Doctoral studies

The doctoral field of study is in the process of accreditation. The internal evaluation report was submitted to ARACIS in September 2025.

The information below is published as online reference points for ARACIS and is considered provisional until the completion of the program’s accreditation.

The mission of the doctoral program is to train a new generation of researchers and academic leaders in religious studies in general and Protestant theology in particular, capable of contributing to the scientific development of the field, ensuring continuity in ITP’s academic process, serving ecclesial communities, and facilitating intercultural and interreligious dialogue in contemporary society.

Priority Research Directions

Biblical Theology and Hermeneutics (Old and New Testament)

  • Investigations regarding the textual history of the Old and New Testament
  • Analysis of the compositional history of the books of the Old Testament
  • Approaches to theologically problematic texts in the Old and New Testament
  • Advanced studies in prophetic literature
  • Research in biblical historiography
  • Interdisciplinary studies on the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East


Systematic Theology and Ethics

  • Defining personalities in the history of 20th-century theology
  • Interdisciplinary studies in theology and philosophy
  • Modern theological currents (radical orthodoxy?)
  • The problem of theodicy in Christian theology (or even more broadly? Central questions in Christian theology/apologetics)
  • Theological ethics and philosophical ethics


Practical and Applied Theology

  • The relevance of textual character – with special attention to the expansion of reception aesthetics
  • The homiletical triad as a challenge
  • The importance of biblical hermeneutics in homiletical exegesis
  • The importance and potential of the contextual perspective in the individualized church
  • Caring as the manifestation of the essence of the Church
  • The poimenical and ecclesiological foundations of pastoral counseling ministries related to marriage


Protestant History and Heritage

  • The history of Protestant church institutions
  • The history of Protestant education in Transylvania
  • The Unitarian Church of Transylvania: Doctrinal and institutional evolution in the context of the Protestant Reformation (16th–18th centuries)
  • Transylvanian Antitrinitarianism: From Ferenc Dávid to the consolidation of modern Unitarian identity
  • The Unitarian Church and Transylvanian multicultural society: Interconfessional relations and survival strategies (1568–1918)
  • Transylvanian Unitarian theology between tradition and modernity: Doctrinal adaptations and contemporary challenges
  • The cultural and artistic heritage of the Unitarian community in Transylvania: Expressions of identity and preservation of collective memory