MTh in Applied Theology
The Master of MTh in Applied Theology Applied Theology is a vocationally based postgraduate course. where theory and practice at the forefront of theological reflection integrate. This mode of study is especially appropriate for candidates who are already serving in a ministerial/pastoral capacity and are able to incorporate into their MTh in Applied Theology degree work an Organised span of agreed pastoral activity.
By concentrating upon the use of theological principles students may gain some understanding of how to bridge the gap between academic theology and the needs of Christian ministry. With its emphasis on not only a supported learning experience but also independent study, the program guarantees a rewarding and challenging educational adventure.
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Course Structure
To help you organise the available information we have summarised the most important information about the course. The mandatory and optional components of the course are explained in more detail on our Course components page.
Chapter 1: The Science of Learning and Research as a Foundation part i Core Learning and Foundational Research
The curriculum for Part I is based on core taught courses and seminars that address methodology approaches and key issues in applied theology. These groups meet weekly and full-time and part-time students must attend the groups in person during their first year. The classes are very interactive weaving in some mandatory reading and lively discussion.
For certain units student extended essays will be completed through individual tutor support.
Part II: The Dissertation
The latter half of the course ends with a final piece of work in the form of an extended dissertation. This is the private study module during which students pursue their studies in a chosen field of MTh in Applied Theology.
Research and Academic Community
Alongside the taught classes all students also have an opportunity on these courses to study with leading Members of University and distinguished visiting scholars. We also have Research Presentation Seminars where students can present their research in progress and get feedback from other students. This structure helps to strike a balance between teacher guidance and student-driven academic inquiry.
Students are also encouraged to attend other lectures and postgraduate seminars in the Faculty of Theology and Religion. All or part of the following modules are optional and attendance at some may be subject to approval by the convenor. Colleges might also run additional seminars specifically for their Applied Theology students.
Attendance
This programme is offered on a full and part-time basis, both modes requiring regular attendance in Oxford UK. Such full-time students must meet the Residence requirements of the University.
The two-year full-time program is delivered. The part-time program has equivalent academic standards and can be completed in three to four years. Switching up from full time to part time mode of study is possible after the first year.
As a part-time student you may be non-residential though you are expected to take classes and seminars in Oxford University on at least one day per week of term (often more) during your first year. You will do this in 2nd and subsequent years for the odd seminar or supervision related to essays.
Some universities will also require attendance at their own post-graduate seminars. So a student at Wycliffe Hall would be required to participate in a weekly seminar at the college for which they are studying. ORDINANDS & MT TRAINING There may also be additional lectures and commitments arranged by their college to which they will be required to attend.
Due to the nature of on-site requirements we recommend that students live within easy commuting distance of Oxford (UK) for at least the first year of the course.
Resources to Support Your Study
As a postgraduate student you will have full access to the University’s rich and diverse library services (which includes member of staff role as librarians) prestigious museums and galleries family of digital resources including: eBooks journals and databases.
The Bodleian Libraries
The Bodleian Libraries is the UK’s biggest library system. This extensive system includes the principal Bodleian Library itself (which, however, focuses mostly on supporting research in humanities and social sciences) the shared libraries of the colleges (especially ones for graduates and undergraduates) and the subject libraries. The Libraries hold more than 13 million volumes and hundreds of thousands of journals e-books databases audio and video recordings software photographs maps and other resources.
Languages
Free or reduced cost courses Offered by the Oxford University Language Centre to members of the University wishing to learn a foreign language that they can relate to their studies academic interest or for general culture and travel. We can help you set up access to classes if you are going to read primary texts (e.g. Bonhoeffer or Barth) in the original. The Centre also organises academic English courses (which would be very helpful for international students) and general English courses for partners of students.
If you need a course for your degree or research and we offer it there may be a priority enrolment program offered. Classes in the Biblical languages may also be found at college and advanced postgraduate seminar level in the Faculty of Theology and Religion. You may speak to your course director for more information on what you can and cannot do.
