Why do people study Theology and Religion? Why should I consider studying it?
Students have a huge variety of reasons for studying Theology and Religion. Indeed there may be as many reasons as there are students. The study of Theology and Religion has been at the heart of intellectual development and learning for centuries and is woven into the foundation of the modern Universities. It is, therefore, a subject of great significance as well as of modern relevance. Millions of people worldwide profess some religious faith or identity. Religious ideas, history and debates are frequently in the news headlines. Aside from this, Theology and Religion encompasses a diverse range of subjects and skills. Theology and Religion students have an opportunity to engage in the study of history, literature, languages, philosophy, natural sciences, social sciences and other disciplines. The course is flexible and allows students either to explore a range of subjects or to focus on some particular strengths and interests. Students enjoy opportunities to read, write, discuss, learn languages and undertake independent research, depending on their routes through the course. All our students share an interest in and enthusiasm for the questions and challenges raised in the study of Theology and Religion.
Do you have to be religious to study Theology and Religion?
We welcome applications from individuals of any or no religious faith. The religious confessions, commitments and motivations of our students do not feature in tutors’ considerations of applications for study. In fact at no point, either at application or on course, are students requested or required to disclose their religious beliefs to the Faculty. We may say, however, that our faculty includes students and tutors of different religious faiths and none. We do not expect our students to arrive with knowledge of any religious tradition. However, it is very important that, regardless of their personal positions with regard to religion, all our students are able to approach religious ideas, issues, beliefs and debates critically, respectfully and open to learning.
What can I do with a degree in Theology and Religion? What are the destinations and career prospects of graduates?
Our degrees equip students with a wide range of transferable skills and the standard of our courses is well respected by both employers and other HE institutions. A BA in Theology and Religion or one of our joint courses will not equip you to become a dentist or civil engineer but our graduates can access and do succeed in a variety of careers and may be compared with other Humanities graduates from respected Universities. The destinations of our graduates are wide ranging and include employment in fields as diverse as government, finance, education, accountancy, commerce, development, the charitable sector, performing arts, the church or other religious ministry. Many graduates also choose to pursue further study, whether at masters or doctoral level in an associated subject or for example, on a teacher training (PGCE) or law conversion course. The testimonials on our Undergraduate Studies page give some indication of the paths that some of our alumni have taken. See also our Careers and Graduate Destinations page.
What transferable skills might I expect to gain on the course?
Students will have the opportunity to develop a variety of skills during the course. These include the effective communication of information, ideas and arguments in a range of oral and written formats. Students also learn to identify, gather and analyse primary data and source material, making discriminating use of library, IT and other tools and resources. Students are required to work independently, managing their time and competing priorities to meet the demands of a challenging workload. This means that students need to reflect upon their own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of others, when working collaboratively. During the course, students will be required to attend to, represent accurately, reflect on and interact with the ideas and arguments of others, with empathy, integrity and critical reflection. The degree invites and encourages students to think independently with critical self-awareness about their own beliefs, commitments and prejudices.
A list of transferable skills is included among the 'Intended Learning Outcomes' in the information supplied on the Faculty's website for each BA course:
What would I study on the Theology and Religion BA course?
Our undergraduate curriculum encompasses a number of subject areas and disciplines. It includes studies in the history of religions, the nature of religion, contemporary religious ideas and practice, the Bible and other ancient texts, ethics, the philosophy of religion and theological ideas and Christian teaching.
In the first year of the course, all students follow a programme of study that showcases the variety of the course. All students choose one language to study from scratch.
In the second and third year of the course, students may select (subject to only a few restrictions) from a long list of papers (units of study). All students also identify a research question and, under supervision, prepare a 12,000 word thesis.
A comprehensive description of the BA Theology and Religion, including its aims, intended learning outcomes, structure and information about course options is available here.
Descriptions of the Theology and Religion papers available to students on all three BA courses, including information on content, delivery and assessment, are available: for the Preliminary Examination, in the first year of the course, here, and in the second and third years of the course, here.
Prospective students and applicants are advised that the course undertaken by students in future years may vary in its detail. Please see the University’s information on potential course changes.
