Doctor of Theology
Under graduate Course
Post graduate Course
Doctorate Course
External Studies
TTS offers D.Th. program in Communication and Social Analysis. The primary purpose of the D.Th. program is to train teachers and researchers for the various theological colleges in India. It also serves as a preparation for advanced research of doctoral studies.
Department of Communication
The Tamilnadu Theological Seminary, the pioneering institution in Communication Studies in India started introducing courses on Communication in the year 1975. It began with only one single activity namely the audio- visual department with an aim that students who come for ministerial training should know how media works in the fabric of society, and also the techniques to use, if they wish to be part of modern life and also to be effective in ministry. The Department was in close association with the Rural Theological Institute as the Department was engaged in rural communication. By working with the RTI, the Department tried to inform, educate and awaken the people through drama, skits and songs. The mobile theatre programme which was launched in 1982, took up various religious and social issues was a very useful venture of the communication department. The Communication block and the recording studio were built in the year 1986 and opened on 25 November 1986. The Department gained affiliation to the Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) to start the Diploma in Communication and started offering this course from 1987. The Department had various consultations to prepare a curriculum for the B.D course and it was accepted by the Senate of Serampore College as a compulsory Senate examined paper in 1992. The Department also prepared a curriculum for M.Th. studies in Communication and submitted to the Senate of Serampore College for approval. In June 1988 the Seminary inaugurated the two years Masters Course (M.Th.) in the field of Communication. This is the first effort in the whole of Asia, in offering communication courses from a theological perspective. In 1995 the MKU gave permission (inaugurated on 7 September 1995) to offer M.Sc in Communication. The doctoral programme was inaugurated on 6 July 2011 and since then TTS has been a doctoral center for the D.Th studies in Communication. TTS has so far produced 152 post graduates (M.Th) in the branch of communication and 7 doctorates. Presently 6 students are in M.Th and 5 in D.Th studies.
Department of Social Analysis
Social Analysis in theological studies had its formation in the TTS way back in the early 1970s. Its beginning arose out of the need to understand and assimilate exposure experiences for students of theology . Dr. Bas Wielenga and Dr. Gabriele Dietrich, staff researchers in CISRS under the guidance of Dr. M.M. Thomas, pioneer activist pastor Rev. Y. David and theologian Dr. Dhyanchand Carr organised this discipline further integrating frame frame works of Biblical Theology.
Social Analysis gained further systematisation from the Liberation Theology. The primacy of poverty and the world-over peoples movements for social transformation required the Social Analysis to be integrated for making theology a praxis or what is termed as contextualisation. Francois Houtart, Belgian priest sociologist who studied South American and South Asian societies, pioneered a framework for analysis for practical use for non professionals for interpreting and intervening. Bas and Gabriele made further adaptations with the experience and inputs of activists and critical academic thinkers for equity and ecojustice. From 1985 the Social Analysis was supported and inspired by a resource centre known as the Centre for Social Analysis with classified documentation and close involvement with peoples activism in secular movements. From 1988 Social Analysis became part of the study requirements of the Senate of Serampore BD curriculum. Being not purely an academic discourse it is considered to be an interdisciplinary exercise and therefore kept in the theology cluster. The department has trained well over hundred M.Th and 15 doctoral scholars so far.
The application for D.Th Course can be downloaded here