Doctoral Research Scholars Program

Princeton Theological Seminary welcomes doctoral students from other institutions to participate in the Doctoral Research Scholars Program (DRSP) and study for one semester (either the fall or the spring semester) at Princeton Seminary with access to the Seminary library.

Apply for the Doctoral Research Scholars Program

Two Tracks for the DRSP
Princeton Theological Seminary offers two tracks for the Doctoral Research Scholars Program that allow doctoral students to visit the Seminary for research purposes: 1) “Track A: Doctoral Research Scholars Program – PTS Funded,” which is open to international doctoral students from institutions outside the fifty United States and 2) “Track B: Doctoral Research Scholars Program – Self-Funded,” which is open to students in institutions whether foreign or domestic.

Conditions of Acceptance
Two conditions of acceptance apply to both tracks: 1) A PTS faculty member must agree to serve as the student’s primary adviser; and, 2) The student must agree to follow regulations; in particular, the Visa restriction, which does not permit employment of any sort, on or off campus.

Features Common to Both Tracks
Admitted students will be assigned a faculty adviser, granted access to the seminary and university libraries, to computer labs, and to a PTS email account and campus postal box. Admitted students may apply without charge to audit (without academic credit) up to two PTS PhD seminars during their stay. Students accepted into either track A or B must pay for their roundtrip transportation, visa application fees, books, and any computer, telephone, or other personal expenses.

Period of Study
The DRSP is designed to offer a brief (normally, a one semester) period of study for doctoral students in support of their dissertation research at their home institutions. Application for Track A may ordinarily be made for the fall semester (late August-December) only. Application for Track B may be for either the fall semester (late August-December) or for the spring semester (late January-May).

Application Deadlines
The application deadline for both Track-A and Track-B is February 15. Admissions decisions are sent to applicants in May. All applicants must complete the DRSP online application in full. Only completed applications will be reviewed by the committee.