Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2022). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas. The Master of Studies (MSt) in Philosophical Theology offers graduates in either philosophy or theology the opportunity to undertake advanced study in a field bridging the two disciplines. With a tutor, you will study two areas of philosophical theology chosen from the philosophy of religion, the history of philosophical theology, or a more specialised area of theology. For each area, depending on the subject and supervisor, you will have six or eight tutorials of 60 to 90 minutes in duration. For each tutorial, you will write an essay of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 words. Tutorials consist of close scrutiny and discussion of the essay and the issues it raises. In addition to your tutorial work, you will also write a dissertation of 15,000 words, under the direction of a supervisor. The Faculty of Theology and Religion has a lively graduate community of students, including reading and work-in-progress groups. The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Philosophical Theology is intended to provide you with detailed knowledge of philosophical theology, its history and a cognate area of philosophy, with the opportunity to hone your skills in research and in written and oral argument in these subjects. The course consists of a year of weekly tutorials followed by a year writing a 30,000 word dissertation. In the first year, with a tutor, you study three areas of philosophical theology chosen from the philosophy of religion, the history of philosophical theology, and a more specialised area in either philosophy or theology. For each area, depending on the subject and supervisor, you will have six or eight tutorials of 60 to 90 minutes in duration. For each tutorial, you will write an essay of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 words. Tutorials consist of close scrutiny and discussion of the essay and the issues it raises. In the second year, under the direction of a supervisor, you will write a 30,000 word dissertation on a topic in philosophical theology. The Faculty of Theology and Religion has a lively graduate community of students, including reading and work-in-progress groups.