Key Takeaways:
- Our #1 ranking school for an online Doctor of Ministry program is Regent University, followed by Bethel Seminary.
- Most programs emphasize practical ministry, offering options like full online or hybrid learning to accommodate busy schedules.
- Tuition varies significantly, with rates ranging from $396 to $960 per credit hour, depending on the institution.
Church leaders, missionaries, and other faith-based workers looking to advance their ministry effectiveness can now consider a Doctor of Ministry online. Many D.Min. programs have been distance-based for quite some time. What is changing is the possibility of completing a 100% online D.Min.: no travels, only online studies that will enhance your present ministry context when it is convenient for your schedule.
Presently, we found fifteen online and hybrid online/traditional D.Min. programs that we profile for you below, some of which are accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. Others are accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education, and some are just regionally accredited. All are eligible for federal student aid. Expect more of these convenient Doctor of Ministry programs online to emerge in the next few years.
Featured Programs
For entry into most of these programs, your ability to express yourself in words must match your faith in this ministerial path. It is highly recommended that you secure at least three appropriate people who can wisely present the best variety of your experience to complement your own written presentation of your future.
Most of these programs have a pilgrimage, senior project, or dissertation you must fulfill. Some may not necessarily be the choice for LGBTQ, while others strongly proclaim that direction of the calling. Some of the Everyone among the programs that follow has an academic and research tradition that provides you with libraries and faculty resources to support your path to ministry.
Please note that Doctorate in Ministry differs significantly from a PhD in Theology; the first is a very practical, real-world problem-solving kind of degree, and the second is more research-based and academically oriented. Most of the following programs have been developing cohort-structured distance learning programs to emulate the experience of in-person student training.
Most of these programs will have the necessary hurdles most doctoral programs require to reach candidacy and graduate. However, the process has grown increasingly sympathetic to contemporary pressures, rigors, and expectations.
All tuition numbers come from the university web pages. Some were back-calculated from the total, or yearly tuition, as hourly numbers were not available in some cases.
NOTE: This ranking/article was originally published in September 2016 and was last updated in December 2022. The 2022 updates may affect the ranking order, but the list has not been re-ordered.
Online D.Min. Offerings
Regent University School of Divinity
Virginia Beach, VA
Doctor of Ministry Online
Regent University was founded in 1977 by televangelist Pat Robertson as the Christian Broadcasting Network University. It came to its present name in 1990. Regent’s D.Min. online is targeted to a broad range of servants of the church, including preachers, chaplains, counselors, missionaries, and parachurch leaders.
You can choose between the 100% online D.Min. option and the partly online D.Min. plus limited residency. This Doctor of Ministry online is also convenient because it offers six different start dates throughout the year, and most complete the 36 credit hours in three to five years. Choose one of these concentrations in the fully online DMin program:
- Christian Leadership and Renewal
- Clinical Pastoral Education
- Community Transformation
- Military Ministry
- Ministry Leadership Coaching
- Accreditation: Association of Theological School Commission on Accrediting
- Affiliation: Interdenominational Evangelical
- Hourly Tuition Rate: $670
Bethel Seminary of Bethel University
Arden Hills, MN
Doctor of Ministry Online
Bethel Seminary was the first to be accredited for a 100% online D.Min. program, aiming to train transformational leaders and scholars conveniently. Choose one of five different concentrations depending on your ministry setting and future goals:
- Biblical and Theological Engagement
- Church Leadership
- Congregation, and Family Care
- Missional Effectiveness
- Servant Leadership
Also, choose one of two program delivery options for the Bethel Seminary of Bethel University D.Min. online: fully online or online with campus intensives.
- Accreditation: Association of Theological Schools Commission on Accrediting
- Affiliation: Converge – formerly, the Baptist General Conference
- Hourly Tuition Rate: $446
Liberty University Online
Lynchburg, VA
Doctor of Ministry Online
Founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell, Liberty University features an online doctorate of ministry that is a 30-hour program that can be completed in two years on average. The degree can be pursued in a 100% online fashion. There are 14 specializations available, including the following:
- urban ministry
- worship
- spiritual formation
- discipleship
- chaplaincy
Students can transfer up to half of the needed credits from previous graduate study. This school allows applications from students without an MDiv.
- Accreditation: Association of Theological Schools Commission on Accrediting
- Affiliation: Baptist
- Tuition Rate (per semester, 7-15 credits): $2,750
Northeastern Seminary
Rochester, NY
Doctor of Ministry Online
The online doctorate of ministry at Northeastern Seminary can be accomplished with a brief residency component occurring in Rochester, NY. The degree is 34 credit hours in length. Three specializations are offered with Northeastern Seminary’s online doctorate in ministry:
- scripture
- spirituality
- leadership
This program culminates in a dissertation and asks that applicants submit all transcripts but does not specify a degree they must achieve to apply.
- Accreditation: Association of Theological Schools Commission on A crediting
- Affiliation: Independent and Multi-Denominational
- Hourly Tuition Rate: $539
Luther Rice College and Seminary
Lithonia, GA
Doctor of Ministry Online
Luther Rice College and Seminary has a 30-credit program for their online doctorate of ministry offering. Four one-week-long courses are required on campus, and the rest of the program is fully online. No specializations are offered by the Luther Rice College and Seminary online DMin program.
For entry into this program, you must write two pages that convey experience balanced with appropriate levels of ministerial duties and related duties. You should convey your professional and incontrovertible Christian qualifications skillfully.
- Accreditation: Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) and The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS)
- Affiliation: Baptist
- Hourly Tuition Rate: $396
Beulah Heights University
Atlanta, GA
Doctor of Ministry Online
36 credit hours in length, the online doctorate of ministry at Beulah Heights University allows up to nine hours to be transferred into the program. The school utilizes a fifteen-week course structure. The eighth week of each course of the core portion is a required on-site residency.
