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Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Engaged Wisdom
Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Engaged Wisdom
The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is a professional doctorate designed for those serving in pastoral, therapeutic, counseling, and spiritual leadership contexts. Unlike a traditional PhD, which emphasizes extensive academic research, the DMin program at Ubiquity University focuses on applied research, practice, and real-world impact.
This unique doctoral program was created for ministers, healers, and spiritual practitioners who want to deepen their professional expertise while centering their dissertation on topics directly connected to their vocational work—such as healing, therapy, spiritual growth, leadership, and community counseling.
Graduates of the program earn the title Doctor of Ministry, a credential that recognizes advanced professional competence and affirms a commitment to applied knowledge, holistic leadership, and transformative service.
Through this program, you will expand your ability to integrate spiritual wisdom with practical action, empowering you to better serve your community, foster healing, and support inner and collective transformation.
Program Overview
Ubiquity University’s Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program welcomes students from diverse disciplines and professional backgrounds. This flexible, practice-oriented doctorate is designed to help you engage with urgent human, social, and ecological challenges while advancing your leadership in pastoral, therapeutic, and spiritual contexts.
Through a blend of required core courses, electives, and personalized study pathways, you will co-create a program that aligns with your professional goals, personal calling, and vocational purpose. Experienced mentors and academic advisors will guide you in shaping a curriculum that supports both your applied research and your practical contributions to community, healing, and spiritual growth.
Students may select courses directly from Ubiquity’s global catalog, transfer eligible credits from outside institutions (subject to transfer policies), or participate in immersive in-person intensives for doctoral credit. With this flexibility, the DMin program empowers you to integrate diverse perspectives while contributing to a more compassionate, conscious, and sustainable global civilization.
As a global institution, Ubiquity University is not accredited by any single state or nation. We are a member of the Global Accreditation Council which seeks to establish a new standard for universal education dedicated to regenerative ecological, social and spiritual principles.
Program Requirements
DMin Only (60 credits total):
Core Courses (11 credits total):
– Chartres Academy (4 credits, in-person or virtual)
– Great Books (3 credits)
– Creative Journey to Dissertation course ( 4 credits, virtual)
Additional Doctoral Courses: 25 credits (chosen with Dean’s approval)
Dissertation: 24 credits
Combined MA/DMin in Wisdom Studies (80 credits total):
For students who have not yet completed a Master’s degree, Ubiquity offers a combined MA/DMin track. This allows you to earn both qualifications in a single integrated program.
Master’s Level Core Courses (4 credits total):
– Creative Journey to Dissertation: Finding Your Voice, Making Your Mark (4 credits, online, with Dr. Gyorgyi Szabo)
Additional Master’s Level Courses: 16 credits (approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies)
Doctoral Level Core Courses (7 credits total):
– Chartres Academy (4 credits, in-person or virtual)
– Great Books (3 credits)
Additional Doctoral Level Courses: 29 credits (approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies)
Doctoral Dissertation: 24 credits
Learning Options
Students may select courses directly from Ubiquity’s global catalog, transfer eligible credits from outside institutions (subject to transfer policies), or participate in immersive in-person intensives for doctoral credit. With this flexibility, the DMin program empowers you to integrate diverse perspectives while contributing to a more compassionate, conscious, and sustainable global civilization.
Dissertation Samples:
Mary Ellen Johnson, DMin – The Transformational Power of Walking: The Relationship between Mental Intention, Physical Movement, and Spiritual Growth.
This dissertation explores the transformational power of walking – the relationship between mental intention, physical movement, and spiritual growth – through three channels: the athletic pursuit of long-distance walking for a secular cause, the meditative practice of walking a labyrinth, and the spiritual act of pilgrimage to a sacred site.
Deborah Doblado Bowers, DMin – A Shamanic Journey to Wholeness: Birthing a Ministry of the Earth.
