MLitt Theology And The Arts

A 2.1 undergraduate Honours degree in theology or an Arts subject. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application requirements

• CV 
• personal statement which substantively engages with theology and the arts (300 to 500 words) 
• sample of your own, single-authored academic work in English (2,000 words) 
• two original signed academic references 
• academic transcripts and degree certificates  

For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more

Students on the Theology and the Arts MLitt programme are provided with the skills they need to succeed in an international job market, both academic and non-academic.

Graduates have taken up roles in a wide variety of occupations and sectors, including: 

• lectureships, research fellowships, and professorships at universities and colleges
• work for arts institutions and museums, archives, libraries, research institutes, and think-tanks
• journalism, publishing, and communications sector
  church ministry
• secondary school teaching and higher education
• civil service or public policy
• academic, university or public administration

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Compulsory

• Christian Doctrine and the Arts: examines key Christian doctrines and their artistic presentation throughout the centuries.
• Religious Experience and Aesthetic Theory: explores how historical and cultural contexts through the ages have shaped religious art, and examines critically how different art forms – painting, music, literature, drama, architecture, film – and different styles within those forms mediate different kinds of religious experience.
• Theological Engagements with the Arts: Methodologies and
• Critical Theories: addresses theological questions about human artistry and introduces students to different ways of engaging the relationship between Christian theology and the arts.

Optional

• Practical Criticism: exposes students to a multiplicity of forms and themes, with an emphasis on the practice of close reading (taught by ITIA staff).
• A module from another of the School of Divinity's MLitt programmes.
• A module from another academic School. For example: English, Art History, Film Studies, or Philosophy. 
• Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered. Some may only allow limited numbers of students. Read more about curriculum development at the University of St Andrews.

Dissertation

Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise students in their choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process.

The completed dissertation of 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August. 

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, an exit award is available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.