuah. Cumi an on hnu ah professor pawl in kaa in thusuhnak camibuai (oral exam) an tuah ter bet. Cu hnu ah cauk pakhat an ngan ter. Cumi an ngan theh in Professors pawl, tlawngta pawl le mipi hmai ah an nganmi cauk thuhla kha an sim ih an thusuhmi pawl an let bet. Cucu Defense of Dissertation tiah an ti. Cumi pawl tha te ih an leh thei hnu lawngah Ph.D degree an pek.

D.Min, D.Miss le Ph.D hi an bangawknak zawn a tam zet nan, danlamawknak an nei. Ph.D cu research degree  a si. Zirmi thu (subject) pakhat khat kha thei ngah felfai rori ding in hawl le zir a si ih, theh hnu khal ah mizirh sin ding le thuhman hawl (research tuah) sin ding ih tuahmi fimzirnak a si. D.Min le D.Miss cu professional degree a si ih ministry le mission hnatuannak ah hlawh tlingmi si thei ding in hnatuan daan le mission tuah daan ti pawl thupi bik ih zirnak a si.

8.  Doctor of Divinity (D.D) degree cu biaknak lam hnatuan ah zohthim tlak le upat sunloih tlak a si tiah tlawng pakhat khat in mi a hmuh a si ahcun a pekmi sunloihnak degree a si. A zirnak ruangih pekmi a si lo. Phun ziat a on tul tivek khal a um lo. Himi hi Laimi ih kan ngah tam bikmi a si hmang tiah ka ruat. 

A tawi zawng in,


L.Th (Licentiate of Theology)                        (Kum 3/4)

B.Th (Bachelor of Theology)                         (Kum 4)

            B.A (Bachelor of Art in religion)

M.Div (Master of Divinity)                             (Kum 3)

            B.D (Bachelor of Divinity)                 (Kum 3)

            M.A (Master of Art)                         (Kum 2)

            M.R.E (Master of Religious Education) (Kum 1-2)

            le a dang Master pawl.

M.Th/ Th.M (Master of Theology)                   (Kum 1-2)

            S.T.M (Master of Sacred Theology)

D.Min  (Doctor of Ministry)                            (Kum 1-6)

D.Miss (Doctor of Missiology)                         (Kum 2-6)

            D.Mus (Doctor of Music)

            Ed.D (doctor of Educaiton)                  

le a dang doctor pawl.

Ph.D  (Doctor of Philosophy)                         (Kum 2-8)

            Th.D  (Doctor of Theology)              

            S.T.D (Doctor Sacred Theology)       

3. Degree le Fimthiamnak

Tulai kan san cu fimthiamnak san a si ih degree a phunphun ngah ding kan zuam ih lungawi a um ngaingai. A hlei in kannih Laimi tla cu Pathian in thluasuah in pe zet ih Kawlram acozah lam ih fimthiamnak a tlaksam zet lai ah, hmun tinkim ah Bible tlawng kan kai thei ih cu tawkah Pathian thu kan theihnak a tam sin ih tlunah mirang ca lam khalah thansonak tampi kan nei. Asinan, kan ralrin dingmi cu hi Bible tlawng kan kainak le kan tuahmi hi fimthiamnak lam thupit ter sawn lo in, degree hmin men kan thupit ter sawn sual pang a si ahcun, kan tthansonak lam zianghman in bawm thei cuang lo ding.

4. Ziangruangah Pathian thu (Theology) a zir pawl Ph.D an pek?

Ph.D timi cu Doctor of Philosophy ti a si. Philosophy timi cu Greek tongfang pahnih: Philo, duhdawtnak le Sophia, fimnak timi kommi in a rami a si. Curuangah Philosophy ih a sullam cu fimnak duhdawtnak (the love of wisdom) tinak a si. Ziang thu khal ah thil dik, thilhman thei ding in thu kan ruahmi hmuahhmuah hi Philosophy theh a si. Thuthimnak ah, tui sun ziang ka tuah ding ti ih kan ruahmi khal hi kan nitin te ih kan philosophy a si ko. Kan pupa pawl ih an philosophy cu an hla, an ttongkhuun le, an thuanthu pawl ah tampi kan hmu thei. Curuangah, ziang fimnak khal ah a saang bik degree thlen tik ih pekmi hmuahhmuah cu Ph.D tiah kawh an si. Pathian thu, Minung thu, Ramsa thu, computer thu le a dang dang zirnak ah a netabik ih an pekmi cu Ph.D a sinak a si. Thuthimnak ah, Mathematics ih a sangbik a zirtu khal khi Ph.D thotho a si. Curuangah, kan Laimi pawl in Ph.D ngah zo pawl kan um tiah ca kan ngan tikah, biaknak lam cu telh lo ding tiah kan ti ahcun, biaknak lam zirnak ah thate in a ong ih a thehsuaktu pawl hi zianghman ah kan siar lo thawn a bang aw. Ram pakhat tthangso dingah, fimthiamnak lam ih Ph.D kan tul vek in, Engineer lam ah, Ziinan lam ah, Ramsa lam ah, tvp., in a phunphun kan tul. Cuvek thiamthiam in, taksa lam sibawi a tul vekin, thlarau lam siibawi, Ph.D khal kan tul ve. Curuangah, tlawngkainak ih ngahmi Ph.D cu ziangvek field khal ah kan miphun in an cohlan a tul. Amah belte, zirnak um lo ih ngahmi Doctor degree cu telh cawk an si lo thei men. 

