REQUIRED DISSERTATIONS FOR EARNED DEGREES  

The True Hope Bible Institute does not require as much work of our students as Oxford and Cambridge or other Academic Institutions require of their students. We do not require a written paper for the Baccalaureate (Bachelors) degree. But in addition to taking the prescribed courses, we do require a Thesis for the Master's degree and a Dissertation for the Doctoral degree.

It takes skill to rally, arrange, and polish your ideas. The paper you write is to provide practice in clearly communicating your thoughts. It is a self-teaching method to develop your ability to effectively express yourself in written form.

If you’ve ever written anything, you should be able to write a good paper for your degree. If you have no experience in writing papers, articles, essays, etc., this will be an excellent addition to your God-developed abilities and talents that will prove most beneficial throughout your ministry life!
First, choose a subject that is particularly interesting to you. It should also be a topic that directly relates to the field your degree will be in.

DEGREE DISSERTATIONS
The purpose of a thesis or dissertation in earning a True Hope Bible Institute graduate degree is this:  To prove the student’s grasp of knowledge and understanding of the subject he or she is presenting. 

While the dissertations do not add study credits, they are essential elements of the degrees being earned, more so that even the Course Exams, because instead of merely answering predetermined questions, the student must start with a position of faith and not just support that position, but do so in agreement with the spirit and intent of God’s purposes, plans and priorities as they are clearly made known in the Bible. 

Now frankly, there’s not a lot of difference between: 

1.      An Essay

2.      A Treatise

3.      A Thesis  

4.      A Dissertation

Educators don’t always agree, but the general understanding is as follows: 

• ESSAY: A brief personal literary composition on some subject. Shorter and less formal than a treatise or thesis, but reflective, analytical, and critical. 
• TREATISE: A systematic, usually extensive written discourse on a subject. It is longer and more exhaustive than an essay. A treatment of evidence, principles, and facts, followed by a conclusion. 
• THESIS: A scholarly essay defending some proposition, usually a dissertation submitted for an academic degree. You must do a lot of background reading before you know enough about a subject to identify key or essential questions. You may not know how you stand on an issue until you have examined the evidence. You will likely begin your research with a working, preliminary or tentative thesis, which you will continue to refine until you are certain of where the evidence leads. 
• DISSERTATION: A lengthy, formal treatise, especially one written by a candidate for the doctoral degree at a university; a thesis. A formal, lengthy exposition of a topic or a thorough, written presentation of an original point of view which you support by the evidence you give in the document. 

It takes skill to rally, arrange, and polish your ideas. The paper you write is to provide practice in clearly communicating your thoughts. It is a self-teaching method to develop your ability to effectively express yourself in written form.  

DISSERTATION REQUIREMENTS: 

SUBJECT MATTER   

NOTE:  It is highly recommended that the student discuss his or her dissertation with THBI staff prior to embarking on the project. 

If you’ve ever written anything, you should be able to write a good paper for your degree. First, choose a subject that is particularly interesting to you. It should also be a topic that directly relates to the field your degree will be in.

NOTE:  Complete requirements & guidelines are found in the current Student Handbook/Catalog.