Professional Development
Check out our Professional Development Options
Do you have a three-year degree in ministry or theology and are engaged in ministry?
Are you ready to be re-energised with engaging and relevant material in a relaxed and collegial environment?
Recommended Courses
“Ministry is a demanding calling to live out. Whether the ministry is ordained or lay, it needs support, encouragement, and space for growth and learning from experience – both our own and other people’s.”
Nick Helm
The Graduate Certificate of Professional Pastoral Supervision provides professional development for Christian leaders to be equipped for the ministry of pastoral supervision of others.
Please note: our next intake for this course is in 2027.
This course comprising four units of 12 credit points combines theological reflection on the theory and practice of professional pastoral supervision with personal experience of giving and receiving pastoral supervision.
Students enrolled in other AUT postgraduate courses may be eligible to complete the three core professional pastoral supervision units as electives within their courses.
Graduates of the Graduate Certificate of Professional Pastoral Supervision and students who complete the three core professional pastoral supervision units as electives within their postgraduate courses will be equipped with the advanced knowledge and understanding of, and the research underlying, professional supervision to the level required for recognition as Associate Members of the Australasian Association of Supervision (AAOS).
Students will be equipped with the advanced knowledge and understanding of, and the research underlying, professional supervision.
The Graduate Certificate of Divinity is a great introduction to the Bible, theology and ministry for those who already hold a bachelor level degree in any discipline. The Graduate Certificate of Divinity is the first half of the Graduate Diploma of Divinity.
Graduates will be equipped to serve in their churches and communities with a more informed approach to ministry. These courses are not sufficient training for full-time ministry which typically requires the completion of a three or four-year degree.
The Master of Theological Studies is an extended opportunity to explore the Bible, theology and ministry for those who already hold a bachelor-level degree in any discipline. This course will enable you to reflect on aspects of your Christian faith and practice according to your ministry and/or vocational context. It can function as professional development for those already in vocational ministry, or constitute an entry point for those beginning theological study.
Units are offered in a variety of formats such as intensives and blended delivery so that they can be accommodated within busy schedules and accessible to students outside of Melbourne. Specialised units of study can be nested within this course providing training for specific ministries such as youth ministry, mental health care, and professional supervision.
Applicants who have completed prior theological study may be eligible to receive advanced standing towards their Master of Theological Studies. Please contact the Ridley College Registry team for further advice.
Specialised Units
Semester two 2026
This unit offers current and prospective practitioners the opportunity to explore the practice and theology of chaplaincy in a range of school settings, from primary to secondary, state and private. It draws on current literature as well as experts and practitioners, engaging a number of clearly identified issues that reflect the complex nature of chaplaincy in these settings. Time is given to exploring the expansion of chaplaincy in the State School system as well as the role of chaplaincy in the faith-based schools. The unit examines the biblical and theological basis for chaplaincy as part of the mission of the church and seeks to enable students to gain a broad overview of chaplaincy as ministry.
Lecturer: Ryan Holt
Unit commences: 25 May
Intensive: 29 June – 3 July (campus)
Delivery mode: intensive
Enrol by: 15 May 2026
This unit is being co-delivered with Mary Andrews College at their Sydney CBD campus. Alongside this unit we are also offering NT011: Paul and Corinthian Christianity (Greek text).
The challenges facing the early church in Corinthians 2000 years ago resonate strongly with many contemporary challenges facing churches today. This unit is designed to examine in detail 1 Corinthians, framing our enquiry around missiological and pastoral application of the concerns raised in the letters.
Students will also gain a deeper understanding of the theology and key themes, particularly as they relate to contemporary mission and ministry including nature of power and authority, sexual ethics, the nature and limits of Christian freedom, gender issues in family and church, Christian worship, the nature of ministry, and suffering in ministry. Students will discern the major practical and theological problems faced by the Church of God in Corinth, how the letter addresses these concerns, and consider how to apply this understanding to contemporary missiological and pastoral ministry situations.
Lecturer: Brian Rosner and Viv Cheung
Unit commences: 3 August
Intensive: 24-28 August
Delivery mode: intensive held at Mary Andrews College in Sydney CBD
Enrol by: 15 May 2026
It’s so easy for pastors to spend their time putting out ‘fires’ that have cropped up among the people under their care while neglecting other important aspects of their role. This unit is about learning to be proactive rather than reactive in pastoral care, and how to set up churches so that care occurs naturally in groups and not just through the lead pastor.
As part of the unit, an experienced local pastor will take the students through theology of pastoral care before looking at how church structures and training can help develop a church’s care culture. Throughout the semester students also have the opportunity to learn how to pastor people through different stages of life including marriage, divorce, and illness.
You will also have the opportunity to explore areas of interest, ranging from the pastoral care model of the puritans to pastoral care in a particular book of the Bible.
Given that ministry can be so word-focused, this unit ensures students focus on pastoring as well as they preach, on loving while exhorting.
Lecturer: Tim Johnson
Unit commences: 20 July
Semester-based unit: Wednesday afternoons 2.40-5.30pm in teaching weeks
Delivery mode: campus
Enrol by: 19 June 2026
This insightful unit is designed to deepen your understanding of biblical and theological foundations for engaging with mental health distress. This unit aims to help you make a positive difference in how other people experience God, the Christian community and their own lives. Throughout our time together we engage with thoughtful research-aware and evidence-based approaches to mental health and challenges to it. Upon successful completion, you will be able to apply advanced knowledge of Christian perspectives on mental health distress and pastoral care in your local setting.
Lecturer: Scott Harrower
Unit commences: 20 July
Extensive: 24-26 August (campus), 28-29 Sep (virtual). There are additional 2-hr tutorials on 5 and 12 August.
Delivery mode: extensive
Enrol by: 19 June 2026
Audit options are available.
As an affiliated college of the Australian University of Theology, Ridley College is approved to deliver the following courses of the ACT (CRICOS 02650E).