Theology and Religion

Theology is an ancient intellectual discipline, with continuing and momentous social significance around the world today.

Students gain an understanding of the intellectual underpinning of religious traditions, and of the social and cultural contexts for religious belief and practice.

A typical week

Your weekly timetable will be divided between one or two tutorials, which may take place at your college or at the college of a specialist tutor. A large part of your week will be spent in independent study to prepare for tutorials. Each week you will also attend up to six lectures, which, in the first year, will include three hours of language instruction. Some course options in the second and third year are also taught in small classes instead of, or in addition to, tutorials.

Tutorials usually involve two students and a tutor. Class sizes may vary depending on the options you choose, but would normally have no more than around 10 students.

Most tutorials, classes, and lectures are delivered by academics who are specialists in their subject. Many are world-leading experts with years of experience in teaching and research. Some teaching may also be delivered by advanced postgraduate students.

To find out more about how our teaching year is structured, visit our Academic Year page.

Courses

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Assessment

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Four papers are taken:

• Religion and religions
• Introduction to the study of the Bible
• The figure of Jesus through the centuries
• One of the following languages:
  • Biblical Hebrew
  • Church Latin
  • New Testament Greek
  • Qur'anic Arabic
  • Pali
  • Sanskrit

First University examinations: four papers each assessed by a written examination

While some Theology and Religion graduates go on to further academic study, others have pursued a wide variety of careers, including: