Masters Degrees in Judaism

The MA in Religion & Contemporary Society combines Sociology & Anthropology of Religion to focus on key issues, from religion in public life to globalization, fundamentalism, and modern spirituality. While focusing on Christianity, Islam and Judaism, the course will allow you to specialise in broad issues cutting across these traditions and societies (for example fundamentalism, new religions, or religious pluralism), or to concentrate on a particular society or religion.

Key benefits

- Unrivalled location gives you access to cosmopolitan and vibrant religious traditions.

- Close links and regular fieldwork trips to religious centres and communities in London offering many opportunities to examine the religious experience of living communities.

- Unique opportunity to engage in study of a variety of religious groups and movements within and outside the major traditions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) in the contemporary world.

Visit the website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught-courses/religion-in-contemporary-society-ma.aspx

Course detail

- Description -

This unique interdisciplinary course is designed to develop your knowledge and skills in social sciences and humanities and to encourage your constructive, critical and independent thought in this field. While focusing on Christianity, Islam and Judaism, the course will allow you to specialise in broad issues cutting across these traditions and societies (for example fundamentalism, new religions, or religious pluralism), or to concentrate on a particular society or religion. Moreover, you will master a number of transferable skills that are necessary for professional expertise in a range of areas, from the academic study of religion to public policy and pastoral care.

- Course purpose -
To provide training in analysis and understanding of religion in contemporary societies.

- Course format and assessment -
Taught compulsory and optional modules assessed by coursework plus a dissertation.

Career Prospects:

Graduates apply their skills in a range of professions, such as academic careers in departments of Theology, Social & Political Sciences, journalism, business, international relations, teaching, government, mass media, and religious institutions.

How to apply: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/taught-courses.aspx

About Postgraduate Study at King’s College London:

To study for a postgraduate degree at King’s College London is to study at the city’s most central university and at one of the top 21 universities worldwide (2016/17 QS World University Rankings). Graduates will benefit from close connections with the UK’s professional, political, legal, commercial, scientific and cultural life, while the excellent reputation of our MA and MRes programmes ensures our postgraduate alumni are highly sought after by some of the world’s most prestigious employers. We provide graduates with skills that are highly valued in business, government, academia and the professions.

Scholarships & Funding:

All current PGT offer-holders and new PGT applicants are welcome to apply for the scholarships. For more information and to learn how to apply visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources

Free language tuition with the Modern Language Centre:

If you are studying for any postgraduate taught degree at King’s you can take a module from a choice of over 25 languages without any additional cost. Visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/mlc

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Programme description

This programme is for students who wish to develop expertise in biblical studies, including those who want to prepare for a PhD. Its emphasis is on adding depth and breadth to expertise in biblical languages.

Finely-honed language skills are central to the programme’s engagement with the Bible, the world that produced it, and its later readers. It provides expert in-depth study of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, the wider ancient Near East and Mediterranean World, and related extra-biblical literature including the Dead Sea Scrolls.

You will be taught by leading academics with research interests in the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, early Judaism and early Christianity.

You will benefit from weekly research seminars in biblical studies, and from our Centre for the Study of Christian Origins.

This programme can be taken either as a Master of Theology (MTh) or as a Master of Science (MSc); the difference is only in the name.

Programme structure

This programme is run full-time over one year (or part-time over two years). You will be taught mainly in small classroom/seminar groups. You will be given training in research methods which offers a practical approach to postgraduate level skills of critical investigation and writing, and receive individual supervision for your 15,000 word dissertation.

Compulsory courses

Compulsory courses comprise two biblical language/reading courses, in Greek or Hebrew/Aramaic, and two in research methods. Many scenarios for language study can be chosen in consultation with the Programme Director. If you have only one year’s prior biblical languages study you may take Intermediate Biblical Hebrew or Intermediate New Testament Greek.

Option courses

You will choose three options. At least two must be from courses in biblical studies, of which the following are examples:

• Hebrew Bible in Historical Critical Perspective
• Hebrew Scripture Theology
• The New Testament in its Graeco-Roman Context
• Science and Scripture

The options on offer change from year to year, so please consult the Programme Director for advice on what will be available. With the agreement of your Programme Director, you may also choose options from other taught masters programmes in the School or University, and from advanced undergraduate courses such as Historical Jesus or Jesus in Film.

