Theology and Religion

Entry requirements

The standard entry requirement is a BA (Honours) degree (UK 2:1 or equivalent, for example, a GPA of 3.7 on a 4.0 scale) in Theology, Religious Studies or a related discipline.

The two principal exceptions to this rule are as follows:

• Graduates of other disciplines who have studied at undergraduate or equivalent level in one or more of the areas in which they hope to work, through their first degrees, through training for the ministry of the churches, and so on
• Students from overseas universities who have successfully reached a point in their theological studies comparable with completion of a British BA at the standard noted above - for example, on the German model, passing the Zwischenprüfung or Kolloquium and two semesters at the Hauptseminar level.

The University will contact the referees named in your application directly. Please ensure that your referees are able to provide a reference in a timely fashion. If you are also applying for a Durham MA bursary, please ensure that your referees understand that their references will be used both for admission and for a very competitive funding process.

Months of entry

October

Course content

The MA in Theology and Religion serves both the specific needs of those focused on progressing towards doctoral research and also of those looking to continue relatively broad-based postgraduate studies in Theology and Religion, forexample in support of a career in teaching.

• Choice of one of the three core modules
• Three optional modules
• Dissertation.

Core modules:

One of the following:

• Paul and His Interpreters (or an alternative module in Biblical Studies in some years)
• Classic Texts in Christian Theology
• Social Scientific Methods in the Study of Religion

Plus a Dissertation.

Examples of optional modules:

Optional modules in previous years have included 2-3 choices from:

• Advanced Hebrew Texts
• Advanced Aramaic
• Middle Egyptian
• The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament
• The Bible and Hermeneutics
• Paul and his Interpreters
• Gospels and Canon
• Patristic Ecclesiology
• England's Religious Revolution 1640-1660
• Liturgy and Sacramentality
• Conceiving Change in Contemporary Catholicism
• Twentieth-Century Catholic Theology
• Christian Gender
• Principles of Theological Ethics
• Catholic Social Thought
• Doctrine of Creation
• Classic Texts in Christian Theology
• Christianity in the Second Century
• Faith and Reason
• Word and Image: Classic Foundations for Christian Visuality
• Intro to New Testament Greek
• Intro to Biblical Hebrew
• High Medieval Franciscan Theology
• The Thought of Thomas Aquinas in Context

Plus up to 1 choice from:

• Selected modules from the MA in Theology and Ministry
• Level 3 undergraduate module, or any Level 1–2 language module offered by the Department of Theology and Religion, taken in conjunction with the designated Extended Study in Theology & Religion module
• 30 credits from another Board of Studies (including appropriate credit-bearing language modules offered by the University’s Centre for Foreign Language Study).

Information for international students

If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-Masters pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

Fees and funding

For further information see the course listing.