In 2016, Nanjing Union Theological Seminary (NJUTS) became the first seminary to offer a doctoral program. The program in systematic theology marked the first-ever doctoral program run by the Chinese church. In September of that year, the first batch of students enrolled in the program.
According to the national seminary, the students became doctoral candidates on May 4, 2018, when they made reports for dissertation proposals. They have taken all the courses and passed all the exams. They will become the first Ph.D. theological graduates by 2020.
Founded in 1952, NJUTS is the only national Christian seminary in China. Over the past 60 years, the school has cultivated about 2,000 graduates, most of whom serve on the front line of the Chinese grass-roots church across the 32 provinces, playing a significant role in promoting the sound development of churches in Mainland China.