What would I study on the Philosophy and Theology BA course?
This course is delivered in part by the Philosophy Faculty and in part by the Faculty of Theology and Religion. Students on this course can access exactly the same options as students studying Theology and Religion (see above), although they will study fewer of these options to leave room for Philosophy.
In the first year of the course, all students study two compulsory Philosophy options, a Theology paper (unit of study) on the Figure of Jesus through the Centuries and may choose a fourth from the remaining Theology papers for the Preliminary Examination.
In the second and third year of the course, students may select (subject to only a few restrictions) 3, 4 or 5 options from the long list of Theology papers (units of study). Students also study a number of compulsory and optional Philosophy papers to make a total of 8 papers.
A comprehensive description of the BA Philosophy and Theology, including its aims, intended learning outcomes, structure and information about course options is available here.
Descriptions of the Theology and Religion papers available to students on all three BA courses, including information on content, delivery and assessment, are available: for the Preliminary Examination, in the first year of the course, here, and in the second and third years of the course, here. Information on the Philosophy side of the course is available on the Philosophy Faculty Website.
Prospective students and applicants are advised that the course undertaken by students in future years may vary in its detail. Please see the University’s information on potential course changes.
What would I study on the Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies BA course?
This course is delivered in part by the Faculty of Theology and Religion and in part by the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES). Students on this course can access exactly the same options as students studying Theology and Religion (see above), although they will study fewer of these options to leave room for Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
In the first year of the course, all students study one paper (unit of study) called Religion and Religions with the Faculty of Theology and Religion. The remaining three quarters of the course in this year is devoted to intensive language learning from scratch. The following languages may be available: Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan.
In the second and third year of the course, students specialise in the religion relevant to their chosen language. Students will continue intensive study of that language and of set religious texts in their original language. This may be combined with further study in the religious tradition or a selection from any of the options available to undergraduates studying Theology and Religion (see above). Students study a total of 8 options, of which 3, 4 or 5 can be taught by the Faculty of Theology and Religion.
A comprehensive description of the BA Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, including its aims, intended learning outcomes, structure and information about course options is available here.
Descriptions of the Theology and Religion papers available to students on all three BA courses, including information on content, delivery and assessment, are available: for the Preliminary Examination, in the first year of the course, here, and in the second and third years of the course, here. Information on the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies side of the course is available on the AMES website.
Prospective students and applicants are advised that the course undertaken by students in future years may vary in its detail. Please see the University’s information on potential course changes.
What languages can I study? And is study of a language compulsory?
The answer to these questions varies by course.
- Students for the BA Theology and Religion must study a language in classes at the Faculty of Theology and Religion in their first year.
- students for the BA Philosophy and Theology may study a language in classes at the Faculty of Theology and Religion or may choose to study another (non-language) Theology and Religion option in their first year.
- Students for the BA Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies must study a language in classes at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and this will comprise the majority of their study in the first year.
For information about the study of languages on the BA Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, please see the detailed course information here. This degree has a very significant language component and tutors will consider the aptitude of applicants for language study. The remainder of this answer relates to study of languages at the Faculty of Theology and Religion.
At the Faculty of Theology and Religion, we provide teaching for the study of SIX languages:
New Testament Greek
Biblical Hebrew
Church Latin
Qur’ānic Arabic
Pali
Sanskrit
Theology and Religion (and, optionally, Philosophy and Theology first year students) select ONE of these languages for study and examination at the end of the first year. All languages are taught from scratch and students are not expected to have any prior knowledge of the language. (Students who already have some competence in one of these languages before they commence the course are required to select a different, new, language to study.) Students attend three hours of instruction each week and prepare for classes with independent study.
On the current Theology and Religion curriculum, after the first year, it is possible to pursue the following languages. (The course undertaken by students in future years may vary in its detail. Please see the University’s information on potential course changes.)
• Students may attend Greek reading classes and/or when examined, comment on passages from the Greek New Testament for the papers: The Gospels and Paul and the Pauline Tradition.
• Students may attend Intermediate Hebrew classes and/or when examined, comment on passages from the Hebrew Bible for the papers: The Narrative World of the Hebrew Bible and The Poetic World of the Hebrew Bible.
