MPhil Religions and Theology

Our full-time and part-time Religions and Theology MPhil programme involves substantial original research in Religions and Theology, leading to the production of a thesis (of up to 50,000 words) that constitutes a significant contribution to knowledge.
Areas available for research include: 

Biblical studies, especially the Bible in context (Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, Graeco-Roman), linguistic approaches, Bible and gender;
early Christianity, especially Nag Hammadi and magical texts;
papyri and other manuscripts in the John Rylands Library;
Rabbinic and medieval Judaism;
Jewish thought;
Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations;
Islamic philosophy and medicine;
Christian doctrine;
philosophical theology;
applied theology;
ecotheology;
theology and technology;
contemporary Christianity;
religious archives in the John Rylands Library;
religion and philosophy;
existentialism;
philosophy of law;
ethics;
religion and science;
religion and politics;
religion and gender.
Find out more about our staff's research interests on the People page.

Within Religions and Theology, our research students also participate in a thriving disciplinary research culture. There are regular research seminars in Religions and Theology, Biblical Studies, and Jewish Studies.

Research students are also welcome at a wide range of seminars in other areas, for instance, in linguistics or in gender, sexuality and culture.

Religions and Theology students get the opportunity to meet and discuss with a range of major international scholars who visit to deliver seminars, public lectures (The Manson Memorial Lecture in New Testament, The Sherman Lectures in Jewish Studies, The Ferguson Lecture in Theology).

Many of our students undertake some undergraduate teaching, following appropriate training which is offered to all research students.

Funds are available for students to organise conferences and travel to attend events and undertake research. 

There are opportunities to organise, participate in, and present papers at conferences led by PhD students and joint events, such as the Manchester-Durham-Sheffield PhD student conference in Biblical Studies.