Career opportunities

This programme is designed to provide a strong foundation for postgraduate research in the field or for employment in a range of areas requiring critical analysis and empathetic understanding.

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Who is this programme for?:

The MA Religions of Asia and Africa is designed both as an end qualification in itself and as a platform preparing students for more advanced graduate work.

It typically suits students falling into one of the following three categories:

- students planning to pursue further research, which may involve at a subsequent stage the acquisition of a doctoral degree and a career in higher education;

- students willing to pursue a career or professional activity, for which advanced knowledge of the religions of Asia and Africa and of the theoretical and practical issues involved in their study is essential: arts, media, teaching, NGOs and charities, interfaith dialogue, consultancy for governmental agencies or the private sector, religious institutions, museums, and more.

- students who wish to pursue the academic study of religions as a complement to their personal experience and commitments: religious ministers and clerics from all confessions, believers, yoga and meditation practitioners; anyone interested in specific religious traditions or in religion as an essential dimension of life, and in the critical and experiential enhancement that their academic study may offer.

The MA Religions of Asia and Africa at SOAS offers the premier postgraduate curriculum in the U.K. for the study of the religions of Asia and Africa. It covers a wider range of religious traditions than most comparable programmes, whether in the U.K. or abroad: Buddhism in nearly all its doctrinal and regional varieties, Asian and African Christianities, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Taoism, Zoroastrianism as well as the local religious cultures of Asia and Africa.

The programme is strongly interdisciplinary and methodologically diverse, offering advanced learning in theories and methods in the study of religion as well as in historical, anthropological, philosophical, sociological and textual approaches to the study of particular religious traditions. It ensures students can benefit from the unique opportunity to tap cutting-edge academic expertise and library facilities on Asian and African religions as part of a spirited, cosmopolitan student community and within the intense religious and cultural scene of London.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 020 7898 4217

Visit the website http://www.soas.ac.uk/religions-and-philosophies/programmes/mareligions/

Structure

Overview:
1. Students take taught courses (half and/or full units) equivalent to three units in total from the list of taught courses.

2. The 4th and final unit is a Dissertation.

3. Languages: Students in the MA Religions of Asia and Africa may substitute one of their taught courses for a language course (most are taught in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures).

Note: Students wishing to take other SOAS courses relevant to their studies but taught outside the department may do so with the written approval of the tutor of the relevant course, the Department's MA Convenor and the Faculty's Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching.

Programme Specification

MA Religions of Asia and Africa Programme Specification 2012-13 (msword; 223kb) - http://www.soas.ac.uk/religions-and-philosophies/programmes/mareligions/file80695.doc

Employment

An MA in Religions of Asia and Africa from SOAS equips students with important knowledge and understanding of different cultures, history and beliefs across the regions of Asia and Africa. As well as subject expertise, students develop a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional careers in the private and public sectors as well as essential skills necessary to pursue further research. These include: the ability to research, amass and order information from a variety of sources - often both in the original or other relevant languages; analytical skills to assess critically the materials relevant to a specific issue; written and oral communication skills to present, discuss and debate opinions and conclusions; and problem solving skills. A postgraduate degree is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate.

For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website (http://www.soas.ac.uk/careers/graduate-destinations/).

Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Welcome to the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at SOAS, University of London. The Faculty is home to the departments of Anthropology & Sociology, Art & Archaeology, History, Music, Study of Religions and the Centre for Media Studies, as well as a number of subject specific Centres.

The study of arts and humanities has been central to SOAS activity since 1917. All Faculty staff are specialists in regions as well as disciplines, and all subjects taught at undergraduate level within the Faculty can be combined with other disciplines across the School. Indeed, the range of course options and combinations is a distinctive characteristic of studying at SOAS, with the option of studying language units included within all our degrees.

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework Music, which was already ranked highly, has risen to 5th in the UK, with over half of its publications judged ‘world-leading’; History of Art and Archaeology has seen a dramatic rise up the league tables, from 17th to 8th (out of 25), coming in the top 5 nationally for the quality of its publications. This is just one indication of the international importance of the research activity carried out by academic staff, and staff research provides the basis of teaching activity in the Faculty.

