All students choose three papers (a fourth can be chosen if the student wishes to extend their studies), from the syllabus for the Faculty's Course Options for the Final Honour Schools and Postgraduate Diploma, although some papers are excluded from this selection and are noted as such on the webpage.

Students who plan to progress to one of the Faculty's Master's courses would normally be well advised to choose at least one paper in the subject area in which they would like to specialise at Master's level. For example, students who intend to apply for the MPhil or MSt in Theology: New Testament should normally have taken at least one New Testament paper in the Postgraduate Diploma in Theology and Religion.

Both full-time and part-time students are assessed by written examinations at the end of the course. Part-time students will study two papers in their first year of study, and the third (and fourth, if this option is chosen) in their second year of study.  Students may choose to write either two short essays (of 3-4,000 words each) or one long essay (of 7-8,000 words) in place of a seated examination in one of their chosen papers.

The course is taught by varying combinations of lectures, classes, and tutorials, depending on which paper options are selected by the student. In addition, a series of seminars, normally twice per term, are specifically organised for Postgraduate Diploma students. Students must attend all aspects of this course in person, and part-time applicants are expected to demonstrate how they can achieve this in their application. Teaching usually takes place up until Week 4 of Trinity term.  Exams are normally held in the second half of Trinity term. For part-time students, teaching will continue throughout Trinity term of their first year.

Although Postgraduate Diploma in Theology and Religion students make use of undergraduate lectures and classes, they are full members of the graduate community. They benefit from a college-appointed supervisor who will direct their studies, and are entitled to draw on all the graduate resources of the Faculty and the University. 

Please note that there is no graduation ceremony for Postgraduate Diploma students.

For details of the entry requirements and information on the application process and to apply, please click here.

To review the course handbook, click here.

Questions about applying

What scholarships and funding are available for PGDip students?

PGDip applicants are not considered for scholarships awarded by the Faculty of Theology and Religion or by the Humanities Division, such as the Ertegun and Clarendon Scholarships. Successful applicants should thus expect to be self-funded or to receive funding from Oxford colleges or private bodies not directly associated with the university. The fees, funding, and scholarship search is a helpful, but not exhaustive tool for identifying potential sources of funding. The Faculty of Theology and Religion is unable to assist individual applicants further in searching for funding.

I’m an overseas student. May I apply for the part-time PGDip course?

Due to visa requirements, we are not considering overseas students for the part-time PGDip course at this time.

My undergraduate marks are lower than the minimum threshold. Should I still apply?

The Postgraduate Diploma in Theology and Religion is a highly competitive and academically rigorous course, and applications from students with undergraduate marks below the minimum threshold are considered only under exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances may include:  i) demonstration of significant improvement in academic ability, evidenced through marks achieved on a subsequent post-graduate course; ii) demonstration of significant improvement in academic ability through a professional career.

How can I make my application more competitive?

Aside from achieving excellent marks on previous academic coursework and English language test (if required), there are several things you can do to help strengthen the quality of your application:

Statements of purpose should be written in clear prose and focus less on general motivation for study and more on the specific aims which you hope to achieve through academic study of theology and religion at Oxford. To assist you in this task, you might consider looking at the course description webpage and also the research profiles of our faculty members. The more specific you can be about why you wish to study theology and religion at Oxford (rather than simply studying theology and religion in general), the better.

Because the PGDip programme will require you to engage critically with sophisticated arguments from distinguished theologians and scholars, written work submitted with your application should, as much as possible, be analytical, rather than merely descriptive in nature. This means that written work which merely re-produces the thoughts of others regarding its subject matter, without taking a critical stance on it, will be considered weaker than written work that shows a clear argument which is based on a convincing evaluation of the strengths and weakness of the scholarly sources it engages.

Furthermore, written work which deploys analytical methods pertinent to the humanities will be considered more favourably than written work which deploys analytical methods pertinent to the physical, social, and medical sciences, or to the poetic methods of the fine and performing arts. Applicants are thus discouraged from submitting written work based on statistical or data analysis. Likewise, applicants are discouraged from submitting poetry, fiction, or musical compositions. Such work is highly disanalogous to the types of assignments and exams which you will be expected to complete on the PGDip, and is considered a less reliable marker of how you will perform on the PGDip course.

May I use AI to help me write my application?

As per the official university policy on plagiarism: “The candidate may use AI tools to assist in researching application materials, but any submitted documents must be written by the candidate, and any text that is not the candidate’s own should be appropriately referenced.”

If your application is suspected of having used AI in a manner which violates this guidance, we reserve the right to withdraw it automatically or request that you re-submit relevant portions of the application.

Questions about the program

What paper options are available on the PGDip course?

You can view the course descriptions webpage to see which papers are available to PGDip students.

What does a normal week of instruction for the PGDip course look like?

All papers for the Postgraduate Diploma in Theology and Religion include varying combinations of lectures, classes, and/or tutorials. Instruction for the PGDip course will vary depending on the exact combination of three papers you select from the course descriptions webpage. Once you have an idea of which papers you would like to select, you can consult the recommended patterns of teaching page to estimate how many units of instruction you will need to attend each week. Bear in mind that full-time students complete three papers in one year and part-time students complete two papers in year one, and a third paper in year two. 

Will I be able to balance the part-time PGDip program with my job/other commitments?

This will vary from person to person. In making this assessment for yourself, bear in mind that:

• The PGDip is a highly rigorous program designed to prepare students for postgraduate-level instruction. It is expected that part-time students will have a minimum of 20 hours each week reserved for study.
• Part time students usually complete two papers in their first year, and one paper in their second year.
• Part time students attend all aspects of the program in-person. This includes all lectures, tutorials and/or classes associated with your chosen papers, plus two PGDip research seminars per term. You can use the course descriptions webpage and the recommended patterns of teaching page to estimate how many units of instruction you will have each week.
• The faculty does not publish the final lecture/class schedule until one week before the start of each term. This may pose difficulties for students with inflexible employment hours or with employers requiring long periods of notice in advance of changing hours.

Does the PGDip have a distance-learning option?

No. All instruction for the PGDip in Theology and Religion is conducted in-person.