Master of Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion

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Fact sheet

The Master's

The goal of the pre-doctoral Master of Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion is to facilitate independent academic research in the domains of Theology and Religious Studies. The specialization chosen in the initial Master’s programme is reinforced with a highly specific research curriculum and a research paper demonstrating the student’s capacity to continue into the doctoral programme. Students are also offered intensive training in the research procedures employed in the various domains of Theology and Religious Studies, allowing specialization to go hand in hand with ongoing general theological formation.

Admission requirements

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Study programme

An individual student’s programme consists of sixty credits. Before the start of the academic year, each student is invited to select a major area of specialization. They are asked to follow all three courses and one seminar (16 credits) offered within their major.

Students are also required to write a research paper (16 credits) in which they present the results of their study of an original research topic. The paper must be approximately fifty pages in length (25,000 words), and provide a structured and coherent survey of the issue. It should include an evaluation of research already undertaken and give evidence of an awareness of problems related to the topic. Students who were enrolled in the initial Master’s may continue and extend that year’s thesis to a thesis of about eighty to one hundred pages (40,000-50,000 words) in the advanced Master’s programme. Usually, the selection of the two elective courses (8 credits) is also related to the student’s research focus.

Although a full two-thirds of the programme (40 credits), as explained above, is dedicated to specialized research, it remains an important policy of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies to encourage its students to continue to focus on the other domains of Theology and Religious Studies. Upon successful completion of their studies, they will obtain the advanced Master’s degree of Theology and Religious Studies, rather than a degree specialising exclusively in the history of Church and theology or pastoral theology, for example. For this reason, all students in the pre-doctoral programme include one course from each of the remaining five majors (20 credits) in their individual study programme.

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Assets

The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of KU Leuven (Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium) has its roots in a centuries-old tradition and has enjoyed international renown since it was founded by Pope Eugene IV in 1432. The faculty offers comprehensive programmes in Theology and Religious Studies, from Bachelor’s to Master’s, and advanced Master’s to PhD. In addition to its regular civil degrees, the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies has been granted permission by the Congregatio de Institutione Catholica to confer the canonical degrees of Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus and Sacrae Theologiae Doctor.

All the faculty’s programmes are taught in both Dutch and English, and are open to students of every nationality. The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies currently has students from more than eighty countries and from every corner of the globe.

Career prospects

Degrees in Theology and Religious Studies prepare students for a variety of careers, including secondary and higher education, publishing, the media, academic research and the various domains of pastoral care.

Registration fee

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More information

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If you have other questions, contact:

Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
Ingrid Wouters
tel. + 32 16 32 38 69
fax + 32 16 32 38 58

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