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Doctor of Philosophy in Spirituality

About

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Spirituality degree serves the church and society by educating doctoral-level scholars in the areas of prayer, mysticism, spiritual discernment, and spiritual guidance through a rich and rigorous program. Work with renowned, influential faculty who bring expertise in a wide range of disciplines within Christian Spirituality, engage in richly ecumenical dialogue and innovative scholarship and prepare to be lead in your field. Few existing doctoral-level programs in Spirituality focus specifically on the long, deep, and rich history of the Judeo-Christian traditions in prayer, mysticism, and spiritual guidance.

The Doctoral Program in Spirituality produces scholars with comprehensive knowledge of the overall discipline as well as a specialization in at least one particular area of Christian Spirituality. The specific approach is academic and theological from the Roman Catholic tradition, with genuine openness to ecumenical and interreligious perspectives.

This is the only fully-funded doctoral program in Christian Spirituality in the United States. Our faculty comprises internationally-recognized scholars and leaders in the field of spirituality.

Click here to register for our free virtual open house on Monday, December 2 at 7:30pm to learn about the academic discipline of spirituality, ask questions about the PhD program, and see why you should study at Oblate School of Theology.

At a Glance

Application Deadline

Length

Format

February 1 for Fall 2025

5 Years

Fully-Funded
Residential Program

The goal is to immerse each student in the history and tradition of classical Christian Spirituality so as to give them the tools to assess religious experience, critically evaluate contemporary movements within Spirituality, help mentor others spiritually, do scholarly research and publishing in the area of spirituality, and develop a vocabulary to articulate both the human spirit and divine revelation more effectively.

Upon completion the student will be able to:
1. Demonstrate an essential literacy in the discipline of Spirituality and apply critical tools needed for scholarly research as defined by the academy of theology
2. Demonstrate a critical in-depth knowledge of two classical schools of Christian spirituality
3. Comprehend the relationship between religious experiences across ecumenical and interreligious lines
4. Identify resources to discern authentic religious experience from human pathology
5. Articulate the Christian tradition in terms of other or multiple historical/cultural contexts.

1. A Master of Divinity degree, Master of Arts degree in Spirituality or Theology or the educational equivalent
a) Students who do not already have a graduate degree in Theology
or Religious Studies are required to obtain the M.A. in Spirituality before applying to the program.
b) Students who have completed an M.A. in spirituality in another institution will be evaluated and prerequisite courses may be required.

Required Courses: 36 Credit hours (All 3 Credit Hours)

The Doctor of Philosophy in Spirituality requires at least two and a half years of residency.

First Year
DSC 6301 Pro-Seminar (Methods)
DSC 7301 History of Christian Spirituality
DSC 7302 Hermeneutics of Religious Experience
DSC 7303 Contemporary Spirituality

Second Year
DSC 6302 Foundations
DSC 7305 Seminar and Practicum in Teaching Spirituality
DSE 8300 Selected Classical Writer (1 course)
DSC 7304 Spirituality of the Trinity

Third Year
DSC 7306 Integrating Seminar (Methods)
DSE 8300 Selected Contemporary Writer (1 course)

Fourth Year
DSC 9000 Comprehensives (non-credit)
DSC 9001 Dissertation Proposal Writing (non-credit)

Fifth Year
DSC 9003 PhD Dissertation: Research
DSC 9005 PhD Dissertation: Writing

Elective Courses
18 required credit hours
(All electives are 3 credit hours. Below is a possible list which will expand as faculty become available.)
Mysticism
Contemporary Hispanic Spirituality
Contemporary African-American Spirituality
Ignatian Spirituality
Dominican Spirituality
Spirituality of Kenosis
Franciscan Spirituality

The deadline to submit all application materials is February 1, 2025.

Core and Affiliated Faculty

Our faculty are here to enrich your experience, guide you in your program, and can serve on your committee.