Small class sizes and reasonable tuition are the hallmarks of the Beulah Heights University online DMin degree. This school does not require an MDiv for application purposes. International students will have additional admission requirements.
- Accreditation: Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) and The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS)
- Affiliation: Christian Interdenominational
- Tuition Rate per Semester: $8,510
Drew University
Madison, NJ
Doctor of Ministry Online
Drew University offers five concentrations:
- courageous leadership in a changing culture
- Bible, theology, and leadership in the Korean context
- faith, health, and social equity
- pilgrimage and spirituality
- women’s religious leadership
Drew University DMin online approaches the topic multiculturally. 30 credits make up the program, 18 hours of coursework, and 12 hours of research. When you graduate, you will have heightened your awareness and built strategies to aid and inspire the disadvantaged and the desperate.
The admissions process here includes an application and an interview, which can be as simple as that.
- Accreditation: Association of Theological Schools Commission on Accrediting
- Affiliation: United Methodist
- Hourly Tuition Rate: $648
Clarks Summit University
Clarks Summit, PA
Doctor of Ministry Online
Clarks Summit University’s online doctorate of ministry comprises thirty hours of graduate study with Bible exposition, ministry, and pastoral tracks available. Dissertation and mentorship are the two defining structures of this program.
Tuition discounts are available to qualified students. This degree can be completed in five to seven years. Each term begins with a one-week on-campus module and 12 weeks of online study. Seven start dates a year are scheduled by the Clarks Summit University DMin online program.
Some classes are offered completely online, and some have the aforementioned week on-campus component. Students can transfer up to nine credit hours to this program.
- Accreditation: Association for Biblical Higher Education
- Affiliation: Baptist
- Hourly Tuition Rate: $660
Catholic University of America
Washington, D.C.
Doctor of Ministry Online
The Catholic University of America offers four specializations through its online DMin degree:
- evangelization
- seminary formation
- liturgical catechesis
- spirituality
This 30-hour program contains nine hours in a specialization. Classes run between April 1 and July 15 for three years. Three weeks in June are spent on campus, and attendance is mandatory. All other studies in the online doctorate of ministry from the Catholic University of America are conducted online.
This is a 42-credit program that calls for a doctoral project to be proposed, approved and completed before graduation.
- Accreditation: Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- Affiliation: Catholic
- Hourly Tuition Rate: $900
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor of Ministry Online
Transformational leadership is the focus of the online doctor of ministry at Boston University. In their view, anyone can be a transformational leader. Three-year, low residency program. This 32-credit program makes allowances for four credits to be transferred in.
According to their main page, the program has just over 70 students, of which at least one in five is international. The same page affirms the openness toward gay, lesbian, trans, and others equally needing representation and faith.
- Accreditation: Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools
- Affiliation: United Methodist
- Tuition Rate: $23,040
Anderson University
Anderson, SC
Doctor of Ministry Online
Students at Anderson University interested in the DMin online program must choose between Biblical preaching and 21st-century ministry. In this 35-credit-hour program that can be completed in three years of hybrid study alternating between on-site intensives and online study, the focus of both specializations is preaching.
Indeed, Anderson University participates yearly in the National Conference on Preaching. Students in both tracks are strongly encouraged to attend and learn about building and sustaining a passion for preaching the word of God.
- Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- Affiliation: Southern Baptist Convention
- Hourly Tuition Rate: $480
Duke University
Durham NC
Doctor of Ministry Online
Working on the cohort model, where a small group of students move through their class work together and work toward the same graduation date, the Duke University hybrid doctor of ministry employs mentorship as a component while allowing students to continue their current ministerial mission.
One of the top programs of its kind in the country, the coursework is structured in five residencies over two years with the addition of online coursework in between and capped off with an independent research project conducted in the following year.
Studying for a DMin online at Duke University, one can expect both scheduled Zoom courses and independent online study.
- Accreditation: Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools
- Affiliation: United Methodist
- Tuition Rate per credit: $480
Fordham University
The Bronx, NY
Doctor of Ministry Online
Fordham University’s Doctor of Ministry Online allows two tracks for their students: spirituality and the generalist track. Students work with a faculty mentor all the way through the program. The 36-credit hour degree is offered in on-campus evening classes (for NY adjacent students), online study, and on-campus intensives.
This Jesuit-administered program balances rigorous Christian theological inquiry with real-world ministerial concerns. A doctoral project is required for graduation from Fordham University’s online DMin program.
- Accreditation: Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
- Affiliation: Catholic/Jesuit
- Hourly Tuition Rate: $960
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Doctor of Divinity
The Candler School of Theology at Emory University emphasizes the relatively brief time needed to complete the degree — 3 years. Also stressed is Emory’s synchronous learning experience that enhances the sense of camaraderie resembling in-person learning. Two tracks are available to you:
- Church Leadership and Community Witness
- Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation
Featured posts on the program blog perhaps best distill the approach of these programs “Prophetically Disrupting the New Religious Marketplace” and “Toward a Christian Antiracism Pedagogy in the Era of Mass Incarceration.” This 32-credit hour program also includes a final project that entails an innovation in ministry in your location.
- Affiliation: United Methodist
- Accreditation: Association of Theological Schools Commission on Accrediting
- Tuition per year: $13,000
Look for more Doctor of Ministry programs online to emerge in the coming years, shifting to a 100% online format.
- Doctorate Degree Online
- Highest Paying PhD
- Difference Between Online Degree and Campus Degree Programs
- Understanding the Clinical and Counseling Differences
- Online Christian Colleges
CVO Staff