Theology and Religion

About

As a student on the BA in Theology, you will receive on average 7.5 hours of timetabled contact per week over the course of your three years. This will included a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and study skills classes. The number and balance of these different activities will change over the course of your programme as you develop your knowledge and your abilities to undertake your own independent and scholarly engagement with texts and issues.

Timetabled contact is only the beginning of your learning. It provides a starting point for your development as an independent learner. Typically in the first two years, classroom teaching and learning will form nearly 25% of the time you will spend on your studies; you will be expected to spend the remaining 75% of your time on independent research.

In the first year you will receive about 8-9 hours of timetabled contact each week. First year modules are intended to provide the foundational understanding and skills necessary for work in theology and the study of religion. Weekly lectures will introduce to the broad questions and current issues in the subject area, and will enable you to develop a clear understanding of the subject and to improve your skills in evaluating and analysing information. Seminars (typically six in each of your six modules) will give you the opportunity to engage with the topics introduced in lectures and to discuss key issues in small groups; they also promote awareness of and respect for different viewpoints and approaches, and help you develop to articulate and develop your own views in dialogue with others. You will also be able to get detailed feedback on your essays, to help you improve the quality of your written work.

For each hour of timetabled contact, you will be expected to complete about three hours of independent research. This will enable you to broaden your subject knowledge, prepare for lectures and seminars, and complete written assignments. We will provide you with reading lists, handouts, suggestions for preparation, and other online materials to guide you in your research.

There are also four general lectures in the first year on study skills. These provide you with the basics about accessing the library, reading, note taking, essay writing, and the like. But they also set you on the path to becoming an independent learner, helping you to understand how to find out for yourself the resources you will need and the skills you will have to develop for effective intellectual engagement with texts and issues.

Every member of staff has weekly office hours when they are available to meet with students on a ‘drop-in’ basis. You will also get a personal academic adviser who meets with you a number of times each year, and is responsible for your overall academic progress. He or she is usually the first person you would turn to if you have queries or problems. Academic advisors are also very helpful when it comes to finding someone to write a reference for you!

The second and third years develop this approach of research-led learning. There is much greater choice of modules in the second year to allow you to pursue your own interests within theology and religion, building on the understanding and abilities you have begun to develop in the first year. There is also an increased emphasis on the development of critical and analytical skills, and on the ability to write more extensive pieces of writing based on your own research. As modules specialize more strongly in particular areas, the type of teaching varies more markedly between modules, and the kind of contact you experience depends to a greater extent on the modules you take. On average in the second year the number of timetabled contact hours is similar to those in the first year, as are the number of hours you will need to dedicate to your own independent learning.

The culmination of the process of your becoming an independent researcher is the third-year dissertation, a large research project that counts for one third of your marks for your final year. This gives you the opportunity to engage at an advanced level with creative cutting-edge research at the forefront of the discipline, working on a topic of your choice. On account of the time you will need to undertake this research, timetabled contact in the third year is reduced (to an average of just under six hours a week), but this is balanced by six 45-minute tutorials of one-to-one contact with a supervisor dedicated to discussing your own research project, together with a number of classes on dissertation research skills. The dissertation is excellent not only for those students interested in further academic research, but also represents the cumulative development of skills in analysis, synthesis, presentation and interpretation which the degree programme aims to foster and which are highly prized by future employers.

In addition to all this the Department also has an extensive programme of research-related activities which you are warmly encouraged to attend. These include several research seminar series and public lectures from high-profile guest speakers and visiting scholars; the University also frequently hosts eminent and well-known visiting speakers. You will also receive invitations to attend regular workshops that are organized by the Department and the Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre.

Content

The Durham degree course incorporates a variety of ways of interacting with theology and religion, and equips you with the knowledge and skills to engage with detailed study of Old and New Testaments; the study of religion (which brings to bear the methods of social sciences such as anthropology and sociology upon religious practices and addresses issues of religion in contemporary society); the historical and contemporary study of the Christian tradition; and the insights and challenges of theology, philosophy and ethics.

