My name is Wolfgang Vondey.
I am the Head of Postgraduate Studies at the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion.
I'm also a Reader in Contemporary Christianity and I am the Director of the Centre for Pentecostal
and Charismatic Studies.
The MA by Research and the PhD Theology and Religion is aimed at the postgraduate study
of Theology and Religion.
The MA by Research is a Masters level degree designed to prepare students for doctoral
level research on a specific topic.
This type of programme is also useful if a student wants to prepare for a career in the
commercial world where research focus is a key aspect but a PhD is not specifically required.
Or if a student is unclear whether a PhD is right or not.
Then the MA by Research can lend useful experience of what studying for a doctorate might look
like while providing the student with the opportunity to earn a valuable Masters level
qualification.
The PhD of course is our highest research degree and you can study both programmes on
campus and as a distance learning student and this kind of flexibility is aimed at a
variety of audiences and students for example early career students who are interested in
pursuing an academic career or mid-career professionals and religious practitioners
or clergy who want to invest in research knowledge or who need an academic degree for professional
development.
But also at late career students and retired students who just want to fulfill a lifelong
ambition of studying in depth one of the fundamental questions of life and of faith.
Our students have a variety of interests in biblical studies, historical theology, constructive
systematic theology, ethics, worship, literary criticism, but also in policy making, political
leadership, and in just a variety of areas that have to do with the diversity of religions
and the dynamics of falth as well as with the character of god.
The MA by Research and the PhD in Theology and Religion has various specialisms.
We have a research focus on Christian Muslim relations, biblical studies, especially New
Testament textual criticism, pentecostal and charismatic studies, and Practical Theology.
We also have research groups in Biblical Studies and in Religious Studies.
We have the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing.
And a variety of our research strands are represented by our various centres.
For example, the Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.
We have the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies.
The Centre for Philosophy of Religion.
And the Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion.
The MA by Research and the PhD in Theology and Religion are both research degrees with
no taught elements.
The MA by Research leads to a dissertation of up to 40000 words under supervision of
one of our academic staff and the PhD in Theology and Religion which is the highest research
degree leads to a thesis of up to 80000 words.
We have a high number of employment of our graduates in Theology and Religion.
Although many of our students are already in a working relationship during their studies
to which they return, many of our students have gone on to traditional religious occupations,
religious ministries, clergy activities, but also to the commercial world or to public
services and as well as to a variety of other areas of employment because a degree in Theology
and Religion develops a range of transferable skills that are highly sought after in diverse
employment sectors.
There are a variety of opportunities to locate funding for a degree in Theology and Religion.
There are seven government-funded research councils who support postgraduate study and
those can be accessed at the Research Councils UK website.
The postgraduate funding database that's hosted by the University of Birmingham and that can
be filtered by nationality, subject matter and a variety of other variables.
There is a doctoral researchers database at Findaphd.com and that provides information
on funding.
The University of Birmingham also in collaboration with international governments, especially
the Canadian and American governments, for students who are interested in pursuing postgraduate
study in the United Kingdom.
And then of course one of the primary means of funding a degree is part-time employment
and the University can help here by providing graduate assistantships, postgraduate ambassador
and mentoring schemes.
if you're interested in an MA by Research or a PhD in Theology and Religion, the first
step would be to identify a member of academics staff who potentially matches the research
interest of the student.
Contact the person and provide them with a well-defined specific area of research.
And also begin early to look for funding opportunities by having a clearly-defined research project
and the support of a potential supervisor.