Supervision
They have coursework structure specific hours this means they only have a supervisor available for each unit or assessment modules and not for the duration of their course. It is thus not unusual that students are changing supervisors during their time as a doctoral student.
You will be allocated supervisors to help you develop and write your essay projects and later your dissertation. The amount of supervisor time you get will differ but you can expect three supervisions per essay and more for the dissertation. Oxford postgraduates are expected to be pro-active in contacting allocated supervisors to arrange meetings on time politely and appropriately. You will also work with course tutors college course directors and/or the MTh in Applied Theology Course Coordinator in classes or during 1-1 meetings.
Teaching for weekly classes and convening of research seminars is organised by the Faculty of Theology and Religion for this course. Supervision for taught work is assigned by the student’s college in consultation with their college Course Director. In exceptional cases a supervisor may be drawn from beyond the Faculty of Theology and Religion. It should be noted that in many cases the desires of new graduate students to work with a specific member of staff cannot always be accommodated.
Assessment
The MTh in Applied Theology in Applied Theology course consists of four units each with an extended essay of 7,000 words. Part II is submitted in the form of a 15,000-20,000 word dissertation on an aspect of applied theology to be agreed.
Graduate Destinations
Where do our theology graduates go? Graduates from the Faculty of Theology & Religion find employment in a wide range of careers around the world. Most of our MTh Applied Theology graduates go into Christian ministry or another faith-based pastoral setting. Occasionally students have moved from the MTh in Applied Theology to doctoral study.
English Language Proficiency
Proficiency in English is the requirement to get admission into this course as University upper level. If English is not your first language you may be required to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. Scores required by the University for fulfillment of the higher level are those listed in the table.
Test
Minimum Overall Score
Minimum Score Per Component
IELTS Academic (Institution code: 0713)
7.5
7.0
(Home Edition) TOEFL iBT (Institution code: 0490 )
110
Listening: 22 Reading: 24 Speaking: 25 Writing: 24
C1 Advanced
191
185
C2 Proficiency
191
185
Oxford Test of English Advanced
165
155
The following are the minimum scores needed to demonstrate that you meet King’s College London’s higher level requirement – please note that each degree programme may have a different required score:
Formely known as Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)
Formerly known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English, or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)
Your test can’t be more than two years old on the first day of your course. Please refer to our Application Guide for more details on the requirement of English language test.
Performance at Interview
Interviews are not a standard part of the University’s admissions process for this course. For ordinands and ministerial students, the training college could do their own as part of their process.
Offer Conditions for Successful Applications
You will be eligible for a place at Oxford if you accept the offer as your firm choice and meet the conditions of your offer (if you have any) and any additional selection criteria. These conditions might be academic, for example obtaining a particular final grade in your degree course. The precise conditions are usually based on your particular academic background and can be different for different candidates. More information about offers and conditions is on our ‘After you apply’ pages.
Other than set academic prerequisites you will also have to meet the following criteria.
Financial Declaration
If you are offered a place, you will need to fill in a Financial Declaration to meet your financial condition of offer.
Disclosure of Criminal Convictions
As admissions are subject to the University’s duty of care to students and staff if you are offered a place at Oxford you will be required to disclose all unspent criminal convictions before you can take up your place.
Funding
The Collegiate University expects to offer over 1,100 full or partial graduate scholarships across the collegiate University in 2026-27.
If you apply by the January deadline and then receive a course offer your application will automatically be considered for Oxford funding. For most of the Oxford scholarships you will automatically be considered for these awards provided you apply by the relevant January deadline. There are further Oxford scholarships with additional eligibility criteria (such as country of ordinary residence) for which candidates must apply. The majority of scholarships are based on merit and/or potential.
To make sure you are considered for all relevant Oxford scholarships requiring an additional application please do this using our fees funding and scholarship search at the same time as you submit your course application. In addition to Oxford scholarships you should also investigate external funding options for which you are eligible, regardless of your proposed degree programme or options of loan schemes available including our postgraduate loans and others: fees funding and scholarship search tool.
Costs
Annual Tuition Fees for Year 2026-27 at the University of Oxford
Fees for this course are yearly.
