Bachelor of Theology
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No longer offered
The Bachelor of Theology requires three years of full-time study (or the equivalent part-time).
The course is offered by the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
Students who wish to exit the award after completion of 36 units or 72 units may be awarded a Diploma of Theology or an Associate Degree of Theology respectively, subject to specific requirements. Refer to the links below for the requirements for these programs:
Enrolment in the Honours program may be offered to a student who meets certain academic criteria and subject to the College being able to provide appropriate resources and staff to supervise the program of study.
Admission requirements
The minimum requirements for consideration for entry to all undergraduate courses are specified in detail in the University Entry Requirements
Course aims
The Bachelor of Theology aims to:
- provide students with an opportunity to develop a broad understanding and expression of Christian faith
- provide students with an opportunity to study Christian traditions and thought, including systematic theology, biblical studies, church history and ministry studies
- examine and reflect upon Christian traditions and develop an understanding of connections with other disciplines, in the context of modern Australian culture and society
- enable students to develop sound communication and presentation skills (both oral and written)
Learning outcomes
At the completion of the Bachelor of Theology, students will be able to demonstrate:
- a broad understanding and expression of Christian faith, and of the academic study of Christian traditions and thought
- a capacity to make connections between Christian traditions and other disciplines, in the context of contemporary society
- an ability to reason and argue clearly, and to understand complex positions involving Christian traditions and values in modern Australian culture and society
- sound communication and presentation skills (both oral and written)
Program of study
To complete the Bachelor of Theology degree, a student shall complete 108 units with a grade of Pass or better. The 108 units must include:
36 units of Biblical Studies topics and
36 units of Historical and Systematic Theology topics and
36 units of Ministry Studies topics (Ministry Studies may include 4.5 units status for Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)), and/or other disciplines / Biblical Languages topics
Not all topics are necessarily available in a given year and some topics are offered in various internal/external modes as indicated.
Biblical Studies
Students are required to have completed all 13.5 units of Year 1 topics before commencing Year 2 or 3 topics.
Core - Year 1 topics
THEO1101 Interpreting the Old Testament (4.5 units)
THEO1201 Interpreting the New Testament (4.5 units)
THEO1204 Synoptic Studies. Engaging the Gospel of Matthew, Mark or Luke (4.5 units)
Core - Year 3 topic
THEO3002 Biblical Hermeneutics: Making Sense of the Bible (4.5 units)
plus 18 units of Biblical Studies options from the topics listed below (at least one Year 3 topic must be completed, and both Old Testament and New Testament topics must be represented)
Option - Year 2 & 3 topics
THEO2110 Israel's Response to Exile (4.5 units)
THEO2111 Pentateuch (4.5 units)
THEO2216 Pauline Letters (4.5 units)
THEO2220 Bible and Popular Culture (4.5 units)
THEO3109 Writings of the Hebrew Bible (4.5 units)
THEO3110 Wisdom Literature (4.5 units)
THEO3111 Prophetic Literature (4.5 units)
THEO3217 Study Tour: Lands of the Bible (4.5 units)
THEO3218 John's Gospel and the Johannine Epistles (4.5 units)
THEO2704 Biblical Greek 1 (4.5 units)
THEO2705 Biblical Hebrew 1 (4.5 units)
Historical and Systematic Theology
Core - Year 1 topics
THEO1401 Church History A (4.5 units)
plus 9 units from the year 1 topics listed below
THEO1301 Faith and Revelation (4.5 units)
THEO1303 Humanity and God (4.5 units)
THEO1304 Introduction to Christian Theology (4.5 units)
Core - Year 2 topics
THEO2314 The Theology of Jesus Christ, Word and Saviour (4.5 units)
THEO2410 Church History B (4.5 units)
plus 13.5 units of Historical and Systematic Theology options from the topics listed below
Option - Year 2 & 3 topics
PHIL2610 Truth, Reality and God: Themes from the Philosophy of Religion (4.5 units)
THEO2315 Orientation to the Uniting Church in Australia (4.5 units)
THEO2411 Service as Good News -The Diaconate in History (4.5 units)
THEO2520 Exploring Cross-Cultural Ministry (4.5 units)
THEO2522 Theology of Reconciliation (4.5 units)
THEO3330 Religious Pluralism in a Contemporary World (4.5 units)
THEO3331 Christian Ethics (4.5 units)
THEO3335 God the Trinity (4.5 units)
THEO3336 Church, Ministry and Sacraments (4.5 units)
THEO3411 Medieval Church History (4.5 units)
THEO3412 Modern Church History (4.5 units)
Ministry Studies, Biblical Languages and Other Disciplines
Choose 36 units from one or more of the Ministry Studies, Biblical Languages and Other Discipline groups. Up to 13.5 units may also be chosen from the Biblical Studies and Historical and Systematic Theology topics listed above.
Ministry Studies
Students are required to complete 9 units of Year 1 topics before commencing Year 2 or 3 topics.
Option - Year 1 topics
Up to 9 units may be selected from the Year 1 topics listed below
THEO1502 Reading Cultures (4.5 units)
THEO1507 Introduction to Pastoral Care (4.5 units)
THEO1509 Introduction to Christian Leadership (4.5 units)
Option - Year 2 & 3 topics
Up to 27 units may be selected from Year 2 and 3 topics listed below
THEO2315 Orientation to the Uniting Church in Australia (4.5 units)
THEO2520 Exploring Cross-Cultural Ministry (4.5 units)
THEO2521 Ministry and Mission Studies 1 (4.5 units)
THEO2522 Theology of Reconciliation (4.5 units)
THEO2523 Worship in the Protestant Tradition (4.5 units)
THEO2524 Community Based Spritiual Care (4.5 units)
THEO2525 Christian Education (4.5 units)
THEO2526 Soul Stirrings: A History of Christian Spirituality (4.5 units)
THEO3511 Ministry and Mission Studies 2 (4.5 units)
THEO3513 Christian Spirituality (4.5 units)
THEO3514 Formation for Christian Ministries (4.5 units)
Biblical Languages
Students may choose up to 27 units from the following topics of which up to 4.5 units may be included in the Biblical Studies stream.
THEO2704 Biblical Greek 1 (4.5 units)
THEO2705 Biblical Hebrew 1 (4.5 units)
THEO3705 Biblical Greek 2 (4.5 units)
THEO3706 Biblical Greek 3 (4.5 units)
THEO3707 Biblical Hebrew 2 (4.5 units)
THEO3708 Biblical Hebrew 3 (4.5 units)
Other Disciplines
Students may choose up to 36 units from non-Theology disciplines. If 36 units are chosen from non-Theology disciplines then at least 9 units must be Year 1 topics (2 x 4.5 units); at least 18 units must be from the same discipline; and at least 18 units must be chosen at a more advanced level than Year 1.
Honours
Refer to Bachelor of Theology (Honours)