Our community includes a wide range of independent postgraduate students who want to develop and enhance their knowledge, understanding, and critical thinking skills whilst building meaningful connections between Christian faith and twenty-first century life and culture. We are committed to excellence in scholarship, and to developing thought-leaders for the future Church who will consistently demonstrate depth and clarity of thinking. Our goal is to enable students to apply their learning to contemporary issues in theology, ministry, and mission: this is a key aspect of all our postgraduate teaching.
As of May 2025, Emmanuel Theological College is registered with the Office for Students, so our independent postgraduate students can apply for government funding (see the news item entitled OFS Registration).
We offer postgraduate programmes for independent students that are validated by Durham University as part of the Common Awards partnership. The entry requirement for our postgraduate programmes is normally an upper second-class (2.1) Honours degree (or equivalent) in a subject related to theology, ministry and mission.
We offer postgraduate programmes both full-time and part-time, at two levels:
- A Postgraduate Diploma in Theology, Ministry and Mission. This is completed over one year full-time or two years part-time and consists of 120 credits taken at FHEQ level 7;
and
- A Masters degree in Theology, Ministry, and Mission or in Contemporary Christian Leadership. This is completed over two years full-time, or up to three years part-time, and consists of 180 credits taken at FHEQ level 7 .
Full-time students attend our Liverpool Teaching Centre on Mondays, 9.30am-4.30pm during term time, while part-time students attend Thursday evening teaching at either our Manchester or Liverpool Teaching Centres, 6.30-9.15pm.
All our Postgraduate Diploma and MA students complete six taught modules, each worth 20 credits. The MA adds a 15,000 word Dissertation on a chosen topic in theology, ministry or mission, worth 60 credits.
The full programme regulations for each postgraduate pathway, including module titles, are available on the Durham University website:
- PGDip in Theology, Ministry and Mission
- MA in Theology, Ministry and Mission
- MA in Contemporary Christian Leadership
All students have a Formation Tutor for the duration of their programme to support students’ academic, personal, and professional development through an ongoing personalised point of contact with the College. Additional academic support is available for all through our Academic Support Tutor, Dr Stephanie Day.
Interested in studying with us? Fill in the contact form and we’ll be in touch, or why not come and meet us to find out more!
