Course Overview

Ridley offers a range of courses to prepare you for ministry, as well as postgraduate courses for those who already hold a degree in theology. All our courses can be taken either full-time or part-time.

General ministry training is offered through the Bachelor of Ministry (BMin), Bachelor of Theology (BTh) and Master of Divinity (MDiv) degrees. They are all three-year full-time equivalent (24 unit) programs.

The basic differences between the three are:

  • The BMin has lower language requirements (ie. you only have to do one unit of Greek or Hebrew) and higher ministry skills requirements;
  • The BTh requires more units in biblical studies and two language units;
  • The MDiv requires you to have already completed a degree in a discipline other than theology, and is assessed at a higher level than the undergraduate degrees.

The Graduate Diploma in Divinity (GradDipDiv) is a very popular one-year equivalent full-time (8 unit) course. It covers the basics of biblical studies, theology and ministry, and is very useful for those who want to be lay leaders and theologically informed Christians. You need to have completed a non-theological degree to qualify.

The BMin/BTh is a double degree taken over four years.

The MA (Christian Studies) is a two year graduate course for those with a non-theological degree. Students complete the Graduate Diploma of Divinity and then take four Master of Arts units to complete this award.

Our postgraduate program includes a two-year (equivalent full-time) Master of Arts (MA) and research degrees at Masters and Doctoral levels.

The MA Gold Class is a premium MA (Ministry or Theology) course for those engaged in ministry. Subjects are taught in intensive mode each June in a high quality residential conference centre. Assessments and reading are not onerous, and usually involve developing resources for use in yoru church.

A Study Tour of Greece and Turkey is included in the program. All units, including the study tour, are eligible for FEE-HELP with a $500 surcharge.

The MA Gold Class has nested within it it two other courses - a Graduate Certificate and a Graduate Diploma. You can exit the MA Gold program and take out these awards after 2 subjects (GradCert) or 4 subjects (GradDip).

Further details of all our courses can be found in the Ridley Melbourne Handbook, which is available from the Registrar's office.

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