MA in Theology, Bible, and the Arts

The MA in Theology, Bible, and the Arts builds on King’s College London’s historic strengths in Christian Theology, Biblical Studies, and theological engagement with the Arts.

The MA deploys a wide range of academic disciplines (doctrinal and historical theology; biblical languages, hermeneutics, and reception studies; philosophy; art history, literary theory, and the study of visual culture) to address questions raised both by and about Christianity, but also questions raised between Christianity and other traditions, whether religious or secular.

The MA fosters critical and constructive engagement with the ways people have made and continue to make sense of life, helping students to articulate their own responses to questions like: ‘What sort of world are we a part of?’, and ‘How can we live wisely?’

As one mode of exploring these questions, the MA encourages students to make use of London’s art collections, particularly through our partnership with the National Gallery.

Students on the course go on to careers in teaching, journalism, public life, or the Church, or to further research.

Key benefits

• Enables students to deepen and expand their understanding of the formative texts, contexts, and traditions of thought and practice that mark both Christianity’s past and its present. Addresses contemporary questions in ways that are resourced by rich historical traditions of thought and imagination.
• Reap the experience of a 180-year rich history of Theology & Religious Studies at King’s.
• Enables students to work across disciplinary and specialism boundaries, including certain disciplines (like theology and art history) that are commonly pursued in isolation from each other.
• Develop competence in using a variety of theories and methods of study to engage in critical analysis of relevant material and to develop constructive arguments.
• Fosters the capacity to engage sensitively and critically with primary sources (works of art and literature as well as biblical texts/written theology/aesthetic theory/art criticism).
• Makes extensive use of London’s cultural resources specifically the artistic, human, and web-based resources of the National Gallery in London, providing opportunities for students to learn in the context of one of London’s (and the world’s) greatest treasuries of art, with additional visits/links to institutions with related collections, like the Courtauld Gallery, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
• Allows students to develop their knowledge of all of its main three areas while being structured in a way that permits them to specialize: e.g., to focus primarily on theology’s relationship with the arts, or to work intensively in areas of doctrinal and/or biblical studies (for example, as part of their preparation for doctoral research).

Course Essentials

The MA in Theology, Bible, and the Arts offers a range of modules that allow you to study both historical and contemporary theological ideas, the content, significance, and legacy of the Bible, and the diverse artistic responses to religious subjects and themes that have left their mark on the world. You will also be asked to explore one topic in greater detail through your dissertation.

Duration: One year full-time, two years part-time, September to September