This dissertation describes a shamanic journey into the ceremonial aspects of birthing a renewed story of intimacy in our relationship to Earth. It is a journey to wholeness. Various maps, guideposts, and shape-shifting recipes are used to navigate the territory and explore the core question: “What does a Ministry of the Earth” look like, one rooted in the voices and relationship of trees and women, researched in nature through relationality, storytelling and ceremony?” The structure of a tree supports the framework for exploration, moving from the roots of relationality, to trunks of stories, branches of ceremony, and fruits of action.
Linda Griebenow, DMin – Circles of Coherence(TM): Awakening Through Silence, Symbol and Story.
The Circles of Coherence(TM) method is a dynamic process and integral approach designed to raise human awareness, enhance individual and collective consciousness and align human behavior with the values of the emerging paradigm. This process-oriented, experiential method is delivered to ordinary people in intentional supportive communities called Wisdom Circles. The Circles of Coherence(TM) method combines teachings from the wisdom traditions with ideas and concepts from new sciences and utilizes wisdom gleaned from the direct experiences of our ordinary lives as catalysts for transformation and change. This dissertation includes a description of the origins of the Circles of Coherence(TM) method, its evolution, basic concepts and core themes as well as a detailed description of the actual formation, challenges and experiences of the original Wisdom Circle. A summary of the outcome of the initial Wisdom Circle is detailed along with a discussion of future application and possibilities.
Samarah Reily, DMin – Be Not Afraid: Mother Mary Reveals Seven Gateways to Abiding Grace.
Be Not Afraid chronicles the author’s journey of awakening during her two decades as a devoted channel for Mother Mary. By synthesizing thousands of hours of transmissions, an evolutionary path of seven gateways to conscious evolution emerges. Referencing Marian literature and the rise of the divine feminine further illuminates a possible framework for for those dedicated to global healing. A journey through the seven gateways of Awakening, Discovery, Commitment, Tribulation, Rebirth, Knowing and Surrender can create a joyous reunion with our authentic spirit. In a divisive and fractured world, Mother Mary’s wisdom inspires hope and the seven gateways offer a path to justice, sovereignty, and grace.
Other Dissertation Titles:
Paula Marie Bishop Pociecha (DMin): Embracing the Journey: Navigating Through the Unknown & Emerging into New Action. Dec 2010
E.Beebe Frazer (DMin): Embodied Birthing: Portal to Transformation. April 2010.
Paul Allen Gibson, Jr (DMin): Telling an Old Story in a New Way: Reimagining the Christian Story in Light of Contemporary Scholarship About Human Beings, the Universe, and the Divine. Feb 2013
Theresa Chance Gleason: (DMin): Full Circle: The Experience of the Holy in Everyday Life. Essays & Poems on the Individual and Community. March 2009
Jean Hammond (DMin): Grounded Life: Living My Spiritual Journey Along the Paths of Creation Spirituality. Nov 2009
Elizabeth Herron (DMin): The Dark Passage: The Spiritual Transformation of Childhood Trauma. July 2009
Susan L. Hessel, LPC (DMin): Transformational Healing. March 2010
Rev. Beth L. Johnson (DMin): Mystical Visions: Creating Collage Art as Meditation and Prayer. March 2011
Louise Leonard (DMin): Evoking the Inner Landscape With Haiku. Jan 2012.
Thomas McGarrity (DMin): Divine Power Speaks with the Buddha. 2015.
