Academic Programmes

Historical and systematic theology is an important part of the undergraduate degrees in Divinity.

At graduate level, the School of Divinity offers a one-year residential MLitt in Systematic and Historical Theology, as well as a one-year residential MLitt in Analytic and Exegetical Theology. These stand-alone Masters courses are rigorous training programmes for theology graduates wishing to gain specialist skills in the field, whether for church work or as preparation for further research. For those with a less formal background in theology, the School offers a a part-time, distance-learning MLitt in Bible and the Contemporary World.

The MLitt is an ideal stepping stone towards the Divinity School’s PhD programme, which centres on a three-year independent research project.

For those seeking strong teaching and independent research that is of a shorter length than a PhD project, the School offers two-year MPhils in Systematic and Historical Theology and in Analytic and Exegetical Theology. These consist of the taught component of the MLitt, as well as a year-long, 40,000-word dissertation written under the supervision of a faculty member.

My time as a doctoral student at St Mary’s College was immensely rewarding. The calibre of supervision was superb; the intellectual discourse among students was stimulating and wide-ranging; and research seminars provided a rich space for lively theological inquiry and debate. My studies at St Mary’s have equipped me both as a theological educator and as an ordained minister in the Anglican church – encouraging and enabling me to serve the church in the vital task of faith seeking understanding.

— The Revd Dr Jordan Hillebert
Tutor of Theology, St Padarn’s Institute