| Oxford Graduate School | |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Qui Facit Per Alium Facit Per Se" |
| Established | 1980 |
| Type | Private |
| Chancellor | E. Glenn Wagner[1] |
| President | Rebecca Fitzgerald Tucker |
| Academic staff | 15 |
| Students | approx. 100 |
| Location | Dayton, TN, USA |
| Campus | Rural |
| Website | [2] |
Oxford Graduate School is a graduate school founded in 1980 in Crystal Springs (Dayton) Tennessee, focused on integrating faith with traditional educational and professional disciplines. Oxford Graduate School is an accredited member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). Though faculty are primarily Christian in their personal orientation, OGS has graduates from multiple denominations and belief systems. The Graduate School is "non-sectarian, non-profit, and non-discriminatory"[1].
The student body consists of approximately 100 students with a median age of 49 years old.[3] The graduate school has fifteen faculty members.[4]
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The graduate school is "not a seminary" but offers degrees in which students are encouraged to "incorporate the principles of their faith into their academic work and to show how it influences their vocational practices."[5] The intention is to establish a community of scholars united in their efforts to find practical solutions to social problems in business and industry, the social professions, religion, para-church organizations, and society as a whole. The program teaches social scientific research focused on the family, community, and the church or a combination of these areas [6].
The study of religion is concerned with analyzing the nature and role of religious faith and experience in specific societal contexts. The social setting of Christianity is used as the primary context for research in religion. Studies are conducted to determine how distinct Christian concepts and values assist in shaping the attitudes, goals, and behavior of individuals and various cultural groups. Other religious traditions may be studied to contrast their similarities and differences with Christianity and to provide a perspective for comprehending the nature of religious experience in a particular society.
The study of society is related to the analysis of primary social institutions as they interact with one another. The analysis of a community includes the study of such aspects of social life as government, education, science, law, the arts, health care, business, and the professions or vocations associated with them. The structures of the various institutions are scrutinized using concepts and techniques derived from the social and behavioral sciences. The goal is to combine the study of religion with the study of society in order to provide information for resolving social problems within the human community[2].
The doctoral program is designed with the goal of "the sociological integration of religion and society."[7] The program consists of seven week-long intensive residencies on campus (called "Core" sessions), a required 10-day residency at the University of Oxford conducted every January at Kellogg College and the Bodleian Library for research (an annual tradition since 1981), and a required week-long residency at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Between Core sessions, students interact with faculty through guided tutorial instruction where subjects are divided into 30, 60, 90, and 120 day assignments. Typical course requirements consist of eclectic reading and research, essays, and a "Core Content Comprehensive Review". This process typically requires 2–3 years to complete.
The program also consists of a dissertation phase following doctoral candidacy, whereby the student begins the process of conducting original sociological research. Successful completion of the dissertation leads to graduation. This process typically requires an additional 2–3 years to complete[3].
The Master of Letters (MLitt) degree is offered for Family Life Education and Organizational Leadership for non-profit organizations. The degree requires 30 semester hours of course credit. After the completion of the course work a thesis is required. Courses are offered three times yearly in a series of four one-week core sessions on campus.[8]
The rural campus of the institution consists of forty-five acres and seven buildings: the administrative office building and lecture hall, the Oxford Lodge dormitory, the Weir Memorial Chapel and Institute Centre, the William O. Green Study Centre (library) and Parks Hall, the Gathering Place (cafeteria), and two housing units, the Alpha and Beta houses.
Adjacent to the campus is the Crystal Springs recreation complex. It includes an Olympic swimming pool, driving range, bowling and a skating rink. Several walking tracks are also in the area. Students have access to the recreation complex.