Thunetnak

            A tlun lam ih ka nganmi biaknak lam degree a phunphun a um daan pawl hi a tlaang pi in Association of Theological Schools ih fehpi daan a si. Tlawng khat le khat danlamnak tampi a um. Hi sungah degree hmin kawh daan tampi ka telh lomi an um ding. Cumi pawl cu hi ca tawi te sungah ngan cawk a si lo ruangah ka ngan thei cawk lo. Cu vek thotho in doctor tiah an hmin hmai ah ngan asinan siibawi an si lo. A hrek cu D.D, D.Min, D.Miss asilole Ph.D maw an si thei. Mi pakhat in doctor a ngah kan ti tikah ziangmi doctor degree si a ngah timi hi kan theih bet a tulmi a si.

            Himi biaknak lam ih Ph.D cu secular degree ih Ph.D thawn a bang rep aw ih retmi a si. Biaknak lam ih Ph.D zirtu in secular tlawng ih Ph.D course kha a zirmi thawn a pehtlaimi subject a si ahcun, direct in a zir thei ve. Thuthimnak ah, Kawhhran thuanthu (Church History) zirtu in secular tlawng ih history subject pawl kha direct in a zir thei. Asinan, kawlram ahcun Kawl cozah in a siang hrih lo. Kawl cozah ih ziang a siar lo ruangah biaknak lam ih Ph.D hi ziang siar lo in maw laimi, kan um ve ding?

            Laimi lak ah Pathian in thlawsuah in pek ih fimnak thiamnak lam khal ah kan thangso vingvo ih lungawi a um ngaingai. Asinan, khat lam ih kan ralrin a tul zet ve mi cu Degree lawng pe aw culole degree lawng ngah ih fimnak pe aw lo/ngah lo mi fimthiamnak daan sia hi tlawng saya pawl siseh, tlawng a kaitu pawl lala khal in siseh, kan ralrin a tul zet thlang. Fimthiamnak zir timi ih a tumtahmi a thupi bik cu minung pakhat kha a thinlung, a ziaza le ziang kimah khuaruat thiamtu siter ding hi a si. Kan tlawngkaimi hi kan nunnak khai saang theitu a si theinak ding ah kan theihnak kauh ter sin a tul. Kan zirmi tlunah kan thiam taktak khal a tul. Cuih tlunah cuih kan theihnak le thiamnak pawl kha Pathian ih tuah ter in duhmi tuahnak ih kan hmaan sinsin ahcun mifim thiam taktak kan si thei ding. Cuti in kan khua le ram a mawi sin dingih thansonak a tam sin ding.

 Zuk Simfiangnak:

1. A tlaangpi feh daan ahcun L.Th theh cun peh a theih nawn lo ih ka tarlang nawn lo.
2. B.Th/BA theh hnu in M.Div (professional and academic), MATS, MRE le MCM ah peh a theih.
3. M.Div theh in D.Min, M.Th, D.Miss, Ed.D le Ph.D khal ah peh a theih. Asinan, Asian mi cu M.Th kai ta hi kan hrangah a tha deuh ih Ph.D luh khal a ol deuh. Ed.D ngah thei ding in M.Div ah educational lam course pawl na lak tengteng a tul.
1. MATS na kai le M.Th na kai thei.
2. MRE na theh le Ed.D na kai thei.
3. MCM na theh le D.Mus na kai thei.
4. M.Th na theh le D.Min, D.Miss, le Ph.D/Th.D/S.T.D na kai thei. 

---

[1]http://www.ats.edu/accrediting/standards/overview.asp ah zoh bet aw. Association of Theological Schools sungah America le Canada ih Bible tlawng 130 lai tel ih tuahmi a si. An website cu www.ats.edu timi ah zoh bet aw.