• Students may attend final year classes leading to examination in Hebrew of the Hebrew Bible.
• In 2025-26 we are piloting a new course option al-Ghazali, which will enable students, when examined, to comment on passages from a set text in Arabic.
Students competent in Latin, Sanskrit, Pali, or indeed in a modern language, are encouraged to take opportunities to exercise this skill in their work on relevant papers, to consult primary or secondary literature as part of their research and study (not for direct examination).
However, no student is required to utilise any language other than English in the second and third years of the BA.
What is a typical day or week of term like for an undergraduate student at the Faculty of Theology and Religion?
The shape and structure of a week’s work will depend on which course options are being studied but the following sketches are typical.
A first year Theology and Religion student in the first term might expect to attend three language classes a week as well as an hour’s lecture for each of the three other course options. Each element of the first year course is therefore nurtured by lectures in every week of the course. Alongside these six hours of classes and lectures, students work independently on language learning and exercises. Much of the week is spent on independent study in preparation for a weekly tutorial on one of the course options. For each tutorial, a student will research from recommended reading an essay of about 2,500 words, which is then discussed with a tutor and fellow student.
A first year Philosophy and Theology student will have a similar workload but it will comprise Philosophy options as well. Formal logic is often taught in classes and learning a language is not compulsory for Philosophy and Theology students. First year Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies students will spend much of the week in intensive language classes and associated independent learning. Correspondingly, they can expect to prepare fewer tutorial essays.
A second or third year student might expect to prepare for about three tutorials per fortnight. They might attend anything between two and four lectures each week. Several final year course options are taught in classes at the Faculty, requiring reading and preparation in advance. Students who are researching and writing a thesis or extended essay will devote considerable time to this.
Students might expect to spend some time each week in the lecture theatre and class room as well as lots of time in the library of their choice or other private study space. Students should be able to spend time in quiet private study as well as enjoying the company and contribution of their peers and teachers. Their work will probably involve them in moving around Oxford, to the faculty, faculty library, central (Bodleian) library and different colleges. Students also find time for a range of social and other pursuits.
How are students assessed on the course?
All three degrees have two assessment points: at the end of the first year, which is called the Preliminary (or First Public) Examination, and at the end of the third (final) year, which is called the Final Honour School Examination.
All students are required to pass the Preliminary Examination in order to progress to the second year of the BA but their marks in this exam do not inform the final classification of their degrees. (Senior Status students who already have a bachelor's degree, skip the first year of the BA and the Preliminary Examination.) The marks obtained in the Final Honour School Examination determine the class of the degree awarded, e.g. First Class, 2:1 etc.
In most cases, the Preliminary Examination comprises FOUR units of assessment, normally a written examination paper, conducted under timed and invigilated conditions. (Certain languages studied on the Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies degree may require fewer units of assessment overall and/or one oral/aural component in the examination.
In all cases the Final Honour School Examination comprises EIGHT units of assessment. How students are assessed will depend on what course option (paper) is being assessed. The majority of our course options (papers) are assessed by timed and invigilated written examination. (Most of these are conducted in typed format and have a duration of 3 hours.) Several course options (papers) are assessed wholly or in part by submitted written work, e.g. the Thesis. Students prepare this work over an extended period of time, with the support of a tutor.
The combination of assessment undertaken by an individual student will depend on the combination of course options they are required - by their degree programme - or choose (from the options available) to take. For example, students for the BA Theology and Religion are required to submit a Thesis as one of their eight papers; students for the BA Philosophy and Theology may choose to submit a Thesis (or to take another option assessed by submitted written work) but this is not compulsory, so these students may take eight written examinations.
Detailed information about the requirements of the three degrees is available on our website:
BA Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Detailed information about the assessment of different course options is included in the official descriptions of individuals papers, published on our website or on the websites of other Faculties:
Theology and Religion papers for the Preliminary Examination
Theology and Religion papers for the Honour School
Philosophy papers for the Preliminary Examination
Philosophy papers for the Honour School
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies papers - these vary by language.