Postgraduate Ministry Development Course

The MA Theology (Contemporary Church Leadership), MMin and DMin programmes are especially suitable for those in church and missions leadership and provide some flexibility to pursue subjects of special interest. Students normally study part-time and attend 2 or 3 intensive teaching weeks each year. The MA programme is also available on a full-time basis. Full-time MA students attend between 4 and 6 teaching weeks in one year, depending on the modules chosen. The MMin and DMin programmes are currently available as part-time programmes only.

Accredited Postgraduate Certificate and Diploma programmes in Contemporary Church Leadership are also available.

Admissions
Applications are invited from those in church and missions leadership to take this programme.

If you wish to apply for this programme, please download the application form linked at the bottom of this page.

Subjects covered
The subjects covered relate directly to the work of the practice of ministry.

Admission requirements
Candidates must normally have an upper second class honours degree in theology or a related subject; or alternative acceptable evidence of attainment. The place of prior learning (APL) and prior experiential learning (APEL) is recognised, allowing advanced standing of up to 120 credits. A non-graduate may also be admitted provided that he/she has held, for a minimum of 2 years, a responsible position which is relevant to the programme, and is deemed capable of meeting its demands. Alternatively, students who have successfully completed the LTh or Graduate Diploma at WEST with an aggregate mark of 50% may be admitted.

Benefits of a postgraduate degree
The PMD course is designed to further equip, stimulate and inform those experienced in church and missions leadership.

Programme modules - MA Theology (Contemporary Church Leadership)

Part One
Research Methods
Church Placement
Biblical Exegesis - English Text or Greek Text or Hebrew Text
Popular Culture and the Christian Worldview
Ministry in an Urban World
Contemporary Pastoral Practice
Contemporary Missiology

Part Two
Dissertation

See the MA Theology (Contemporary Church Leadership) programme page for further details regarding the programme structure and modules.

Programme modules - MMin/DMin
DMin Part 1a
The same modules are available as for the MA (see above).  A student exiting after completing Part 1a of the DMin would obtain a Postgraduate Diploma in Theology (Contemporary Church Leadership).

DMin Part 1b
Students must complete 3 modules (60 credits) in Part 1b.  A student exiting after completing Parts 1a and 1b of the DMin would achieve an MMin.
M03 Research Methods (if not previously taken)
M10 Aspects of Modern Mission
M31 Principles of Christian Leadership
M35 Popular Culture and the Christian Worldview
M36 Ministry in an Urban World

Part 2
M98 Dissertation
Part 2 of the DMin consists of a 50,000 word thesis.  Successful completion of Parts 1a, 1b and 2 results in the award of DMin.

Assessments
All modules are written, taught and marked by WEST lecturers and are accredited by the University of Wales, Lampeter. The University appoints an external examiner, in liaison with WEST, who moderates all assessments. Most modules are assessed by means of coursework, though Greek and Hebrew Exegesis also involve an exam. Coursework assessment papers are given to students in the relevant teaching week and are usually submitted 6 - 8 weeks later (sometimes a little later in Semester 1). The deadlines always fall before the next set of teaching weeks.  A 20,000-word dissertation completes the MA programme, whilst the 50,000 word thesis forms Part 2 of the DMin.  The DMin thesis is examined by means of a viva (oral examination).

Awards
Each module (with the exception of the 40-credit Church Placement) carries 20 credits and the MA dissertation carries 60 credits.  The DMin thesis carries the equivalent of 180 credits.

The attainment of the award of MA is achieved with 180 credits.

The attainment of the award of DMin is achieved with 360 credits.

Students on either programme may also qualify for the awards of Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits) and Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits) and students on the DMin programme may qualify for the award of MMin (180 credits)

Duration
The MA programme may be completed on a full-time basis in 14-17 months, from August to October/January, or on a part-time basis taking from three to four years.

The DMin programme is available on a part-time basis only.  The entire programme of 360 credits involves a minimum of six years’ registration and a maximum of nine years’ registration.  This includes two years’ registration to complete the taught modules of the MA (Part 1a of the DMin), one year to complete the taught modules which comprise MMin level (Part 1b of the DMin) and three years’ registration minimum to complete the DMin thesis (Part 2 of the DMin).  A further three years are allowed to write up the DMin thesis if required.

Teaching dates and schedule
Intensive teaching weeks are held in late August/September, January and March each year.

The timetable of teaching weeks for next academic year is available as a PDF file for you to download.

The Research Methods module involves a total of 12 hours of class time. This consists of a 2 hour introduction to the distance-learning (DL) element of the module, plus 10 hours of class teaching. All students must take the 2 hour introduction to the DL element in one of the September teaching weeks (with the exception of students commencing in January). The 10 hours of class teaching may be taken either in September or January. All students are normally expected to attend all 12 hours of teaching. However, students opting to take the module for zero credit who may have legitimate difficulties with attendance at the 10 hours class-based teaching (due to timetabling and/or travelling distance) may apply for exemption from this element.

Course costs
Please see tuition fees.

Application process
If you wish to apply for this course, please download the application form.  You should enclose original transcripts of your previous study with your application, showing that you meet the above entry requirements, unless you are applying on the basis of relevant experience. If you are applying on the basis of relevant experience you should nevertheless enclose transcripts/certificates for any previous studies that are relevant to your application, though they do not meet the academic entry requirements. This includes non-accredited study in theology or a related subject, undergraduate and postgraduate study in a subject other than theology or a related subject, and undergraduate study in theology or a related subject which led to an award at a lower level than a 2:1 bachelor’s degree. We may also contact you on receipt of your application to ask for any other information not included in the list above which we feel is relevant.

Since, if you are accepted, you will have be a student of the University of Wales, Lampeter as well as of WEST, it is also necessary to complete a University of Wales, Lampeter application pack. Please download the instructions for completing the application, the application pack and reference form which are attached below. The completed application pack should be sent to WEST alongside your WEST application (you must not send it directly to the University). It is your responsibility to obtain the required references and to ensure that they are received at WEST. If you have any queries about completing the application pack please contact Anwen Davies, Academic Registrar (Postgraduate Students), via .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). If you are applying in July or August to start in September you may submit the application form with your WEST application without waiting to receive the references, to prevent any delay in processing your application. In such a case, you should ensure that the references are received by the point at which you accept any offer of a place made to you.

Instructions for Completion of University Application Pack.

University Application Pack (Taught Postgraduate Programmes).

University Reference Form.