Application Deadline

• October 2024, August 2025

• One month before each start term.

If you meet the above requirements, submit the following:

• Application: Completed and signed at eastern.edu/apply
• Official Transcripts: Official transcripts from an institutionally accredited and endorsed by CHEA must be submitted from all institutions of higher education the applicant attended. Students with a Theology degree or equivalent are given 12 credits of advanced standing and are only required to take 48 total credits. GPA over 3.0 in any field of study. 
  • Learn How to Request a Transcript from your previous school(s).
• Annotated Resume: 10 years as a practitioner in a professional practice, such as minister, lawyer, nurse, etc., outlined in the format of an annotated bibliography. For each entry, there is an annotation of a few sentences describing the achievement, accolade, work experience, etc. Its purpose is to provide information to the readers that goes beyond what a person might find out from a standard resume.
• Initial Artifact Description: A detailed description of the artifact that might become the focus of the doctoral research (300-500 words), uploaded in an essay format.  In a PhD in Professional Practice, an artifact is any work product created as part of the candidate’s professional practice, based on ideas, insights, and written words. This includes products, publications, systems, or frameworks with visibility and relevance beyond their organization, business, or immediate clients. These artifacts serve as a basis for reflection and theorization, generating new knowledge relevant to the candidate's field. This approach starts from the learner's work context, making the professional work itself the curriculum. This broad definition supports innovation and transdisciplinary learning, fostering professional and scholarly growth.
• Personal Essay: This statement contains the applicant's reasons for undertaking doctoral study (1000 words). This essay will also be used to demonstrate a student’s writing ability.  
• 3 Recommendations:  
  • 3 letters of recommendation for study and evidence of Professional, Academic, and  Personal competency. 
    • The professional reference must be from a present or past colleague in the same profession
    • The academic reference must be from an instructor of a course you took as an enrolled student.  
  • Email your references a link to our Recommendation Form and ask them to fill it out on your behalf. 
• Interview with the Director of the PhD in Professional Practice.
  • You will be contacted with more information and to schedule this interview after we have received all of the required materials below.

• A formal doctoral assessment will be undertaken at the end of Phase 1 (see Curriculum Webpage) in which students present a portfolio of a work-product (or artifact) for continuation admission into the next phase of the program. 
• To advance to Phase 2, a student must also achieve a GPA of 2.7 or above. (B-)
• Upon successful completion of this phase, the student will be approved to continue to the next phase of the PhD in Professional Practice.