Ronald-Rolheiser
Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI | Core Faculty

is a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and founder of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality. He is a theologian, professor, and award-winning author, and served as president of the Oblate School of Theology. Apart from his academic knowledge in systematic theology and philosophy, he has become a popular speaker in contemporary spirituality religion, and the secular world. He writes a weekly column that is carried in over 70 newspapers around the world. Fr. Ron's specializations are in systematic theology, philosophy, Augustine mysticism, and spirituality.

Biography and Research
John-J.-Markey2
Fr. John J. Markey, O.P. | Core Faculty

is the Director of the PhD in Spirituality and teaches in areas of theology, spirituality and philosophy and specializes in foundational theology, systematic theology, ecclesiology and contemporary spirituality. He also works in the areas of the history of philosophy, medieval philosophy, 20th-century European philosophy, and American pragmatism, particularly the work of Josiah Royce. He is currently working in the area of contextual theology and spirituality focused on the US cultural context.

Biography and Research
David-Pocta2
David Pocta, Ph.D. | ISCS Director

is the Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality and a professor at Oblate School of Theology. Dr. Pocta's work blends his experience in pastoral ministry with spirituality scholarship. His research interests include the spiritual journey, spiritual wilderness, contemporary church culture, and Christian mysticism.

Biography and Research
DSC_1523-2
Daniel P. Horan, Ph.D. | Affiliated Faculty

is a Professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Theology and Director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. He is also an Affiliated Professor of Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. His academic research, writing, and teaching focus on medieval and contemporary spirituality, theological anthropology, Christology, antiracism and LGBTQ issues, and theologies of creation. Prof. Horan regularly lectures around the United States and abroad; and serves on several university, academic, and publication editorial boards.

Biography and Research
AmyEWMaxey2
Amy E. W. Maxey, Ph.D. | Core Faculty

currently serves Oblate School of Theology as the first Rolheiser Chair in Spirituality. Dr. Maxey’s research specializes in Christian mysticism, feminist and womanist theologies, and contemporary Catholic systematic theology. Her work on mysticism spans the historical tradition, from patristic sources until the early modern period, with a particular focus on medieval women mystics. Her work also critically investigates modern and contemporary theoretical frameworks for understanding mysticism, particularly from a feminist perspective.

Biography and Research
Philip-Sheldrake
Philip Sheldrake, Ph.D. | Core Faculty

is Professor and Research Director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality at Oblate School of Theology as well as Senior Research Fellow at Westcott House in the Cambridge Theological Federation, and Senior Research Associate, at Von Hugel Institute, St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge.

Biography and Research
DSC_2016
Wendy Wright, Ph.D. | Affiliated Faculty

is Emerita Professor of Theology at Creighton University and Affiliate Faculty at Oblate School of Theology Institute for Study of Contemporary Spirituality. She earned her PhD in Late Medieval/Early Modern Contemplative at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She received honorary doctorates from De Sales University in 2000 and Assumption University in 2022 for her work in the Salesian spiritual tradition. Professor Wright’s areas of expertise include the history of Christian spirituality, family spirituality and the Catholic devotional tradition. Her scholarly work has focused on the Salesian spiritual tradition founded by Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal.

Biography and Research

Featured Doctoral Students

The Sisters of Missionaries of Charity.

