The D.Min. degree is a second professional degree, which includes two years of study and one to two years of research and a project in the candidates local area of work. The Ph.D. degree in this area follows other Ph.D. programs with two years of seminars, comprehensive exams (usually not oral), and then if a person passes the exam, a dissertation. An alternative terminal degree after the M.Div. is a Master's of Theology (Th.M). a Th.M is one year of seminary study followed by a shorter thesis (usually around one hundred pages) that does not necessarily have to be a unique contribution to the field (unlike a dissertation). A person who fails the comprehensive exam in this discipline may also be awarded a Th.M.