September 2024

Theology and Philosophy BA (Hons)

Honours Degree, Undergraduate, September 2024

Key Details

  • VV56 Course Code
  • 3 - 4.5* Years
  • 112 Typical UCAS Tariff
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The study of Theology and Philosophy is really relevant to the issues of today, as almost every story covered in the media has an ethical, philosophical or religious dimension to it. This subject helps you to understand the world in which we live, then, since both our history and our modern culture are shaped by religious beliefs and philosophical traditions. The course will encourage you to consider the deep questions facing individuals and society about life and death, self and identity, and the responsibility of human beings to one another and to the environment. The BA (Hons) in Theology and Philosophy is, therefore, an ideal course for the student with wide interests who loves thinking and debating. Students from a range of backgrounds and prior learning experiences are welcome, and the course is open to those of any religious tradition or none.

 

  • Theology and Philosophy at Newman regularly ranks highly on the National Student Survey; in 2023 our average positivity score was 98%.
  • Theology and Philosophy at Newman challenges students to think deeply about the greatest questions facing society today such as climate change, human rights, gender equality and the nature of work.
  • The course emphasises the ability to read and engage with primary texts, such as the scriptures and creeds of the world’s religions and the writings of philosophers and theologians.
  • The programme includes optional modules in Religious Education for those students considering a career in teaching.

Theology and Philosophy is a broad field of study, which embraces a whole variety of other subjects, including history, literature, politics, sociology and anthropology. The Theology and Philosophy degree at Newman offers you the opportunity to study all the key aspects of the wide subject of theology, including: Christian theology, both classical and modern; philosophy of religion; ethical theories and issues; biblical interpretation; and how different religions interact with society and politics.

The first year of the Programme aims to give you a solid grounding in all of these areas and also to help you make the transition to University study. In the second and third years you will develop your knowledge and skills further through a combination of compulsory and optional modules. These will cover both ancient and modern perspectives on Theology, Philosophy, and Ethics, and provide opportunities to study areas such as biblical interpretation and Religious Education. During your final year you will explore deeply a topic of your choice in writing a 10,000 word dissertation.

A key element of the whole course is engagement with primary texts, including the scriptures of the major religions, and a willingness to evaluate a variety of perspectives is expected.

In addition to the compulsory work placement strand which is a feature of all Newman’s degree programmes, the Theology and Philosophy course includes an employability-related module in the third year. This allows students to engage directly with community organisations, charities and other agencies to apply their theological and philosophical knowledge to solving real-life problems.

The course uses a variety of assessments to help develop a range of different skills including essays, oral presentations, textual commentaries, case studies, portfolios, digital artefacts, reflective logs and research projects. There are no written examinations.

Theology and Philosophy graduates go on to a wide range of careers, including teaching, the police service, the NHS, administration in the public and private sectors, human resources, and retail or hotel management. Others take professional post-graduate courses to qualify as, for example, lawyers, accountants, youth workers, social workers or librarians. The skills of critical thinking, evaluation, communication, and cultural and religious understanding gained during the course are valued by many different kinds of employers.

Newman University is located in Britain’s second city – Birmingham. With one of the youngest city populations in Europe, it is a vibrant and dynamic place to study.

Studying at Newman University, you have the advantage of being near to the city, but living in, or commuting to peaceful and comfortable surroundings on campus.

Dining out

Birmingham has lots of wonderful places to dine out with a range of different cuisines. Places where you can dine out include; Brindley Place, Mailbox and Hagley Road (just 10 minutes’ from Newman).

Entertainment

Whether you like to go to; the theatre, gigs or clubs, or enjoy: sports, shopping visiting art galleries or exhibitions – Birmingham will not disappoint and you will be spoilt for choice!

Location

Getting around Birmingham is easy via train, bus or by car. Birmingham has excellent transport links to the rest of Britain, making it easy for those weekend getaways!

Why not explore the city for yourself by visiting one of our Open Days?

Want to find out more about Birmingham? Then take a look at some Birmingham City Secrets.

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Entry Requirements

You must achieve at least 96 UCAS points including a minimum of CC at A level or equivalent (e.g.MM at BTEC Diploma; MPP at BTEC Extended Diploma) towards the total tariff.

