MA Religions and Theology

Course description

Our MA Religions and Theology master's course is aimed at both specialists who want to deepen their knowledge and skills, and graduates of other disciplines who want to switch to postgraduate-level study of this subject.

Studying Religions and Theology with all the intellectual tools of contemporary scholarship is a responsibility that The University of Manchester has taken seriously for over a century.

With no binding ties to religious institutions, we approach our subject from a distinctively comparative, contextual and interdisciplinary angle.

Our approach allows you to ask questions you might not otherwise ask, and to cross boundaries you might not cross in other settings where religion and theology are discussed.

This course is designed to enable you to either take units covering a broad range of religious, theological and philosophical traditions, or concentrate your study in an area that interests you.

Some of the routes you can take through this degree incorporate Biblical Studies, Jewish Studies, Theology, Philosophy and Ethics, South Asian Studies, and Politics and Gender.

Aims

We aim to:

• provide multi-disciplinary curricula informed by the research and scholarly activities of the teaching staff;
• develop your critical understanding of religion and theology through a range of learning and teaching methods;
• equip you with the skills necessary to interpret primary and secondary sources and to make available appropriate language instruction, where feasible;
• help students from diverse backgrounds progress though their programme by providing effective academic and pastoral support;
• equip you for a variety of careers through subject-specific knowledge, active engagement in your own learning, and the development of analytical and other transferable skills;
• provide a stimulating research environment through seminars, tutorials and programmes of guest lectures that will foster postgraduate study;
• develop skills in research and analysis that will foster postgraduate study.

Career opportunities

We aim to give our students research skills, whether for academic work or for another career, as many professions today require investigative skills. Some in the media spend time researching angles of events that relate to religions, while others in the health service investigate the experiences of various cultural groups in accessing services.

Many in museums, libraries and other archives require the textual and historical research skills that our courses teach. Postgraduate study in Religions and Theology gives you a high level qualification for a wide range of investigative tasks.