Theology and Ministry

Entry requirements

You will be expected to have at least a 2:1 Bachelor’s degree, or international equivalent, in Theology, Religious Studies or a related discipline. We will also consider candidates with a degree in another subject, provided they have relevant experience or study in Theology or Religious Studies to at least Higher Education Certificate level.

If you do not meet these formal requirements but have significant relevant experience, training, or unaccredited study, we still encourage you to apply. Admission onto one of our related postgraduate programmes may be possible on a case-by-case basis.

Your application must include a personal statement with a maximum of 500 words which may include the following:  

• Why have you chosen the MA in Theology & Ministry at Durham University
• What are your specific theological interests and how do they relate to your chosen programme
• Which specific theological texts interest you and why
• How do your prior qualifications prepare you for your chosen programme
• What do you hope to get out of the course

Months of entry

September

Course content

This integration is the hallmark of all of our modules, and is exemplified in our programme’s core module, Theological and Practical Reflection on Mission & Ministry. Here students explore Practical Theology, an approach to theology that seeks to take practice and experience seriously, both as a context for the development of new insight and faithful response in light of Scripture and tradition, and as a source of new questions to bring to Scripture and tradition.

This approach engages the whole range of theological sub-disciplines and can sometimes also be interdisciplinary in its engagement of social scientific or other academic disciplines. Above all, it reflects a desire to live faithfully in the light of rigorous and prayerful thinking.

You will gain the MA in Theology and Ministry by completing the core module, three optional taught modules and a dissertation (total 180 credits). The following modules are validated for the MA in Theology and Ministry but, as modules are usually taught on a bi-annual basis, we cannot guarantee the running of certain modules during a course of study.

Year 1 modules

Theological and Practical Reflection on Mission & Ministry (core module)

Dissertation

In recent years optional modules have included:

• Preaching from the Old Testament
• The History and Theology of the Charismatic Movement
• Intellect and Imagination: Apologetics in the Mass Media
• Preaching from the New Testament
• Leadership in Christian Ministry
• Theological Approaches to Spiritual Direction
• Mission and Ecclesiology: Critical Frameworks for Pioneering
• Forgiveness and Pastoral Ministry Today
• Advanced Old Testament Studies
• Christian Doctrine in the Life of the Church
• Advanced New Testament Studies
• The Thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Context
• Political Theology in History and Today
• Jesus the Christ: Christology for Ministry

Information for international students

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

Fees and funding