Application deadline
Thursday 7 August 2025
Applicants should apply as early as possible to be eligible for certain scholarships.
“I have a particular interest in embarking on a PhD and saw the course as the perfect opportunity to develop my work and myself as a theologian from an undergraduate to a doctoral level, through focusing on questions regarding the very nature of the self and of the divine.”
- Warwickshire, England
Entry requirements
- A 2.1 undergraduate Honours degree in Theology or a closely related discipline. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.
- English language proficiency. See English language tests and qualifications.
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 (optional)
- sample of your own, single-authored academic work in English (2,000 words)
- two original signed academic references
- academic transcripts and degree certificates
For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.
English language proficiency
If English is not your first language, you may need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. See approved English language tests and scores for this course.
Course details
The MLitt in Systematic and Historical Theology is a one-year taught programme run by the School of Divinity.
Highlights
- Trains students in a high-level engagement with Christian doctrines in their historical and systematic dimensions.
- Integrates the study of Biblical origins, primary theological texts, and contemporary scholarship.
- Balances coursework and a research component that allows students to apply acquired skills to a substantial subject or question of their choosing.
- Equips students for doctoral study in systematic and historical theology, or for enhanced ministry in church and society.
Modules
The modules published below are examples of what has been taught in previous academic years and may be subject to change before you start your course. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the module catalogue.
Here is a sample of modules that may be offered.
- Selected Medieval Theologian: Bonaventure: allows students to engage at length and in depth with the thought of a formative, medieval thinker.
- A Selected Modern Theologian: allows students to engage at length and in depth with the thought of a formative, modern thinker.
- A Selected Patristic Theologian: Gregory Nazianzen: allows students to engage at length and in depth with the thought of a formative, patristic thinker.
- From Nazareth to Nicaea: The origins of Christian theology: examines the beginnings of Christian theology in the New Testament texts and in early Christian writers.
- Persons: Divine and Human: assesses the concept of the ‘person’ as used to describe the nature of God and the Trinity on the one hand, and the nature of human beings on the other.
- Reconciliation: Divine and Human: explores the doctrine of reconciliation and its implications for human relationships.
- The Good Life and the Good Death: Theological and Practical Ethics: explores how ethical concepts, and their practical application, relate to various (and often competing) theological and philosophical conceptions of the Good Life and the Good Death, using a range of important historical and contemporary moral theologians and philosophers.
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.
Over the course of the year, but with particular focus over the last three months, you will research and write a 15,000-word dissertation. Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation must be submitted by a date specified in August.
There is no exit award option (such as a PGCert or PGDip) for this programme. In order to complete the MLitt, students must pass the dissertation element of their course.
Teaching
The programme comprises two semesters of taught modules, featuring both lectures and discussions, and a 15,000-word dissertation. Modules are assessed by essays.
Class sizes in the School of Divinity typically range from 6 to 12 students.
Students also attend the weekly Theology Research Seminar, and may, if they wish, enrol in language classes and attend other lectures, seminars and reading groups as appropriate.
The School offers classes in Hebrew and Greek, which are open to all students.
Events
The School of Divinity regularly hosts international conferences and smaller symposia on themes across the field of biblical and theological studies.
Students also participate in a weekly Theology Research Seminar and are invited to attend any of the other research seminars pertaining to their interests.
Fees
Home
£12,030
Overseas
£25,900
Application fee
Before we can begin processing your application, a payment of an application fee of £50 is required. In some instances, you may be eligible for an application fee waiver. Details of this, along with information on our tuition fees, can be found on the postgraduate fees and funding page.
Funding and scholarships
The University of St Andrews is committed to attracting the very best students, regardless of financial circumstances.
15% Recent Graduate Discount
If you have graduated from the University within the last three academic years, you may be eligible for a 15% discount on postgraduate taught tuition fees. Terms and conditions apply.
After your degree
Careers
Students on the MLitt programme are provided the skills they need to succeed in an international job market, both academic and non-academic.
Regular workshops, both general and subject-specific, in areas such as publishing, conference presentations, and job searches are offered by the School of Divinity and the University.
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.
Further study
In addition to the MLitt, the School offers a two-year residential Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree option in Systematic and Historical Theology.
Many Divinity graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews or elsewhere.
Postgraduate researchContact us
- Phone
- +44 (0)1334 46 2826
- divinitypg@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Address
- School of Divinity
St Mary's College
South Street
St Andrews
KY16 9JU