At postgraduate level the Faculty is committed to providing stimulating courses that enable students to study particular countries or regions in depth, and to explore comparisons and contrasts across the major areas of Asia and Africa. The programmes are designed to provide students with the knowledge they need to understand the nature of other societies and cultures, and to form ideas about the past, present and future of the complex and multicultural world in which we all live.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.soas.ac.uk/admissions/pg/howtoapply/

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This MA draws on the wide-ranging expertise of UCL Hebrew and Jewish Studies, the only department of its kind in the UK, and offers modules in all areas, periods, and aspects of Jewish Studies. The programme prepares students for further research, personal engagement, and interdisciplinary study.

Degree information

All students are introduced to the disciplines, theories, methods, and practice of learning and research in Jewish Studies, and those without prior knowledge of Hebrew learn the language at elementary level. An extensive range of optional modules are available in Jewish history, literature, languages, and Jewish thought, from antiquity to the modern world.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of one or two (see below) core modules (30/60 credits), between four and six optional modules (60/90 credits), and a research dissertation (60 credits).

Core modules
-Jewish Studies MA Core Course
-Biblical Hebrew or Modern Hebrew (for students without prior knowledge of Hebrew)

Optional modules - options may include the following:
-Ancient Jewish Magic; Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions; Judaism and the Origins of Christianity
-European Jewry and the Holocaust; History of the Jews in Poland; Jews and the Metropolis
-Hebrew (biblicial, rabbinic, modern)
-Moses Maimonides in Jewish Thought and History; Hasidism and Modernity
-Old Testament Historical Texts; Introduction to Talmud
-Representation of Trauma; Family Politics in Israeli Literature; Rattling the Gender Agenda
-The Arab-Israeli Conflict; Israel and the Occupied Territories; Anglo-Israeli Relations
-Yiddish; Aramaic; Ugaritic; Syriac; Judeo-Spanish
-Yiddish Memoirs; Yiddish Literature; Special Topics

Dissertation/research project
All students undertake an independent research project which should be based in part on primary sources. The project culminates in a dissertation of 12,000 words.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and other media such as occasional film viewings. Students will be expected to visit the major archives and libraries in the London area, depending on their specific areas of research and interest. Assessment is mainly through unseen examinations, coursework, long essays, and the dissertation.

Careers

Some recent graduates of the programme have gone on to PhD studies, while others have pursued a wide range of professional careers, including education at all levels, NGO activity, electronic and print media, the clergy (Jewish and non-Jewish), diplomacy, film-making, and much more.

Employability
This programme provides an outstanding foundation for those hoping to undertake PhD research and pursue an academic career, but it is also popular with students wishing to go into journalism, the civil service, law, business, museum and heritage, charities, and the education sector. Small-group seminars and tutorials help students to acquire strong presentation and communication skills for their future career. The analytical and research skills gained by taking this programme are highly valued by employers from a range of industries. Many additional activities are available, both within the department and the wider UCL community, to help students focus on employability skills whilst they are here. Both the department and UCL Careers offer advice and support for our MA students who are looking towards the next step in their career development.

Why study this degree at UCL?

UCL Hebrew and Jewish Studies is unique in the UK and Europe, with an outstanding international reputation for its research, teaching, and expertise. We are warm, friendly, and highly ambitious.

We offer a wide range of taught modules, with further options available in other departments at UCL and elsewhere in London. Our students are given individual attention and encouraged to pursue their own interests and research.

UCL is located in central London, within walking distance of the British Museum, the British Library, and other specialist libraries such as the Warburg Institute, and SOAS, University of London. With its own specialist library in Jewish Studies, UCL has access to the best resources for academic research in the subject.

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Who is this programme for?:

The MA Religions of Asia and Africa is in the first place a rewarding cultural and human experience. It is designed both as an end qualification in itself and as a platform preparing students for more advanced graduate work.

It typically suits students falling into one of the following three categories:

- students planning to pursue further research, which may involve at a subsequent stage the acquisition of a doctoral degree and a career in higher education;

- students willing to pursue a career or professional activity, for which advanced knowledge of the religions of Asia and Africa and of the theoretical and practical issues involved in their study is essential: arts, media, teaching, NGOs and charities, interfaith dialogue, consultancy for governmental agencies or the private sector, religious institutions, museums, and more.

- students who wish to pursue the academic study of religions as a complement to their personal experience and commitments: religious ministers and clerics from all confessions, believers, yoga and meditation practitioners; anyone interested in specific religious traditions or in religion as an essential dimension of life, and in the critical and experiential enhancement that their academic study may offer.

