Advanced Diploma in Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion

Course Code: DVD1

How to apply:

Applicants apply on-line via the postgraduate study website.  The deadline for those seeking funding is 2nd December 2025 and the final deadline is 14th May 2026.

Entry Requirements: First or 2.1 honours degree with marks of at least 67% or a GPA of at least 3.7 in the US system or the equivalent to a high 2.1 honours degree.

You will need the following when applying:

• Academic transcripts
• CV
• The names of two referees
• Research Proposal: should be no more than 500 words; it should include the following points: the topic that you propose to research: this should consist of a clear outline of the research you wish to do; the research context: relate your proposed research to other work in its field or related fields and indicate in what ways your research will differ; the contribution that your work will make to the field: this is your chance to show how you have arrived at your position and recognised the need of your research and what it is that makes it both new and important; the methodology and methods to be used in your study: this section should describe the methods and methodology you propose to employ as well as a justification for suitability of these methods in addressing your research topic.
• Sample of written work: essays or part of a thesis which have been previously submitted for degree work and should total no more than 6,000 words.

Course Description

The Advanced Diploma course is for applicants who wish to transfer from a different discipline to study Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion.  The course will give students a grounding in these areas and allow them to continue to the MPhil degree in Cambridge or at other Universities.

Course Content

• Students write a dissertation of not more than 10,000 words.
• They also take three or four papers, chosen from the following: Any papers in Groups B and C or a language paper from Groups A, B, and C. At least one paper will be from Group C. Only one can be assessed by long essay. Where students have taken four papers (in addition to the dissertation), rather than three, the lowest mark will not be taken into account if it is in their interest to discount it.

You can find Paper descriptions by clicking the links below:

Part I: Diploma students can only do the language papers from here (A papers).

Part IIA: Diploma students can take any paper from here (B papers).

Part IIB - Diploma students can take any paper from here (C papers).

"The range of subjects from which one can choose provides anyone who is interested in religion (whether from a faith position or not) with ample scope to explore, in depth, almost any of its aspects. I was able to combine church history, scriptural analysis, theology, and doctrine. The quality of teaching is, of course, second to none.

Coming to these subjects for the first time, later in life than most, was not easy for me (exactly as I hoped and expected!) and the help I received was exemplary. The personal attention given to individual students is a particular feature of the course, part of which is the excellent Cambridge supervision system." Charles Wide

Questions

If you have any questions about the application process and the course contents then please contact the Graduate Studies Co-ordinator. (Not every paper necessarily runs every year, on account of sabbaticals and staff leave.)