Our distance learning Postgraduate Diploma in Catholic Theology offers you the freedom to explore Catholic theology with intellectual rigour and in depth, wherever you are in the world.
Led by the University’s world-renowned Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) within the Department of Theology and Religion, the PG Dip in Catholic Theology provides an in-depth knowledge of individual figures, periods, themes and areas of Catholic theology.
This course is particularly suitable if you have an undergraduate education in Theology, Religious Studies, or a related discipline. It is an excellent foundation for progression to the MA, and for those pursuing ongoing personal and professional development.
You will undertake a ‘Preliminary Tour’ as a core module while three further optional modules will enable you to adopt historical, philosophical ethical and political approaches to the subject through the study of topics such as faith and reason, twentieth century Catholic theology and conceiving change in contemporary Catholicism, and through exploring the thought of Thomas Aquinas or medieval Franciscan thinkers.
The course is offered part-time over two years via distance learning. It has been set up to enable you to study from wherever you live regardless of your time zone. There will however be a residential session of 2-3 days in the University each year. The residential is an important part of the course. It offers a valuable opportunity to connect with fellow students and lecturers and to attend a series of tailored lectures and seminar sessions. For those attending the residential, there is an additional fee to cover room and board for the days in Durham.
As a distance learner, you will be considered a valued and engaged member of the CCS and the department’s student body as a whole. You will be encouraged to participate in the Department’s research seminars where possible and other online events. We also hold an early career conference in Catholic Studies, which in some years is run online. We are fully committed to making the high-quality academic study of Catholic theology available to students in different parts of the world and in a wide variety of life situations.
Course structure
Core module:
Catholic Theology: A Preliminary Tour provides a strong intellectual foundation to help you move from undergraduate studies in theology and religious studies or in related subjects such as classics, philosophy, history or literature to the study of Catholic theology at a more advanced level. You will also gain training in research methods and resources that are used in the academic study of Catholic theology.
In recent years, optional modules have included:
Conceiving Change in Contemporary Catholicism
Twentieth-Century Catholic Theology
Catholic Social Thought and Practice
The Theology of Thomas Aquinas Selected Topics
Faith and Reason
High Medieval Franciscan Theology
A limited CCS Bursary Fund specifically for this programme in Catholic Theology by Distance Learning is now available. For full details see Funding - Durham University
Teaching will be delivered using a carefully arranged mixture of written and recorded material, asynchronous online discussion, optional co-ordinated webinars and occasional tutorials. There will be a 2-3 day residential in Durham each year, with the remainder of the course offered as distance learning. It is possible to complete the course entirely at a distance, but we strongly advise on coming to the residentials, as most students do.
The study resources that you will need for the course, including all reading materials, will be available online and all video and audio-recorded material will be accompanied by a transcript.
Timetabling of optional seminars and office hours will take the varying time zones into account while the other components of the modules will be asynchronous or organised individually.
Convenors have been allocated to the course modules and, as a minimum, they will be available during University term time to answer questions, give feedback on written work in tutorials and lead the optional webinars.
Assessment
The majority of modules are assessed by essays, with two including an oral exam.
Entry requirements
A 2:1 undergraduate degree in Theology, or Religious Studies or a related discipline.
The three principle exceptions to this rule are:
Graduates of other disciplines who have studied at an undergraduate or equivalent level in one or more of the areas in which they hope to work, through their first degrees, through training for the ministry of the churches, and so on.
Students from overseas universities who have successfully reached a point in their theological, religious studies or studies in a related discipline comparable with completion of an English BA.
Students who have already passed the module ‘Catholic Theology: A Preliminary Tour’ with a score of 60 or higher.
A 500-word personal statement should include the following:
An outline of your interest in the Postgraduate Diploma in Catholic Theology (DL)
What skills and knowledge you would bring to the course
What skills and knowledge you would hope to acquire
Two professional and/or academic references from people who are familiar with your work, commenting on your suitability for the programme.
For those who wish, a brief one-on-one interview with a programme convenor.
The tuition fees for 2025/26 academic year have not yet been finalised, they will be displayed here once approved.
Fees shown are for one year. Total fee will depend on the length of your programme. All fees are subject to annual increases. For more information please visit the Tuition Fees page www.durham.ac.uk/postgraduate/finance/tuition
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