The two-year intensive language pathway is directed at students who want to engage with a country in a professional as well as academic way, as the intensive language course will enable them to reach a near proficient knowledge of the language.

The MA Religions of Asia and Africa at SOAS is the premier postgraduate curriculum in the U.K. for the study of the religions of Asia and Africa. It covers a wider range of religious traditions than most comparable programmes, whether in the U.K. or abroad: Buddhism in nearly all its doctrinal and regional varieties, Asian and African Christianities, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Taoism, Zoroastrianism as well as the local religious cultures of Asia and Africa. It is strongly interdisciplinary and methodologically diverse, offering advanced learning in the theory of religion as well as in historical, anthropological, philosophical, sociological and textual approaches to the study of particular religious traditions.

It provides a unique opportunity to tap cutting-edge academic expertise and library facilities on Asian and African religions as part of a spirited, cosmopolitan student community and within the intense religious and cultural scene of London.

It can also be taken with an intensive language pathway over two years, therefore making this programme unique in Europe.

For the Japanese pathway please see the webpage for the Japanese pathway of the programme and contact the MA convenor of that pathway for further information on the language component. Further information on entry level language requirements can be found on the programme page at: http://www.soas.ac.uk/japankorea/programmes/ma-and-intensive-language-japanese/

The Korean pathway is designed for beginner learners of Korean. Students with prior knowledge of Korean are advised to contact the programme convenor, Dr Anders Karlsson ([email protected]). Students will take four course units in the Korean language, one of them at a Korean university during the summer after year 1.

The Arabic pathway is designed for beginner learners of Arabic. Students will take four units of Arabic, one of them at the Qasid Institute in Jordan or another partner institution during the summer after year 1. Programme convenor: Dr Mustafa Shah ([email protected])

Email: [email protected]

Visit the website http://www.soas.ac.uk/religions-and-philosophies/programmes/ma-religions-of-asia-and-africa-and-intensive-language/

Structure

Students are generally required to follow taught units to the equivalent of three full courses (which may include one language course), and to submit a dissertation of 10,000 words.

In the two-year language pathway, students take 2 intensive language units and one discipline unit in their first year. During the summer, they will participate in a summer school abroad (location dependant on language). Upon their return, they will take one intensive language unit in their second year and two discipline units.

Programme Specification

MA Religions of Asia and Africa and Intensive Language Programme Specification (pdf; 300kb) - http://www.soas.ac.uk/religions-and-philosophies/programmes/ma-religions-of-asia-and-africa-and-intensive-language/file93574.pdf

Teaching & Learning

Aims and Outcomes:

- Advanced knowledge and understanding of selected approaches, methods and theories in the study of religions, with particular reference to the religious traditions of Asia and Africa.

- Advanced skills in researching and writing about topics in religious studies, also as a platform for further research at doctoral level.

- Advanced skills in presentation or communication of knowledge and understanding of topics in religious studies.

- Specialisation in one area from among those covered by the units listed in the programme structure.

- In the two-year pathway, the student will also be provided with a near proficient ability in a language.

Knowledge:

- Students will learn how to assess data and evidence critically, locate and synthesise source materials, critically evaluate conflicting interpretations and sources, use research resources (library catalogues, journal databases, citation indices) and other relevant traditional sources.

- Subject specific skills, such as manuscript transcription, textual bibliography, the editing of texts; familiarity with the study of religions as an academic field of study and its varieties.

- Aspects of literature in the Study of Religions, philosophy, learning, iconography and history, the impact of religion on society.

- Acquisition of language skills.

Intellectual (thinking) skills:

- Students should become precise and cautious in their assessment of evidence, and to understand through practice what documents can and cannot tell us.

- Students will develop the capacity to discuss theoretical and epistemological issues in an articulate, informed, and intellectual manner.

- Students will learn to become precise and critical in their assessment of scholarly arguments and to question interpretations, however authoritative, in order to reassess evidence for themselves.

- Students will learn to present complex theoretical arguments clearly and creatively.

- Those students who take a language option should be able to assess primary sources in foreign languages and critically evaluate interpretations proposed by different scholars.

- Students will acquire both theoretical and regional expertise in order to develop and apply self-reflexive approaches to the issues raised by the cross-cultural study of religions.

Subject-based practical skills:
The programme aims to help students with the following practical skills:

- Academic writing.

- IT-based information retrieval and processing.

- Presentational skills.

- Examination techniques.