Full-time Study
Fee Status
Annual Course Fees
Home
£15,920
Overseas
£36,920
Part-time Study
Fee Status
Annual Course Fees
Home
£7,960
Overseas
£18,460
Get info here about Home scholarships and International Students Scholarship.
What Do Course Fees Cover?
Course fees include your teaching and also other academic services as well as facilities provided to support your studies. Your course fees do not include accommodation food and other living costs unless stated in the additional information section below. They also exclude any additional costs and charges laid out in the additional costs information below.
How Many Installments Do I Have to Pay the Course Fees?
You pay course fees for every year that you are liable for them (how long depends on how long you will need to pay course fees). For full details: www.nottingham. ac.uk/fees For courses of more than one year, fees will increase each year.
Where Can I Learn More About The Fees?
Additional details can be found in our fee and interest rate pages including the costs of:
- Course fees and fee liability.
- How you become classified for fees.
- Changes in fees and other charges.
Details of how much fees and other costs will increase each academic year are not available at the time of going to press information will be published on the University website.
Full-time Study
No required additional fees apply for this course apart from tuition and living expenses. But it’s possible they’ll need to choose a dissertation project or thesis topic as part of the course requirements. Additional cost (Total for the entire course) According to your area of research the additional costs will vary and incurred while you are doing an assessment on campus. The additional costs are the responsibility of students, and small grants to assist with these costs can be obtained via applications to faculty.
Living Costs
As well as your tuition fees and any supplementary course costs, you will make a contribution to your living expenses for the duration of your course.
Living Costs for Full-time Study
The likely range of costs in the 2026-27 academic year for a single student living in College accommodation in Oxford is £1,405 to £2,105 per month. We give you the cost per month so you can multiply it by however many months you will be living in Oxford. Depending on your situation, you may also need to consider the cost of a student visa and immigration health surcharge (IHS) and / or living costs for family members or other dependants who you are coming to Oxford with (if dependant visa eligibility requirements are met).
Living Costs for Part-time Study
Your living expenses however may vary depending on your lifestyle and circumstances so you will need to plan on a full-time cost of living for the entire duration of your course (this applies even if you don’t live in Oxford e.g. during vacation periods). Estimated range of costs for living in Oxford 2026-27 The range of likely living costs for a single person in Oxford is between £1,405 and £2,105 per month.Oxfordshire’s outside these figures.
Non Oxford based part-time students will need to factor in the cost of travel and accommodation. This may cover the cost of a visitor visa to attend study in Australia for short periods (if you are eligible for a visitor visa).
Part-time Study
NB: This course requires you to come to Oxford for teaching and you may incur additional travel and accommodation expenses for this. No required additional elements of this course incur additional costs beyond fees and living costs. But as a condition of the course work the students might be required to choose an issue or thesis or dissertation for their research. Any other expenses not covered above including but not limited to travel research and field trips shall be borne by the author. While students will need to pay the extra charges there might be an opportunity for them to apply for modest grants from their faculty or college – which can help mitigate some of these costs.
Further Information About Living Costs
Given the present economy and recent years of high national inflation it is impossible to predict definitively how the cost of living may be expected to change over coming years. When budgeting for living costs in Oxford beyond 2026-27, you are recommended to allow for an increase of up to 4% each year over the national level of inflation (though it may be things vary depending upon the national economic situation).
Itemisation of Anticipated Living Expenses per Month for the Academic Year 2026-27 is shown below. Those costs quoted are calculated from one full time graduate student with no dependants living in Oxford.
Category
Lower Range
Upper Range
Food
£315
£545
Accommodation
£825
£990
Personal items
£160
£310
Social activities
£50
£130
Study costs
£35
£90
Other
£20
£40
Total
£1,405
£2,105
Estimated monthly expenditure in Oxford for the 2026-27 academic year
For an explanation of how these is calculated and tables with likely living costs at the 9 and 12 month level visit our Living costs page on this website.
Before You Apply
Jon provided excellent advice to help you assess how competitive your application will be. Our article on getting started offers general thoughts for preparing for and starting a job application.
