Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion

Interdisciplinary, supportive, outstanding

Worldwide, six out of seven people describe themselves as religious, with religious beliefs driving social and political change globally. As a graduate of our Faculty, you will be well equipped to play an important part in this world, valued for your intercultural literacy, critical thinking, research skills and understanding of the depth and nuance of human experience.

Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion at Cambridge addresses fundamental questions through a range of religious traditions and philosophical standpoints. Encompassing the history, practice and thought of the major world religions of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, the course develops your understanding of the significance of religion and its cultural contexts.

World class resources

We offer outstanding teaching and a supportive, friendly faculty of experts. You will have access to the latest research and historic resources both within the Faculty, and across the Colleges and University, including, for example, the Codex Bezae (an important early version of the New Testament), the Genizah collection (a globally significant source for medieval Judaism) and the vast collection of artefacts in the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Course outline

Teaching is through lectures, classes and supervisions. You can expect up to nine hours of classes and lectures each week (including six for non-language papers and three for languages), as well as a weekly supervision.

Most papers are assessed by a combination of written examinations and coursework, but some are assessed entirely by coursework.

Year 1 (Part I)

You take five papers designed to give you a broad introduction to the concepts, knowledge and skills required in the main areas of study. The course is designed to accommodate students studying religion for the first time. You choose:

• a paper in biblical studies, either David: Israel's Greatest Hero? or Jesus and the Origins of the Gospel (you can take the other in place of one of the choices below)
• one scriptural language (studied from scratch, no prior knowledge is expected) – Hebrew, New Testament Greek, Qur'anic Arabic or Sanskrit

Plus three other papers from a choice of six, currently:

• Christianity and the Transformation of Culture – the study of processes of conversion and Christianization in the late Roman world
• The Question of God – exploring some of the major themes of Christian theology
• Understanding Contemporary Religion – an introduction to the sociological study of religion
• Studying World Religions – history, comparison and dialogue
• Philosophy of Religion;
• Ethics - these two papers introduce key questions in philosophy of religion and ethics, ranging from antiquity to contemporary controversies

Year 2 (Part IIA)

A wide choice of options is available, enabling you to develop a course suited to your own interests. Scriptural languages are optional at this stage and you are able to follow a joint track with Social Anthropology if you wish.

You choose four papers out of around 17, currently including:

• Introduction to Islam
• Ethics and Faith
• Philosophy of Religion: God, Freedom and the Soul
• The Johannine Tradition
• Life and Thought of Religious Hinduism and of Buddhism
• Christianity in Late Antiquity

You can also choose to take the Part IA Meaning paper from the Philosophy course, which will be taught alongside Philosophy students.

Year 3 (Part IIB)

In your final year, you choose four from a wide range of Special Subjects and interdisciplinary papers (topics may vary), such as:

• Truth, God and Metaphysics
• Theology and Natural Sciences: God and Creatures
• Self and Salvation in Indian and Western Thought
• New Testament Christology
• Judaism and Hellenism
• World Christianity

You can choose to write a dissertation of 10,000 words in your third year instead of one paper. You may also continue with a scriptural language

For further information about studying Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion at the University of Cambridge see the Faculty of Divinity website.

The application process

The Cambridge application process is slightly different to other universities. You still need to apply through UCAS, however, at Cambridge the process starts earlier to give us time to collect and consider all of the application information. The steps below and the following pages will guide you through the process.

You’re going to be studying to a very high level for several years so make sure you choose a course you’re personally interested in and will really enjoy studying! Check, also, that you meet the entrance requirements of the course you want to study.

Most applicants need to take a written admission assessment as part of the application process. Some applicants will also be asked to submit examples of their written work.

Please check the type of assessment required for your course as early as possible as some assessments require you to be registered before the UCAS application deadline (15 or 30 September).

Where would you like to live when you’re here? In your UCAS application, you can apply directly to one of our 29 Colleges or make an open application. 

You need to submit your UCAS application by 15 October – our institution code is CAM C05. Please note:

• Earlier or later deadlines may apply for Mature Students, Foundation Year and Organ Scholarship applicants.
• There's an additional application form if you're applying for the Graduate Course in Medicine.
• You can’t apply to both the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford in the same year.
• Some applicants will be required to submit an academic transcript.

After you’ve submitted your UCAS application, you will need to fill in an additional Cambridge-specific application form, which we’ll send you a link to by email.

Everyone with a good chance of being offered a place is invited to attend an interview. If you decide to apply, you can find videos and full information on what to expect and how to prepare, in our interviews section.

We’ll advise you of our decision before the end of January.