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Religions and Theology at University of Manchester - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

Our full-time and part-time Religions and Theology PhD programme involves substantial original research in Religions and Theology, leading to the production of a thesis (of up to 80,000 words) that constitutes a significant contribution to knowledge. Areas available for research include: 

  • Biblical studies, especially the Bible in context (Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, Graeco-Roman), linguistic approaches, Bible and gender;
  • early Christianity, especially Nag Hammadi and magical texts;
  • papyri and other manuscripts in the John Rylands Library;
  • Rabbinic and medieval Judaism;
  • Jewish thought;
  • Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations;
  • Islamic philosophy and medicine;
  • Christian doctrine;
  • philosophical and political theology;
  • applied theology;
  • ecotheology;
  • theology and technology;
  • contemporary Christianity;
  • religious archives in the John Rylands Library;
  • religion and philosophy;
  • existentialism;
  • philosophy of law;
  • ethics;
  • religion and science;
  • religion and politics;
  • religion and gender.
One of our particular strengths is the ability of our research students to draw on the expertise of specialists in a wide range of disciplines. This offers the possibility of developing interdisciplinary projects with high level expertise in both disciplines. For instance, recent PhD students have had supervision jointly between lecturers in Biblical studies and Roman social history, theology and music, and South Asian Studies and sociology. Within Religions and Theology, our doctoral students also participate in a thriving disciplinary research culture. There are regular research seminars in Religions and Theology, Biblical Studies, and Jewish Studies. Research students are also welcome at a wide range of seminars in other areas, for instance, in linguistics or in gender, sexuality and culture. PhD students in Religions and Theology get to meet and discuss with many top international visiting scholars at seminars and public lectures. These include The Manson Memorial Lecture in New Testament, The Sherman Lectures in Jewish Studies, and The Ferguson Lecture in Theology. Many of our students undertake some undergraduate teaching, following appropriate training which is offered to all doctoral students. Funds are available for students to organise conferences and travel to attend events and undertake research. There are opportunities to organise, participate in, and present papers at conferences led by PhD students and joint events, such as the Manchester-Durham-Sheffield PhD student conference in Biblical Studies.

Entry requirements

Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent).

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

For fees for entry in 2025, please view the course listing on our website.

Sponsorship information

There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below. To apply for University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered. The deadline for most internal competitions, including AHRC NWCDTP and School of Arts, Languages and Cultures studentships is 13 January 2025. All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting the funding application form and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below.  You will need to be nominated by your proposed supervisor for a number of our scholarships. Therefore, we highly recommend you discuss these funding opportunities with your supervisor first, so they can advise on your suitability and ensure you meet nomination deadlines. For more funding information, visit our funding page or use our funding database to search for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

Religions and Theology at University of Manchester - UCAS