Two-year Certificate for Theology Graduates
Course Description
The Certificate for Theology Graduates is a course offered by the University of Oxford, allowing those who have already studied Theology to degree level to focus in detail on subjects of particular importance to them, either for the purposes of ordination training, or for general interest. The Certificate provides candidates with a broad academic basis for future study at graduate level, and/or ministry.
Together with the undergraduate Certificate in Theology and the Bachelor of Theology (BTh), it is regulated by the Supervisory Committee for the Bachelor of Theology, which is made up of representatives of the board of the Faculty of Theology and of the OPTET institutions.
Entrance Requirements
Candidates for the two-year Certificate for Theology Graduates must have obtained an Honours or Joint Honours Degree in Theology.
Teaching Methods
The Certificate for Theology Graduates is taught by a combination of tutorials, lectures and in-House classes, according to the selection of individual papers (see Course Structure). Some courses are taken jointly with the other theological colleges in the form of OPTET and Faculty lectures in the University Examination Schools. Students for the Certificate for Theology Graduates are encouraged to attend both faculty lectures that relate to their papers, and also those that will further their own particular theological interests.
In addition to the courses offered in support of their papers, candidates may attend in-House courses on Church History, Preaching, Spirituality, Ecclesiology, Pastoral Psychology and Mission Studies (these courses are obligatory for those in ordination training).
All courses require preparation work and background reading; most involve the presentation of seminars and/or the production of written pieces of work.
Assessment
Assessment is at two points each year, in May and September - by means of 10,000 word extended essays, or sometimes written examinations. All of these are marked externally by university examiners. Any failed paper (exam or essay) may be resat once.
Final classifications, awarded at the completion of the Certificate are Distinction, Merit, Pass (and Fail).
Course Structure
The two-year Certificate for Theology Graduates consists of eight papers taken from part 2 of the syllabus of the Bachelor of Theology degree. These include:
B.1 Old Testament
B.2 New Testament
B.3 Biblical Interpretation
C.1 Systematic Theology
C.2 Church History
C.3 Ecclesiology
D.1 Mission and Ministry
D.2 Christian Ethics
D.3 Christian Worship
D.4 Christian Spirituality
A range of papers in section ‘E’ of the syllabus, enables students to explore the relationship between Christian faith and aspects of contemporary knowledge and culture, to undertake a Confessional Study of a particular Christian denomination and/or to pursue a special subject, as approved by the Supervisory Committee.
Two out of the eight papers may be integrated into a single paper of 15,000 to 17,000 words.
Candidates taking the Certificate for Theology Graduates as part of their preparation for ordination will be guided by the college in their selection of papers, to ensure that they fulfil Bishops’ requirements.
The Certificate is a two-year qualification, when taken full-time, but it may be taken by any combination of full- and part-time study, with two years part-time counted as one year full-time.
Reading List
This varies according to the particular subjects that are to be studied, and may be obtained from the college upon acceptance of the offer of a place.
