PROGRAMME SUMMARY

Programme Name

Postgraduate Diploma in HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

Programme Description

The Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) in History of Christianity is coursework based and consists of 180 credit hours of learning at Level 8. For students intending to progress into a Masters degree, the PgDip will be a foundation year. Full-time or part-time study is available, and admission is usually granted at the beginning of every academic year. The PgDip is an advanced programme that builds on the student’s prior training in biblical, theological, ministerial and historical studies with a more issue-based focus. The intent is to equip students in serving the needs of Pasifika communities in any capacity using ‘whole of life’ and justice-driven approaches appropriate to their contexts. The title of the of the award on the Testamur when a student graduate is “Postgraduate Diploma in History of Christianity.”

Minimum Entry

Requirement

▪ should have graduated with a Bachelor’s degree (3 years full-time equivalent) not more than 10 years before applying for the PgDip programme, unless the applicant has taught in an academic institution since gaining the Bachelor degree. 

▪ should have gained at least a ‘B’ average in the intended area of specialisation in the last two years of their Bachelor of Divinity (BD) studies. 

▪ shall write an academic paper on an appropriate topic set by the relevant Discipline of the College to test their theological knowledge as well as their competence in the intended field of specialisation with a minimum of 50% pass grade of this paper. This paper shall accompany the completed application forms. 

▪ must demonstrate an appropriate standard of English comprehension through an English proficiency assessment approved by the College Faculty through the Discipline of Academic Skills, and gain at least a 50% pass grade, or a pass grade

  of 5.5 in an IELTS (Academic) test. 

Graduate Outcomes

▪ Demonstrate a ‘whole of life’ knowledge that covers and integrates most of the main areas of the discipline and their link to other disciplines and worlds; 

▪ Demonstrate commitment to research issues of concern to Pacific churches and the region; 

▪ Demonstrate independent thinking to critically analyse data and interpret it appropriately for new Oceanic contributions to theological and ecumenical knowledge; 

▪ Demonstrate the ability to contextualise theology and faith expressions in their own cultural and communities-based contexts; 

▪ Demonstrate deep knowledge of the ‘whole of life’ and leadership for justice vision within the Pacific household of God framework.

Requirements for the

Award of Postgraduate

Diploma

Course credits: 30 credits per course at the postgraduate level.

The PgDip will be awarded to candidates who have successfully completed 180 credits of work made up of two core courses (60 credits) and three specialisation courses (90 credits) from a specialised Discipline (e.g., Biblical Studies, Theology & Ethics, History of Christianity, Practical Ministry, or Ecumenism), and one inter-discipline elective (30 credits). The core courses for the PgDip are school wide (SW) and university-wide (UW) and mandatory.

Mode of Delivery

Blended: Online + Face to Face

Duration

1-year Full Time or 3 years Part Time

Level

Equivalent to PQF/SPATS/FHEC level 8

School Name

School of Theology and Ecumenism

Credit Point

180

Education Pathway

This qualification can lead to a Masters degree qualification (Level 9) or its overseas equivalent

Employment Pathway

Holders of this qualification will have the knowledge and skills to work in various roles in Christian churches or the wider society, particularly within the

faith-based organisations and church affiliated sectors.

▪ Instructors in theological institutions around the region.

▪ Leadership positions in ecumenical and faith-based organisations.

▪ Leadership positions in communities.

▪ Work in organisations such as NGOs with specific focus on leadership, justice, spirituality.

▪ Consultants in areas of the intersection of theology, spirituality, and social justice issues.

▪ First step towards ordination in some faith communities.

CODE

PGDIP – OVERVIEW OF COURSE IN HISTORY OF

CHRISTIANITY

CREDITS

SW400

Applied Research Skills (Core)

The first part of the course will concentrate on academic reading and writing of theological texts, and on critical thinking and is meant to create the foundation for postgraduate theological work on which individual courses in different disciplines can build. The second part of the course focuses on research skills and proposal writing.

  30

UW401

Pasifika Hermeneutics: Why Context Matters (Core)

The course aims to develop a deep knowledge of students on the ‘art of relational interpretation’ that is Pasifika and home-grown. Hermeneutics is fundamental to the Pasifika decolonial agenda, especially the decolonisation of the mindset, and the development of Pasifika home-grown research frameworks. The course focuses on allowing the productive role of the student and his/her context to creatively reconstruct new and life-affirming meaning in the reception of texts (such as the Bible), art, dance, songs and poetry, culture, traditions, rituals, bodily language, etc, based on their particular life worlds and challenges. The first half will focus on exploring, discussing, and critically analysing the hermeneutical traditions of the West as well as contemporary approaches from other parts of the world. The second half focuses on developing Pasifika ‘whole of life’ communities-based hermeneutics, to assist with rethinking our understanding of God, faith, culture, development, education, research, and traditions. Thus, the course is transdisciplinary. The aim is to develop decolonial foundations to inform leadership for justice and to underpin the development of sustainable and resilient frameworks, models, and paradigms of life for the Pasifika churches, society, and academia.

 30

HC400

Orality, Textuality and History: Understanding “Key

Texts” from Pasifika (Specialised)

Despite the heritage of a vigorous oral tradition in the Pacific, the oral literature is largely absent from the accounts of the history of Christianity in the Pacific. This course helps the students to understand the factors in colonial and postcolonial Pacific that contributed not only to the exclusion of oral forms but also the suppression of the oral in favour of the printed text. It introduces students to various efforts in different postcolonial contexts of recovering oral forms for understanding the history in general and the history of Christianity in particular. Various “key texts”, both oral and printed, from the Pacific will be introduced not only for students to be informed of the main trends and trajectories in the history of Christian people in the Pacific, but also for them to critically engage with those texts. 

30

XX400

Choose one 400 course from another discipline (eg BS400, TE400, PM400, EC400)

30

HC401

In this course we will discuss the history of the ecumenical movement on both the global and the regional level. The course is divided into three parts. Part one will be about general ecumenical issues, such as the role of the World Missionary Conference as an historical event in the formation of the ecumenical movement. Part two will focus on ecumenism in Pasifika, its institutions and principles. Part three will consist of global spotlights, such as South Africa, where the ecumenical movement is studied in the interaction with concrete historical and geographical situations. The Pacific region will not only be discussed in its dedicated course section but will form the context for all of our reflection on the history of ecumenism: how does the global interact with the regional and local? What parallels can be drawn between the case studies of the global spotlights and the Pasifika situation? We will seek to understand from a Whole of Life perspective various developments within the history of the ecumenical movement and their impact on the churches and societies. The course will enable students to work with original documents and to interpret them in the context of their time.

30

HC402

History of Religions and Interfaith Engagement

30

TOTAL

180