The flexible structure of the degree allows you to pursue either a broadly based, diverse programme of study, or to specialise in an area of your choice.

Theology also features as part of the Joint Honours Theology and Philosophy degree, in which students take modules run by the Theology and Philosophy Departments.

Year 1

Four compulsory modules are taken in the first year, as follows:

• Introduction to Biblical Studies
• Study of Religion
• Christianity in Context 
• Introduction to Christian Theology

and two optional modules from a list which in the past has included:

• Biblical Hebrew
• New Testament Greek
• God and Evil
• God and the Good
• Reading Biblical Texts
• Introduction to Economic Ethics
• Mediaeval Latin
• A module from another department

One of these optional modules may be taken in your second year. 

Year 2

Beyond the first year, you have the opportunity to either develop your expertise in all of these areas, or to specialise in one or more according to your interests. Here are some examples of modules that have previously been offered in the second year:

• Literature and Theology of the Old Testament
• New Testament Theology: Exploring Paul and John
• Philosophy and the Christian Tradition 100-1300
• Death, Ritual and Belief
• The Making of Modern Christianity: Medieval and Reformation Europe  
• God, Freedom and the Soul
• Topics in Christian Ethics
• Christian Theology: The Essential Questions.

In your second year you may also take up to two modules in other departments.

Year 3

In your final year, you will submit a double dissertation which allows you to explore in depth a topic of your choice which is of special interest to you. Students in the third year also take optional modules, selecting from a list which in the past has included :

• Issues in Old Testament Studies
• Aramaic
• Biblical Theology
• The First Urban Churches
• Religion and Film
• Emotion, Religion and Identity
• The Postmodern God
• Christian Tradition and the Practice of Politics

If not taken in the second year (see above), you may also take up to two Finals modules (in total) in another department.

Subject requirements, level and grade

In addition to satisfying the University’s general entry requirements, please note:

• We welcome applications from those with other qualifications equivalent to our standard entry requirements and from mature students with non-standard qualifications or who may have had a break in their study. Please contact our Admissions Selectors
• We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking as part of our offer
• We are pleased to consider applications for deferred entry
• There is no need to make separate applications for both V614 and V615: you can switch between the two at any time up until Christmas of your second year.

Preferred Tests:

a. IELTS: 6.5 (no component under 6.0)

b. TOEFL iBT (internet based test): 92 (no component under 23)

c. Cambridge Proficiency (CPE): Grade C

d. Cambridge Advanced (CAE): Grade A

e. Cambridge IGCSE First Language English at Grade C or above [not normally acceptable for students who require a Tier 4 student visa]

f. Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language at Grade B or above [not normally acceptable for students who require a Tier 4 student visa]

g. GCSE English Language at grade C or above

h. Pearson Test of English (overall score 62 (with no score less than 56 in each component))

Alternative accepted tests when those listed in a.-h. above are unavailable to the applicant (if the applicant requires a Tier 4 visa to study, advice on the suitability of these alternatives must be sought from the Student Recruitment and Admissions Office):

i. Certificate of Attainment (Edexcel)

j. GCE A-levels (AQA, CIE, Edexcel, CCEA, OCR, WJEC) at grade C or above in an essay based, humanities or social science subject from the following list: History, Philosophy, Government and Politics, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Religious Studies, Economics, Business Studies, Law and Sociology. Modern or Classical Languages are not acceptable in meeting this requirement.

k. International Baccalaureate with a minimum of grade 5 in Standard Level English or a minimum of grade 5 if taken at Higher Level.

l. NEAB (JMB) Test in English (Overseas)

m. Singapore Integrated Programme (SIPCAL) at grade C or above in an essay based, humanities or social science subject from the following list: History, Philosophy, Government and Politics, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Religious Studies, Economics, Business Studies, Law and Sociology. Modern or Classical Languages are not acceptable in meeting this requirement.

n. Singapore Polytechnic Diploma and Advanced Diplomas at GPA 3.0 or above

o. WAEC and NECO Grade B3 or above from Nigeria and Ghana