Access Students can achieve the requirements with the following combination of Distinction, Merit and/ or Pass grades at level 3 achieved from a completed Access course. 96 UCAS Points: D21-M3-P21; D18-M9-P18; D15-M15-P15; D12-M21-P12; D9-M27-P9; D6-M33-P6; D3-M39-P3; D0-M45-P0.

The University accepts appropriate T Levels as part of its usual entry requirements.

For applicants who are unsure that they will achieve the above UCAS tariff, Newman University offers Theology and Philosophy (with Foundation Year) which enables such applicants to access a university degree via a four year route. Upon successful completion of their foundation year, students will progress to Year 1 of a named degree. Whilst not a condition of entry onto the Foundation Year, students wishing to follow particular named routes with additional entry requirements, will need to meet these requirements before they make the transition from their foundation year to year 1.

International Students
The University is not licensed by the UK Government to sponsor migrant students under the Student route and is therefore unable to accept applications from international students at present.

Applying Direct Option

You can apply direct to Newman University for the full-time route for this course if you have not previously applied to Newman University through UCAS and you are not applying to any other universities.

September 2024 Direct Application Link

September 2024 Direct Application Link (part-time)

September 2024 applications will go live in September.

N.B. will need to enter ‘New User’ account details when first accessing this portal.

Course Fees

The full-time course fee for September 2023 is £9,250.

The University will review tuition fees and increase fees in line with any inflationary uplift as determined by the UK Government, if permitted by law or government policy, in subsequent years of your course. It is anticipated that such increases would be linked to RPI (the Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments).

Additional Costs

Some modules involve study visits to local places of worship. The costs of these trips themselves are included within your fees, but you will need to pay for your own travel.

Find out more about the other additional costs associated with our undergraduate degrees. 

Modules

Please be aware that, as with any course, there may be changes to the modules delivered, for information view our Changes to Programmes of Module Changes page.

*As a part-time undergraduate student, you choose how many modules to study each year (up to a maximum of 6). To qualify for a student tuition fee loan you will need to choose at least 4 modules. A normal 3-year degree will take 4.5 years (if you take 4 modules per year) up to a maximum of 8 years to complete. You will be taught alongside full-time undergraduate students.

Timetables: find out when information is available to students

 

 

