Theology & Religious Studies

What do you come out with? BA or an MA in Scotland

Why do it? Because you're ready to ask the big questions: Who am I? Why am I here? And what does it all mean? Because you're interested in religions in general or Christianity in particular, and by the relationship between faith and society

What's it about? Most places cover Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, looking at the scripture, language, arts and culture.

You have options at every stage at Chichester and the course covers all the main world religions. Their particular strength is Christian theology and there is an opportunity to study the New Testament in Greek. There are placement options that allow you to spend time working in a church parish, or working with a company on their ethical policy. All final year students have to do a compulsory dissertation, and other modules will include presentations, book reviews, and case studies, as well as traditional academic essays.

The first year at Cardiff is a clear-cut foundation year in humanities studies, with a core module in religious culture and society. The second year has an extensive range of choices and no core modules. There is no compulsory dissertation; in fact students have to be up to a 2:1 level to be allowed to do a dissertation. Cardiff also has a unique emphasis on learning classical languages, such as Latin, Greek and Sanskrit; students can take one of these from scratch in the first year and be studying original sources by their third year. Dr James Hegarty, who teaches the Sanskrit course, says it a very popular choice: “Squiggly alphabets make you look clever, so more than 50 per cent of students take up this option.”

All first year students at Manchester start with one core module – introduction to the study of religion. This teaches students all the different ways you can approach religious studies. From there each specialist pathway will have a number of core modules, but for the general degree second year is completely open for choices. The final year involves a compulsory dissertation and there is scope for one elective module a year from outside of the department.

The first year at Glasgow gives students a good grounding in issues such as world religions, biblical studies and church history. They can also study biblical languages such as Greek and Hebrew. In the second and third year you can customise your degree with a wide range of options, which include Islamic studies. The fourth year includes a compulsory dissertation on any area of the student’s choice.

How long is a degree? Three years in England, four in Scotland or with a year abroad, or up to eight years for the part-time option at Chichester

What are the students like? About a third of the students at Chichester are actively religious, others may have been raised as Christians and want to learn more about religion. There’s a 50:50 split between mature students and school-leavers, and it’s about 60:40 women to men. Manchester has a diverse range of students to reflect its cosmopolitan setting. There are many Jews, Buddhists and Christians as well as atheists and agnostics. Generally they will be keen to debate and discuss theological issues, and many are idealistic and want to make a difference. It’s largely women; about 85 per cent of students are female. Cardiff is also 85 per cent female and they have some students from Muslim and Christian backgrounds. More generally people tend to be interested in exploring the global society or want to travel to Asia. The majority of Glasgow students have a religious background, but there are also some atheists, humanists and agnostics. There is a wide age range, from 17-65, and there’s a fairly even balance between men and women. Lancaster has an 80 per cent female cohort.

How is it packaged? The Chichester course is 85:15 coursework to exams. The Manchester and Lancaster courses are about 60:40 exams to coursework. At Cardiff there is a lot of choice, so it can range from 50:50 to 70:30 in favour of coursework. The Glasgow course tends to be 70:30 in favour of coursework.

How cool is it? Religious studies is hot right now, with religion persistently making news since 9/11. Theologians also have plenty to say about today's big ethical debates – cloning, GM crops and sexuality.

What A-levels do you need? Chichester asks for religious studies, English or history. Cardiff doesn’t require anything specific, but two humanities or languages at A-level are highly recommended. About half of Manchester students have religious studies A-level, but it’s not compulsory. Glasgow and King’s College London don’t ask for any specific subjects, but religious studies is obviously an advantage. Other recommended subjects are English, history and psychology.

What grades? BBB at Manchester, King’s and Cardiff, BBC for Lancaster, CDD for Chichester, and for Glasgow it’s ABB at A-level or ABBB in one sitting at Scottish Highers.

Will you be interviewed? You will be interviewed at Lancaster and Manchester, but not usually at King’s, Cardiff, Glasgow or Chichester.

Will it keep you off the dole? There are theology-specific opportunities in teaching and the church, but theology graduates can find themselves in any number of careers, from management to the media. Chichester graduates go into a whole range of careers, as you would expect from a humanities degree. Some will work in the Church, or go onto religious studies teaching, but others will go into publishing, journalism or management. From Manchester, one quarter of students go into teacher training, but others go into finance with PWC, law, youth work, local councils, NGOs and charities. A few will go onto graduate study such as MAs and PhDs. A lot of Cardiff graduates work in the public or charity sectors, while others go into management training or teaching. About 20 per cent of Glasgow graduates go onto ministerial training, while others go into social work, counselling and management.

What the students say: Lisa Sampson, 27, Theology BA, Chichester: “I’ve always had an interest in religion and the reasons why people choose to believe what they believe. It’s a fascinating subject, because religion is such a personal issue. I was raised in the Anglican tradition, but grew disillusioned with it from an early age. I was working in a bank before starting the course and I found it entirely unsatisfying and I wanted to stretch myself. Just before I started I began attending a Catholic church – I expect to come out of the course with a faith, but it challenged me in such a personal way and now I’m Catholic. The staff were really supportive, especially when I got married during the course. I’m going back to Chichester in September to do a three-year part-time MA. I’m really interested in ethics, so ultimately I want to do something with that, either in the church or in the workplace.”

Where's the best for teaching? Chichester came top of the 2009 National Student Survey with 4.50 for student satisfaction, followed by Cambridge on 4.40.

Where's the best for research? Durham scored 3.00 in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, which put them top, ahead of Aberdeen on 2.95.

Where's the cutting edge? Chichester has an extensive library, inherited from the Chichester Theological College. Manchester is good for urban theology and religion in cities. They also have three main research centres for Jewish studies, Biblical studies and religion and politics. Cardiff is unrivalled in its range of classical languages and the staff also have particular research strengths in contemporary Islam and Indian religions. Glasgow places a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary study and critical theory. They also do a lot of work in increasing public understanding of Islam. Lancaster offers a second year summer school in Bangalore, India.

Who are the stars? Professor Mona Siddiqui at Glasgow is famous for her contributions to Radio Four’s Thought for the Day show, and she is the only female professor of Islamic studies in the UK. Professor David Jasper, also at Glasgow specialises in theological literature. At Cardiff, Professor Max Degg is well-published in Buddhism studies, Dr John Watt works on the Arabic world and Dr Will Johnson is big on translations of classical Hindu texts. At Chichester, Professor Steve Moyise is strong on biblical studies, while Dr Graeme Smith specialises in ethics in politics. At Manchester, Professor Phillip Alexander works in Jewish mysticism, Professor George Brooke is an expert on the Dead Sea scrolls and Dr Youssef Choueriri specialises in Islamic fundamentalism.

Related Courses: Chichester offers theology and religion, which can be combined with English or history. Manchester’s main degree is studies of religion and theology BA, but you can take various other options – you can specialise in Jewish studies, Biblical studies, religion and society or South Asian studies. There are also specialist degrees in comparative religion and social anthropology, and Islam studies and Muslim societies. Manchester offers various combined degrees incorporating English, history and French. All are three-year BAs. Cardiff’s religious and theological studies BA can be combined with philosophy, history, applied philosophy and social ethics or a language (with a year abroad). At Glasgow you can combine your MA in theological and religious studies with almost any others arts subject such as philosophy, history or politics. King’s offers a single honours theology BA or BA courses in religion in the contemporary world or religion, philosophy and ethics.