Professional Development Route
The Professional Development Route offers those in employment a flexible way to engage in postgraduate study. It has been designed with particular regard to the needs of those serving as assistant curates, and is integrated with the IME 4-7 programmes in the Dioceses of Wakefield, Bradford, Ripon & Leeds, York, and Sheffield.
Three programmes of study are available on this route. All are taught programmes which equip students to think theologically at postgraduate level, and to relate their theological study to the life and ministry of the Church, with a particular emphasis on the pastoral task.
- The Postgraduate Certificate consists of one introductory taught module, followed by one taught module. The course is completed in two years of part-time study.
- The Postgraduate Diploma consists of one introductory taught module, followed by three elective taught modules. The course requires three years of part-time study.
- The MA programme consists of one introductory taught module, followed by three elective taught modules. The programme is completed by a Master’s Dissertation, which allows an extended study of a topic of the student’s choice. The course requires three-and-a-half years of part-time study.
Since the programmes build on one another, it is possible for students to begin by registering for the Certificate, and then to build to the Diploma, and then to the Master’s Degree, if they choose to.
What subjects do you study?
The introductory module for all postgraduate students, entitled Methods, Practice, and Reflection in Pastoral Studies, is taught by a team of specialists and provides students with an overview of study and research skills in pastoral theology.
Those taking the Master’s Degree or the Postgraduate Diploma then choose three taught modules at Master’s Level from a catalogue of modules taught by members of academic staff from the College, the monastery, our partner non-residential course (the Yorkshire Ministry Course), and the University’s Theology and Religious Studies Department. Those taking the Postgraduate Certificate choose one module from this catalogue.
The modules available range from liturgical studies to an examination of race and religion in South Africa, and from work on the reception of the New Testament in the contemporary church to the study of medieval Western Christianity. It is possible to replace one module with a module from another discipline. Two modules are designed specifically for those studying while serving in ordained ministry, and are most often taken by those serving curacies as part of IME4-7.
Finally, those studying for the Master’s degree complete a 12,000 - 14,000 word dissertation on a topic of their choice. Recent examples of titles include:
- Apocalypse and Judgement: Disaster or Hope?
- 'In the midst' or 'the centre of attention'? The distinctiveness of childhood in the context of the parish Eucharist as principal service
- From Ape-Man to Star-Child: Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey as an Allegory of Creation, Fall and Redemption
- A critical assessment of the liturgical expression of Emerging Churches with reference to theories of liturgical inculturation
- Stanley Hauerwas: Narrative, Virtue and Human Nature
- The theme of judgement in Common Worship funerals and the Order for Catholic Funerals: a contemporary and critical study
- The City of God and the Mountain Kingdom: An Augustinian Analysis of Black Theology in Southern Africa through a Series of Interlocking Questions, with Lesotho as a Case Study
Academic study and reflective practice are integrated throughout the postgraduate programme. In all parts of the course, students are enabled to interact with up-to-date thought and scholarship and to bring this into conversation with their growing experience of pastoral ministry on attachments and summer placements.
For a complete catalogue of modules available, click here.
Liturgical Studies pathway in the MA degree
It is possible to follow a pathway within the MA programme which concentrates on Liturgical Studies. For further details, contact Dr Ben Gordon-Taylor, the Director of the Mirfield Liturgical Institute, using our enquiry form.
Learning and assessment
People learn in different ways, and so, in line with best academic practice, the College offers a wide range of learning and assessment environments.
Learning takes place in lectures, seminars, tutorials, study days and workshops. There is a highly favourable student:staff ratio at the College which means that classes are generally small and interactive.
Student learning is assessed in a broad range of ways, including essays, presentations, case studies, group projects and theological reflection. There are no examinations. One-to-one tutorial support is offered on all assessed essays.
Any questions?
To make an informal enquiry about postgraduate study on the Professional Development Route at the College of the Resurrection, contact the Academic Registrar using our enquiry form.
The Academic Registrar is also able to answer queries about fees for modules undertaken as part of the Professional Development Route.