- Independent study skills and research techniques.

- Reflexive learning.

- In the two year intensive language pathway, to acquire/develop skills in a language to Effective Operational Proficiency level, i.e., being able to communicate in written and spoken medium in a contemporary language

Transferable skills:
The programme will encourage students to:

- Write concisely and with clarity.

- Effectively structure and communicate ideas (oral and written).

- Explore and assess a variety of sources for research purposes.

- Work to deadlines and high academic standards.

- Assess the validity and cogency of arguments.

- Make judgements involving complex factors.

- Develop self-reflexivity.

- Develop an awareness of the ethical complexity of representational practices.

- Question the nature of social and cultural constructs.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.soas.ac.uk/admissions/pg/howtoapply/

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Supervision in Theology can be offered in areas such as Biblical studies; Patristics; Church History; History and Interpretation of Christian doctrine; Systematics/Constructive Theology; Modern Theology and Philosophy, Theology and Sexuality; Theology and Theatre/Performance Studies, Political Theology and Black Theology.

Supervision in Religious Studies can be offered in areas such as Comparative Religious Studies; Jewish Studies; Jewish-Christian dialogue; Hindu Studies; Buddhist Studies; Tibetan Studies; Religion and Visual Culture; Religion and Literature; Philosophy of Religion; Religion and Social Theory; Religion, Gender and Sexuality; Religion and Postmodernity.

Visit the website: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/courses/postgraduate/theology-and-religious-studies-by-research.aspx

Course detail

You should discuss your initial ideas for a MA by research topic with a suitable supervisor from the programme team in the area of your study. If you are unsure, please contact Dr Maria Diemling, the Subject Lead in Theology and Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, who will be able to advise you whom to contact.

Your research topic may develop from a recent undergraduate encounter with a particular aspect of Theology or Religion, Philosophy and Ethics or you may be returning to education looking for a structured environment in which to formally pursue an established passion.

Please note that while students can build up on their BA research dissertation, they will not be allowed to submit identical material again under the current QAA policies.

Suitability

Are you fascinated by religions and their role in shaping our diverse, globalised, and multicultural world? Are you drawn to thinking about God, or relish the prospect of understanding how people of faith have instilled life with religious meaning? Are you concerned about questions of ethics, society, and justice in modern life? Do you value open-minded, independent and critical thinking? If so, you will enjoy studying the Theology and Religious Studies MA by Research.

Format

The teaching team at Canterbury Christ Church provide an excellent student experience in Theology and Religious Studies. They are passionate about their subject, and encourage students to share their enthusiasm and excitement. Drawing on academic expertise in major areas of Judaism and Christian Theology, as well as Indian and Chinese Philosophies, the team can offer supervision in an exciting and broad range of topics, including studies in world religions, the history and interpretation of religious thought, and the study of critical challenges in the contemporary world.

Assessment

Students will write a research thesis on their chosen topic. For an MA by Research students will need to demonstrate critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at the forefront of their own academic discipline.

The length of the Masters by Research thesis excluding bibliography and appendices, but including footnotes, is 25,000-30,000 words.

The MA by research will be assessed by dissertation. The examination will be done by an internal and an external examiner and might include a viva voce examination.

What can I do next?

This programme is a significant qualification in its own right but could also fast-track you, if you're successful, to MPhil and ultimately to PhD qualifications.

The research and writing skills you'll gain, together with the specialist disciplinary knowledge developed during the course, will enhance your employability and can provide an invaluable grounding for careers in teaching, media and journalism, publishing and marketing.

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please follow this link: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/how-to-apply/how-to-apply.aspx

Funding

-Masters Loans-

From 2016/17 government loans of up to £10,000 are available for postgraduate Masters study. The loans will be paid directly to students by the Student Loans Company and will be subject to both personal and course eligibility criteria.

For more information available here: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/funding-your-degree/funding-your-postgraduate-degree.aspx

-2017/18 Entry Financial Support-

Information on alternative funding sources is available here: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/funding-your-degree/2017-18-entry-financial-support.aspx

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Your programme of study

If you want to widen the scope of careers open to you within the discipline or go on to teach, work in the ministry, in church leadership or charitable organisations this programme may help you achieve your career aspirations. Biblical and Religious Studies has been taught at Aberdeen since its inauguration in 1495 making it one of the oldest and most established universities to study this discipline area. Teachers are highly regarded internationally and the programme is made up of wide ranging spiritual areas of study. Students come from the British Isles and overseas and follow a wide range of professions upon graduation.