Vietnam

  • When I was considering options for doctoral studies, I felt limited by the two doctoral paths typically available for students of Christianity: pastoral ministry and theology. During my search, I came upon OST’s doctorate in Christian Spirituality, an avenue that greatly excited me for its contemporary application and academic seriousness. Through my studies of classical spiritual writers, I am growing increasingly equipped to meet each individual in their depths and vulnerabilities. From my experience as a religious sister in Vietnam and my six years studying at Oblate, I have come to see how Spirituality is a highly relevant academic discipline that concerns contemporary “lived human experience” in relation to the Christian tradition. As a minority religion in Vietnam, Catholicism is called to humbly confront the numerous social challenges and worldly character borne out of what Pope Francis calls a “growing technocratic paradigm,” while demonstrating our fidelity to the unprecedented complexities of global Catholicism. OST’s Spirituality programs afford us the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of the multitude of saints, mystics, and theologians who have come before us so that we can see from a new, creative vantage point, a vantage point that will help me meet the varied spiritual and sociopolitical challenges that are present in my home country.
  • Research
    • I am a 6th-year Ph.D. candidate in Spirituality. In my research I am working to unpack Teresa of Avila’s spirituality as a model that promotes and sustains individuation in the spirituality of Vietnamese Catholic women religious. Teresa, working in the dynamic secular challenges of 16th century Spain, provides a profound feminine model of faith that transforms her secular reality in a way that can also illuminate the Vietnamese context in the 21st century, especially in light of its existence as a minority religion. The director of my dissertation is OST professor Dr. Cliff Knighten, while Dr. Xuan Hy and OST Affiliated Professor of Spirituality, Jungian, and Teresa of Avila scholar Dr. Peter Tyler are assisting me as readers.
  • Publications       

Batavia, New York

  • I choose Oblate School of Theology (OST) for a number of reasons. First, it is the only school in the United States that offers a PhD in Spirituality which I envision as a critical framework to integrate, teach, mentor, research, and publish in the Roman Catholic spiritual tradition in tandem with my lifelong experience in healthcare and leadership. Secondly, my undergraduate degree was obtained at Niagara University, a Vincentian school whose mission embraces serving the worlds poor. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate share this mission making study at OST a natural integration of charisms while providing a spiritual home.  Thirdly, OST offers the unique opportunity to study with some of the most accomplished and respected scholars in the academic discipline of spirituality testifying to the quality of the school’s  educational offerings.
  • Research
    • The focus of my research explores the phenomenon of aging in the contemporary context and the spiritual practice of renunciation utilizing the hermeneutical lens of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. This research examines the paradox of growth and diminishment encountered in the life stage of late old age within the tetradic boundaries of liminality, the spiritual practice of renunciation, late life stages in human development, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s paradigm of the spiritual life. This research is being done in collaboration with Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, Dr. Philip Sheldrake, and Daniel Horan, OFM.
  • Publications

Orizaba, México

San Antonio, TX

  • The choice to study at OST has been a Spirit-influenced endeavor. The PhD in Spirituality program is unique, and frankly, the Spirituality discipline suits me, particularly at this stage of its development, because the frontier is still relatively open. As an inherently interdisciplinary field of study, bridges are still being built between different elements of theology and the social sciences (and others). I enjoy having the liberty to “range around” and find connections among the different fields.
  • Research 
    • Grady is currently in his sixth year as a PhD student and is in the writing phase of his dissertation, which is being directed by Professor Philip Sheldrake. Grady’s research interests and concentrations include modernity, narrativity, eschatology, and the French and Desert traditions of spirituality.
  • Publications
    • I have one published article (Offerings, vol. 15) that comparatively analyzes Flannery O’Connor and Charles Taylor, particularly with regard to grace and modernity. Some of my poetry has been selected for upcoming publication (Teleios).

PhD in Spirituality

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For More Info:

Registrar’s Office

Brenda Reyna, Registrar

210.341.1366 ext. 226

Victoria Rodriguez, Associate Registrar

210.341.1366 ext. 240

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Oblate School of Theology Statement of Educational Effectiveness

Oblate School of Theology has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation  of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada to award the Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry (English and Spanish), Master of Arts (Theology), Master of Arts (Spirituality), Master of Arts (Sacred Scripture), Ph.D. in Spirituality, and Doctor of Ministry degrees. Approved for a Comprehensive Distance Education Program. 

Oblate School of Theology is proud to be a member of The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) to help expand students’ access to educational opportunities and ensure more efficient, consistent, and effective regulation of distance education programs.

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