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Theology and Religion

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

Accepted in place of A levels with the following grade equivalencies: D2 = A*; D3 = A; M2 = B. Combinations of A levels and Principle subjects are accepted. NB required subjects must be offered (see A level Section)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD

BTEC Extended Diploma: DDD. BTEC Diploma: DD, plus B at A-level. BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A-level.

Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.

UCAS Tariff

128

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Theology and religious studies

Religion, faith and spirituality are powerful cultural forces, so an understanding of religious and spiritual perspectives in the contemporary world is indispensable.

As one of the most culturally and religiously diverse communities in Europe, Birmingham provides an exciting environment for you to study undergraduate Theology and Religion. You will benefit from our excellent relationships with the city’s faith communities, and the work placement module will inform your understanding of significant religious traditions within the workplace.

Our Theology and Religion academics have specialist expertise in many ideas, movements and traditions that are shaping the twenty-first century. This opens up opportunities for you to choose modules in a range of engaging topics, such as global ethics, feminism and gender studies, the philosophy of religion, cultural studies and the study of the Holocaust.

**Why study this course?**

**Culturally-diverse city** – All faiths are well-represented in Birmingham, with more than 650 churches, mosques, synagogues and temples across the city. Outside London, Birmingham has the UK’s largest Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist communities, the second-largest Hindu community and the seventh-largest Jewish community.

**Excellent employability development** – Boost your employability skills by completing a placement module where you have the opportunity to spend time in a school, charity or even abroad. The University of Birmingham is the fourth most targeted University by the UK's top graduate employers (Graduate Outcomes Survey, High Fliers report 2022).

**Theology in Practice** - Our academics work with policy-makers, and advise governments and public bodies, on engagement with faith communities. This Theology and Religion degree offers excellent preparation for any kind of professional role that requires engagement with diverse communities and navigating their particular needs and challenges.

**Taught by experts** – You will study your undergraduate degree course alongside some of the finest minds in Theology and Religion. The Department is 3rd in the country for its performance in the latest Research
Excellence Framework exercise 2021 based on 4* research.

**Rewarding student experience** – 92% Overall Student Satisfaction for BA Theology and Religion students (National Student Survey 2022). At Birmingham we believe that teaching hours should be complemented by a wide-range of academic opportunities and social occasions. As a student in Theology and Religion you will have access to opportunities including free language tuition, bespoke academic writing advice, and a student experience team who co-ordinate trips, talks, quizzes and celebrations.

**Diverse Perspectives** - Unlike other universities, we engage with all students/major religions and not just the typical approach of studying the three major abrahamic religions. This allows you to gain a strong understanding of all major religions whilst also specialising in the topics that interest you the most. In your final year, you have an unprecedented freedom to choose any module that interests you ranging from the Hebrew Bible to the Holocaust.

**Top 10 for Theology and Religious Studies in the Guardian rankings 2023**

**Top 35 for Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies in the QS World University Rankings 2022**

**Top 10 for Theology in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023**

Modules

First-year modules cover a broad base of the subject and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying at university. By the final year the modules you take will become more specialised and reflect the research expertise of the academic staff. More detailed module information can be found on the ‘Course detail’ tab on the University of Birmingham’s coursefinder web pages.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Birmingham

Department:

Department of Theology and Religion

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

92%
Theology and religious studies

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Theology and religious studies

Teaching and learning

90%
Staff make the subject interesting
98%
Staff are good at explaining things
93%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
75%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

72%
Library resources
100%
IT resources
92%
Course specific equipment and facilities
58%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
26%
Male students
74%
Female students
88%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
A

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Theology and religious studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£19,000
med
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Teaching and educational professionals
10%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
10%
Caring personal services

Theology can actually be a very vocational subject —by far the most common move for theology graduates is to go into the clergy and at the moment we have a serious shortage of people willing to go into what is one of the oldest graduate careers. If you want to study theology but don't want to follow a religious career, then there are plenty of options available. 2015 graduates went into all sorts of jobs requiring a degree, from education and community work, to marketing, HR and financial analysis. Postgraduate study is also popular — a lot of theology graduates train as teachers, or go into Masters or even doctoral study - where philosophy and law are very popular postgraduate subjects of study.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Theology and religious studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£26k

£26k

£31k

£31k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here