The programme in Biblical Studies is designed to stimulate reflection on the use of the Bible in theology by crossing the conventional disciplinary boundaries between biblical exegesis and systematic theology. Special attention will be given to the issues of canonical criticism, narrative reading, and the use of Scripture in the construction of theological arguments.

Courses listed for the programme

The Emergence of Christology
Jewish History and Culture
Readings in Systematic Theology
The Christian Doctrine of God
Creation in Christian Ethics
Great Thinkers in Theological Ethics
Spiritual Formation
Patterns and Principles of Church Leadership
Special Subjects x 2
Senior Honours Special Subject x 2
Reading New Testament Greek x 2
Hebrew Language lii and lv

Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/degree-programmes/922/biblical-studies/

Why study at Aberdeen?

• One of the oldest universities in the UK, with one of the oldest departments founded in 1495
• Alumni have gone on to teach, work in the ministry, church leadership, charitable organisations and doctoral studies
• You are taught by a great range of experts with access to the library and special collections

Where you study

• University of Aberdeen
• Full Time and Part Time
• 12 Months and 24 Months
• September

International Student Fees 2017/2018

Find out about fees:
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/tuition-fees-and-living-costs-287.php

*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.

Scholarships

View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/finance-funding-1599.php
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/funding/

Living in Aberdeen

Find out more about:
• Your Accommodation
• Campus Facilities
• Aberdeen City
• Student Support
• Clubs and Societies

Find out more about living in Aberdeen:
https://abdn.ac.uk/study/student-life

Living costs
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/finance.php

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Our MA programme is designed both for specialists to deepen their knowledge and skills and for graduates of other Humanities disciplines to switch into postgraduate level understanding of our subjects. The key to us being able to do this is the centering of the courses around high-level, small-group seminar discussion, mainly assessed by essays that form mini-research projects in areas of your interest. These courses are followed by one-to one supervision for a research dissertation. This structure means that if you have studied an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies, Theology, Philosophy, Ethics or related subjects, the MA provides an extended opportunity to work in depth in what fascinated you in your BA, while also offering the chance for exploring other areas that you might have missed. On the other hand, if your degree is in another area of Humanities, the small-group and one-to-one focus gives us the chance to provide tailored help to get up to speed in any area of Religions and Theology. You are also able to join in undergraduate classes, whether that is to have an extended exposure to the basics of a topic or to learn a language. In fact, even students who already have a BA in the field quite often find that they want to pick up a subject that they previously missed. One of Manchester's key distinctive features is that you are very free to do this.

This programme enables specialisation, while stressing a broad, interdisciplinary and comparative approach. Courses can be taken from across the offerings within the discipline and beyond. Courses cover a wide range of topics, including Biblical studies, Jewish studies, Christian studies, South Asian studies, philosophy, ethics, gender studies and politics.

Aims

-To provide multi-disciplinary curricula informed by the research and scholarly activities of the teaching staff.
-To develop in students a critical understanding of religion and theology through a range of learning and teaching methods.
-To equip students with the skills necessary to interpret primary and secondary sources and to make available appropriate language instruction, where feasible.
-To help students from diverse backgrounds progress though their programme by providing effective academic and pastoral support.
-To equip students for a variety of careers through subject specific knowledge, active engagement in their own learning and the development of analytical and other transferable skills.
-To provide a stimulating research environment through seminars, tutorials and programmes of guest lectures that will foster postgraduate study
-To develop skills in research and analysis that will foster postgraduate study.

Coursework and assessment

MA students take two core courses and up to six options, then write a dissertation. The programme takes 12 months full-time or up to 27 months part-time. Assessment is usually by essay on a topic agreed between the student and lecturer. Language course units may also involve an examination. The dissertation is 12-15000 words and you will receive one-to-one supervisory support.

Career opportunities

The primary focus of all our postgraduate degrees is to give people research skills, whether for academic work or for another career. Many professions today require investigative skills. Some in the media spend time researching angles of events that relate to religions. Some in the health service investigate the experiences of various cultural groups in accessing services. Many in museums, libraries and other archives require the textual and historical research skills that our courses teach. Postgraduate study in Religions and Theology gives you a high level qualification for a wide range of investigative tasks.