Carolyn Elizabeth Croul Merrick (DMin): Our Changing Cultural Landscape and the Necessity of Early Sexuality Education. Jan 2013
Marian Methner (DMin): One Sees Clearly Only With the Heart – A Map to Living Openheartedly. May 2011
Devaa Haley Mitchell (DMin): Sacred Alchemy: Bringing the Goddess Alive in Your Life. Feb 2012
Mary P. Moskoff (DMin): Walking New Paths to Peace. Integrating the Use of Labyrinths as Tools in Peace Building. May 2010
Mary LaRue McClarey Murphy (DMin): Connections: Nourishing the Spiritual Lives of Teachers and Students. Feb 2010
Carol S. Pearson (DMin): The Transforming Leader: New Approaches to Leadership for the Twenty-First Century. Feb 2012
Mary Katherine Plaster (DMin): Mary’s Millennial Masks and Metamorphoses. May 2010
Rev Gail Ransom (DMin): Cosmogenesis: Co-Creating Christian Communities of Spirit for the Twenty-First Century. Feb 2010
Lillie Rowden (DMin): The Medecine Wheel and Christian Religion: A Quest for Beauty, Truth, and Goodness. Nov 2011
Wayne E. Schwandt (DMin): Invitation: The Journey to Creation Spirituality. March 2010
Paul Stephen Smith (DMin): The Use of Humor During Grief Does Not Equal Somber. Jan 2013
David E. Summers (DMin): My Journey to Joy. Jan 2010
Rev Andrea Dueber Travers (DMin): Twelve Wisdom Steps- Unifying Principles of the 12 Steps of A.A. Found in the Wisdom Traditions. Feb 2010
Deborah Jeanne Webster (DMin): A Modern Tale of the Handless Maiden: Accepting the Unacceptable. Nov 2009
Prerequisites
A Master’s degree in any field
Transcript providing proof of graduation (a diploma copy alone is not sufficient)
If you do not yet hold a Master’s degree, Ubiquity offers a combined MA/DMin in Wisdom Studies. This pathway allows you to complete the master’s-level coursework required (20 credits) and then move directly into the doctoral-level requirements. The combined degree is a single program, not two separate qualifications.
Admissions Process
Initial interview with the Dean of Graduate Studies
Submission of required documents prior to course registration:
Transcript of your completed Master’s degree (showing title, date of graduation, courses taken, and grades received)
An essay outlining your educational goals and intended area of applied research
Tuition and Fees
Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Program
Total Tuition: $18,000 for 60 credits ($300 per credit)
In addition to tuition, students may pay the basic course fee for each Ubiquity course taken.
Combined MA/DMin Program
Total Tuition: $20,000 for 80 credits total
Master’s-level credits: $200 per credit
DMin-level credits: $300 per credit
Plus the basic course fee for each Ubiquity course taken
Courses Outside Ubiquity
Students may take courses outside Ubiquity for transfer credit. To do so:
Submit a Credit Transfer Form (request from the Registrar)
Receive approval from the Dean of Graduate Studies, who will confirm the number of transferable credits
Pay the transfer tuition:
$200 per credit for Master’s-level courses
$300 per credit for DMin-level courses
Additional Costs
Basic course fees are always due for Ubiquity courses (in addition to per-credit tuition).
In-person courses will incur additional costs for logistics such as accommodation, meals, and travel.
Total costs may vary depending on the number of courses taken at Ubiquity versus transferred from another institution.
Policies & Information
The rules guiding our assignment collection and grading process can be found here: Ubiquity University Grading Policy
Information about how we process refund or cancellation requests can be found here: Refund and Cancellation Policy
For more information: Ubiquity University Student Handbook
Our mission is grounded in the reality that history has reached a critical moment and people everywhere need to be nurtured to develop new, conscious mindsets, skillsets and toolsets to solve global challenges.
Ubiquity University is different. We are built for people who understand that the current global paradigm is unsustainable. We believe that meeting systemic threats such as climate change depends on the creation of empowered individuals who have done the inner work needed to prepare them to do right and do well in the world.
What our students say
Co-directors
Examples of Dissertations from our Students
The Creative Journey to Dissertation
Finding Your Voice, Making your Mark
The “Creative Journey to Dissertation” is a 1-week intensive designed by our Dean of Graduate Studies Dr. Gyorgyi Szabo. The course is a critical part of the dissertation writing process and is a requirement for all MA candidates.
Faculty: Gyorgyi Szabo
Support during your Graduate Program
During your graduate dissertation writing you will be supported by a Major Advisor of your own choosing, as well as optional writing courses and writing mentorship.