  1. This compulsory module aims to support first year students in the transition into Higher Education and prepare them to succeed in their theological and philosophical studies. It provides the opportunity and time for students to acquire and/or develop the academic study skills, both general and subject-specific, on which they will need to draw throughout their programme, for example: research skills; bibliographic referencing; academic writing; reading and commenting appropriately on primary theological and philosophical texts; critical analysis; and summarising and evaluating sources.  
  2. Sacred texts form the authoritative core of most religious faiths; their doctrines, traditions and often institutional structures. Therefore, understanding their historical and contemporary functions within the religious community is fundamental to religious and philosophical studies. The Hebrew (Tanakh) and Christian Bible present an ideal opportunity to provide students with the foundational knowledge and critical apparatus in order to understand, analyse and reflect upon the dynamic relationship between text, religion and society; how texts are produced, interpreted and applied throughout history and the present day.  
  3. This module explores the role of religion and politics in Britain by bringing classical texts of political philosophy into dialogue with real case studies from the recent past. You will become familiar with key concepts that have influenced how religion is understood in Britain today. Arguments about religious toleration, individual freedom, and the role of the state have real consequences for how people live and so over the course of this module you’ll analyse how these abstract political concepts play out in our contemporary world.
  4. This module will introduce you to the skills necessary to research religious studies both inside and outside the classroom. Offering a mix of guided and independent study, the module includes visits to religious centres in the Birmingham area. Through lectures and carefully guided practical sessions you will build up the skills necessary for research and study of religions. The teaching in the module is directed towards producing a portfolio of work responding to a visit to a religious centre.
  5. This module aims to equip students with the knowledge and self-management skills to make informed choices in preparing for work experience and the transition to employment or further study on graduation.  Learners will be provided with the opportunities to develop awareness of the workplace, identify different career and study options, recognise and articulate their own experience, accomplishments and talents and plan and implement career management strategies for the short and long term.
  6. Presuming no prior knowledge, this module introduces you to the key features of Christian Theology. Each week we will study a key component of Christian Theology and examine how it was developed in the work of one or two important theologians. We’ll think about how the work of Christian Theology engages with questions of race, sexuality, gender, disability and class. As our knowledge of Christian Theology develops, we’ll begin to consider how these resources might help us to meet the great challenges facing humanity today.
  7. In this module you will be introduced to some of the most exciting questions in philosophy such as: Can we know anything? Are we free? Is there such a thing as ‘reality’? Through an encounter with the works of some of the most well-known philosophers, for example Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Descartes, and Hume, and some who write from different standpoints, for example bell hooks and Cornel West, you will explore different answers to these questions and study how they have helped to form our view of ourselves and the world around us.  
  1. This year-long module allows you to engage with a real-world industry that reflects your career aspirations. Supported by tutors, you critically reflect on your passions and skills to be work-ready following your graduation.  
  2. Beloved and favoured by God, Abraham/Ibrahim is an important figure in both the Qur’an and the Bible. Christians, Muslims, and Jews have all claimed to be the true descendants of Abraham and, therefore, the sole inheritors of God’s favour. More recently, the term “Abrahamic Religions” has been used by politicians, religious leaders, and normal people to express a fundamental similarity between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.  On this module, you will analyse and evaluate different discussions of Abraham to understand how this scriptural figure has been imagined by generations of religious and non-religious people.      
  3. Taking this module will enable you to examine some of the most pressing ethical debates of our age from human cloning and genetic modification to capital punishment and overseas military intervention. You will be encouraged to assess the arguments for and against different ethical positions, while developing an appreciation for the underlying philosophical issues like autonomy and choice, the value of human and non-human life, and the purpose of modern medicine.
  4. The module introduces you to major movements in theology and philosophy (for example, existentialism, Marxism, neo-orthodoxy and liberation theology). It positions these in relationship to important events in the changing world of the twentieth century (for example, decolonisation, civil rights movements, world war, genocide). A focus of the module is how and why questions of race, gender, ableism, and sexuality come to the fore of the disciplines in the latter third of the century. In this way, you will have the chance to evaluate how both theology and philosophy are subverted and renewed by people who refuse to subscribe to more mainstream accepted beliefs. As your understanding of theology and philosophy deepens, so this module will help you to develop the skills necessary to apply this knowledge in self-led study. Advances in subject knowledge are complemented and developed with workshops on independent research. With developing subject knowledge and more proficient research skills, students who complete this module will be well prepared for their third-year dissertations.
  5. This module aims to develop knowledge & understanding for students that have a particular interest in RE through identifying current issues raised in government reports and addressing challenges ahead as outlined by professional RE bodies. The module will examine research to investigate factors influencing the delivery of RE in schools and the impact this holds for pupil understanding. Through exploration of recent recommendations by professional bodies for the ongoing development of RE, as a statutory curriculum subject, students will be equipped for any future careers involving this subject area as well as developing a range of transferable skills.
  6. This module considers the question of spiritual and faith development of children within primary/secondary schools and the links that can be made to the wider area of SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural). Through RE it will also examine world views alongside religious understanding of spirituality. Students will examine theoretical frameworks for moral and spiritual development within the context of theories of child development in general. School-related sessions will explore PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education), equality and diversity, wellbeing, and wider issues such as whether moral and spiritual development can be assessed and the implementation of SMSC across the curriculum.
  7. Using canonical and non-canonical writings from the first and second centuries C.E. as primary sources, students explore, through its own words, the progression of Christianity from its emergence as a small Jewish movement within sectarian Second Temple Judaism to its struggle in renegotiating its identity and place within the Roman Empire as a distinct religious voice. In doing so, this module consolidates and develops core subject knowledge and skills introduced in THU406 (Reading Sacred Texts).  
  8. Focusing on the Jewish and Christian Bible and examples of its use within contemporary settings (e.g. politics, art, popular culture, social media, inter and intra religious dialogue), this module investigates the relationship between the text and its users. Building on a number of questions and challenges posed in THU406, the module explores in greater depth issues relating to genre and textual reception.
  1. This double module promotes the acquisition of in-depth and advanced subject knowledge and understanding, and fosters critical engagement with theological and/or philosophical issues. Building upon their interests and achievements at Levels 4 and 5, students will choose, in negotiation with tutors, a focused area of study within the broad field of Theology, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. The dissertation focus may fall within any of the areas covered within the Programme, including Christian Theology, Biblical Studies, Philosophy of Religion, Ethics and Religious Education, but is dependent on the availability of staff expertise and suitable resources as well as student interest.
  2. Throughout the degree programme students have been encouraged and challenged to critically engage with issues and questions facing contemporary society. Building on this, this module provides students with the supportive space to use the tools (skills, theological/philosophical knowledge and experience) they have acquired throughout the degree programme in order to take on the role of theological and/or philosophical practitioners and consultants within ‘real world’ situations, and to attempt to create informed solutions to specific problems posed by local agencies and other groups.​
  3. This module focuses on the question ‘who am I?’ and whether it is, even in principle, possible to answer it. You will have the opportunity to encounter a wide range of philosophical answers to this question including, for example, those proposed by Plato, Nietzsche, Heidegger and Wittgenstein. Through this, you will critically engage with a broad range of philosophical debates, such as those concerning the role of myth in philosophy, the relationship between human beings and the non-human world, the possibility of metaphysics, and the philosophy of dance and aesthetics.
  4. This module enables you to explore the ways in which ancient ideas of virtues and values have been reasserted and recast by twentieth and twenty-first century philosophers. By engaging with ancient Greek texts you will have the opportunity to critically assess some of the ethical ideals upheld by this literature, such as Homer’s warrior-hero Achilles, Aeschylus’ tragic hero Agamemnon and Plato’s transcendent Forms. Evaluating the ways in which these accounts of virtue have been fundamental in shaping more modern perceptions of what it means to lead a good life found in, for example, Iris Murdoch’s account of the Good, Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist writings, and Martha Nussbaum’s insights about moral luck and tragic dilemmas will encourage you to critique the ideas of justice and good character promoted by our own contemporary culture.
  5. This module aims to develop knowledge & understanding for students that have a particular interest in RE through identifying current issues raised in government reports and addressing challenges ahead as outlined by professional RE bodies. The module will examine research to investigate factors influencing the delivery of RE in schools and the impact this holds for pupil understanding. Through exploration of recent recommendations by professional bodies for the ongoing development of RE, as a statutory curriculum subject, students will be equipped for any future careers involving this subject area as well as developing a range of transferable skills.  
  6. This module considers the question of spiritual and faith development of children within primary/secondary schools and the links that can be made to the wider area of SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural). Through RE it will also examine world views alongside religious understanding of spirituality. Students will examine theoretical frameworks for moral and spiritual development within the context of theories of child development in general. School-related sessions will explore PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education), equality and diversity, wellbeing, and wider issues such as whether moral and spiritual development can be assessed and the implementation of SMSC across the curriculum.
  7. Using canonical and non-canonical writings from the first and second centuries C.E. as primary sources, students explore, through its own words, the progression of Christianity from its emergence as a small Jewish movement within sectarian Second Temple Judaism to its struggle in renegotiating its identity and place within the Roman Empire as a distinct religious voice. In doing so, this module consolidates and develops core subject knowledge and skills introduced in THU406 (Reading Sacred Texts).  
  8. Focusing on the Jewish and Christian Bible and examples of its use within contemporary settings (e.g. politics, art, popular culture, social media, inter and intra religious dialogue), this module investigates the relationship between the text and its users. Building on a number of questions and challenges posed in THU406, the module explores in greater depth issues relating to genre and textual reception. For students who have taken THU505 (Early Christian Literature), they will be encouraged to find parallels and differences between contemporary use of the Bible and those in Antiquity. The historical trajectory of Christian tradition will be explored, principally through Reception Theory, to identify the dynamic nature of texts and hermeneutic plasticity.