Our masters degrees qualify you for research study at Manchester or at virtually any other high-level academic institution in the world. Many of our MA students are preparing for PhD study. Other students take Manchester MAs to enhance their understanding of a particular religious tradition, either their own or that of others. The programmes in Biblical Studies and Theology, Culture and Society offer particular opportunities for continuing professional development for church ministers. All of our courses offer valuable further professional development for teachers of Religious Education. In applying for a job in any field, a Manchester postgraduate degree will mark you out as someone with high-level skills and a track-record of successful engagement with serious and complex issues.

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One of the great attractions of Jewish Studies at King's is its diversity as it covers Biblical Studies, Rabbinics, Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim relations and Modern Jewish Thought. It offers students the opportunity to combine the academic study of Jewish sources from antiquity to the modern period with intense explorations of their significance for contemporary issues and debates in multi-religious societies. You will find a vibrant, supportive, and intellectually inspiring framework in this exciting MA.

Key benefits

- In unique collaborations with Leo Baeck College and with the London School of Jewish Studies, we offer a wide range of subjects.

- Cooperation with other subject areas (Biblical Studies, Abrahamic Religions, Middle East & Mediterranean Studies), and with other departments at King's (History), enables us to introduce students to a variety of methods and to encourage interdisciplinary approaches.

- Diverse choices: Whether students want to explore the topical and methodological richness of Jewish Studies or would like to expand their expertise in one of our core areas, such as Biblical Studies, Rabbinics, Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim relations or Modern Jewish Thought, they will find a vibrant, supportive, and intellectually inspiring framework in the three institutions participating in this MA programme.

- Research seminars and international workshops offer students the chance to discuss innovative research with leading scholars in the field. Please see our latest list of research seminars.

- Our collaboration with other departments in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies (Biblical Studies, Sacred Traditions & The Arts, Middle East & Mediterranean Studies), with other departments at King's (History, Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies) and with other colleges in London allow students to familiarise themselves with a wide range of themes, methods and interdisciplinary approaches

- Modern Hebrew is offered through the Modern Language Centre at King's.

- Superb location, with access to important social, cultural, material and textual resources, such as the Judaica collections of King's College London's own Maughan Library, the British Library, the British Museum, the London Museum of Jewish Life, and a range of synagogues.

Visit the website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught-courses/jewish-studies-ma.aspx

Course detail

- Description -

"Identities and Communities in Flux: Texts & Methods in Jewish Studies" is our core module: it invites students to explore how Jewish communities and individuals in ancient, medieval and modern times negotiated (and continue to negotiate) identities and boundaries in multi-religious societies. It also introduces students to a range of research fields – biblical and rabbinical literature; intellectual, social, and cultural history; philosophy – and to key methodological approaches and questions in Jewish Studies.

From Abraham to Zionism, from Maimonides to Medical Ethics, from Jewish-Christian interaction to contemporary Halakhah, you will be exposed to perspectives, cutting edge and traditional, on Jews, Jewishness, and Jewish thought and practice.
The programme has become a forum for students and scholars of a wide range of Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds who work together, initiate new projects and cooperate with other departments and institutions at King's, in London and beyond.

All students take modules which foster their Hebrew language skills (Biblical or Modern), whether they just start to learn the language or are already at an advanced level.

- Course purpose -
To provide teaching and research training in Jewish Studies, offered by King’s College London.

- Course format and assessment -
Taught core and optional modules assessed by coursework essays plus a dissertation, and, for language modules, examinations.

Career Prospectss:

Students pursue a variety of careers, including teaching, journalism and further research.

How to apply: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/taught-courses.aspx

About Postgraduate Study at King’s College London:

To study for a postgraduate degree at King’s College London is to study at the city’s most central university and at one of the top 21 universities worldwide (2016/17 QS World University Rankings). Graduates will benefit from close connections with the UK’s professional, political, legal, commercial, scientific and cultural life, while the excellent reputation of our MA and MRes programmes ensures our postgraduate alumni are highly sought after by some of the world’s most prestigious employers. We provide graduates with skills that are highly valued in business, government, academia and the professions.

Scholarships & Funding:

All current PGT offer-holders and new PGT applicants are welcome to apply for the scholarships. For more information and to learn how to apply visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources

Free language tuition with the Modern Language Centre:

If you are studying for any postgraduate taught degree at King’s you can take a module from a choice of over 25 languages without any additional cost. Visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/mlc

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