If it is vital you’re considered under a certain deadline (e.g. the University’s January deadline to be considered for Oxford scholarships) we would advise that you submit your application two weeks before this. Please see the deadlines on this webpage and details of when you can apply and we will act in Applications Guide.
Application Fee Waivers
A £75 application fee is payable for each application to the course. Application Fee Waiver An application fee waiver will be granted based upon the following categories:
Applicants from low-income countries.
• Refugees and displaced persons.
• Applicants from the UK whose backgrounds are under-represented at Oxford.
• Candidates who have submitted applications for our Graduate Access Pathways in the previous two years and satisfied the eligibility criteria.
It is strongly recommended to check your eligibility for an application fee waiver before you apply.
Is There Someone I Should Contact Before Applying?
You do not need to contact the department before you apply however we recommend that you take a look at the relevant departmental webpage for more information about how your chosen course is taught.
Improving Access to Graduate Study
This course is working in partnership to improve the selection process for applicants to graduate programmes so that all candidates are given equal consideration. You will need to read the following lines very carefully when filling in the application form and take clear note of what is needed as supporting documents.
The application form for this course will ask you to answer specific questions that help us to learn about what information we would usually expect in a CV/résumé. Do not attach a separate document. If you attach a separate CV/résumé, it will be detached from your application. Should any of those documents not meet requirements, including word count if specified, your application is at risk of being deemed incomplete and not reviewed by the academic department.
Referees
There are three referees needed, and academic refrees preferred. Even though three referees are required, the department may process your application if two out of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. You may still need to prompt your third referee to fill in a reference for it to be included. References should generally be academic. Professional references are ok but can’t do much to show academic ability – you should maybe only turn in a single such letter. Your referees will confirm you have the academic ability, knowledge of your subject and language in which it’s taught, plus other qualities needed for the course.
Official Transcript(s)
Your transcripts should include a record of the individual grades in your school- or college-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents that were issued by your school, and if a transcript is not in English, you will need to provide an official translation. For more information on the transcript requirement, see the Application Guide.
Statement of Purpose
N.B. — 500 words maximum if possible. You will need to submit a statement of purpose – written in English – detailing your reasons for wishing to undertake this graduate programme, your aspirations both while studying at Oxford and afterwards. Your dedication to graduate study will be evaluated in this regard. Your statement might also give us some sense of why you are interested in the topic and what further study, career plans and aspirations your PhD is a part of – as well as any particular ambitions you have for this Oxford qualification. It is natural for your thinking to refine as you explore the evidence and plan your project. However, it is best to indicate the scope of your research question, sources and method here as well. Your statement of purpose should be directly concerned with academic rather than personal experience, achievements, interests and goals. Part-time study If you are applying for part-time study, you should upload the statement with independence section left blank); however we advise that in order to meet some of the learning outcomes there is an expectation that independent study also must be factored into the overall time required (the course descriptor provides more detail).
Written Work
You should submit TWO short essays of up to 2,000 words each OR ONE essay of no more than 4,000 words. Academic/ essays or other samples of writing from your most recent qualification in English. If you prefer, excerpts from longer pieces are allowed when accompanied by a paragraph outlining the story it’s drawn from. Submissions of written work need to have relevance to the area for which students are applying. Word count need not include bibliography or short footnotes. If its possible that the word count can be put on some were on the paper in big bold letters. This will be judged in the light of an adequate intellectual level – true theological appreciation, conceptual robustness, analytical and critical ability and procedural ability to maintain a coherent argument.
FAQ
The MTh in Applied Theology is a postgraduate degree that encourages theological reflection on pastoral practice within real-world ministry contexts.
Yes, Oxford offers both full-time and part-time study options for the MTh in Applied Theology.
The course is ideal for clergy, ministers, and those engaged in Christian ministry who wish to deepen their theological understanding and practice.
The program includes taught modules, supervised research, and a dissertation that integrates theology with pastoral experience.
The MTh can be completed in one year full-time or over four years part-time, depending on your mode of study.