MPA Faith Based Leadership
Birmingham, United Kingdom
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
30 Aug 2024*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2024
TUITION FEES
GBP 7,000 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for UK students | 7 May 2024 for international students
** for UK | International: £9,000 each year
Introduction
Leading a faith community today is a complex and challenging task. Our MPA develops effective, equipped, and informed leaders who can help their organizations maximize their impact for the good of society.
Today's faith communities are often sizeable organizations with sophisticated educational, healthcare, or social engagement projects and significant financial turnover. However, the initial training of faith leaders understandably focuses on their theological and pastoral skills, leaving many leaders with significant professional responsibilities and management challenges that they sometimes feel ill-equipped to confront.
The Birmingham Master of Public Administration in Faith-Based Leadership offers a globally unique approach to faith leadership development, combining insight into organizational, administrative, managerial, and leadership skills from negotiation to social entrepreneurship, from decision science to ethical purchasing, and from leading volunteers to intercultural engagement with a commitment to faith-sensitive application of these core principles on the ground in faith communities across the world.
The MPA is a two-year, part-time program designed for senior and emerging senior leaders from across a variety of faiths, from faith-based organizations and from governmental and non-governmental organizations that deal with faith-based issues as part of their everyday lives. Our program is ideal for, for example, chairs of trusts, mosques, temples, and gurdwaras, directors of companies and CIOs, bishops, area deans or equivalents, and CEOs or COOs from faith-based organizations.
Applicants will ordinarily require a 2:1 or above at the undergraduate level (or equivalent), three years experience in a leadership role at some level (not necessarily a senior yet), and will need to be employed or presently volunteering extensively in a leadership capacity, with the capacity to dedicate approximately 8 hours a week on average to their studies throughout the two years.
Study as an Apprenticeship
In addition to the MPA Faith-Based Leadership, for learners who are currently employed in an appropriate role, we now offer a Faith-Based Leadership Apprenticeship, aligned to the Senior Leader Apprenticeship Standard. This represents a new and exciting opportunity for learners to gain a Faith-Based Leadership qualification funded by an employer’s apprenticeship levy. This route requires the support of employers and brings together university study and the invaluable on-the-job training typical of an apprenticeship.
Our Faith-Based Leadership Level 7 Apprenticeship, aligned to the Senior Leader Apprenticeship Standard, will allow you to gain a PGDip in Faith-Based Leadership funded by the Apprenticeship Levy. Upon successful completion of the apprenticeship, we offer the opportunity for you to achieve a full Masters level qualification via completion of a 60-credit dissertation.
Why Study this Course?
- Interdisciplinary program offering a unique combination of insight and learning in organizational leadership, professional development, and theological reflection upon practice in an interreligious and interdenominational context
- Collaborative online learning delivery with plenty of opportunities to learn from colleagues as well as leading academic experts with experience in faith community leadership
- Strong focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion in leadership and on professional excellence in organizational management
- In-person residentials with special practitioner masterclasses led by leading international experts from a variety of religious and professional backgrounds
- For UK applicants only, the opportunity to complete the program as a Master's Level Degree Apprenticeship, which may lead to significant fee subsidies (subject to employment status)
- A continuing focus on the practical application of learning into your leadership context and its positive outcomes for your organization
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Scholarships to cover fees and/or maintenance costs may be available. To discover whether you are eligible for any award across the University, and to start your funding application, please visit the University's Postgraduate Funding Database.
International students can often gain funding through overseas research scholarships, Commonwealth scholarships, or their home government.
Postgraduate Loans
Government-backed master loans are available to help UK and EU students to finance their studies. For those starting courses after 1 August 2020, loans are available of up to £11,836 for Masters students in all subject areas. Criteria, eligibility, repayment, and application information are available on the UK government website.
Curriculum
The program consists of six compulsory modules and a placement-based dissertation. Each of the modules is assessed by two essays – one focussing on the theoretical issues discussed in the module and the other on the practical outworking of the insight gained into your professional context.
Modules:
Fatih, Leadership and Community Engagement
Covering essential leadership skills such as effective leadership, servant leadership, ethical leadership, theological models of leadership, thought leadership and influence, leadership and sustainability, leadership and public life, building and leading teams, social entrepreneurship and reflective leadership, and negotiation.
Faith Community Governance, Management, and Administration
Comprising topics such as strategic thinking and implementation, financial management & accounting, performance improvement, operations management, marketing, decision science, ethical purchasing and procurement, project management, non-profit management, and planning.
Understanding and Leading People
This module will focus on issues such as strategies for influencing others, communications, ethical leadership, interpersonal relationships, human resources management, social impact and engagement, social innovation, community mobilization, intergenerational leadership, community organizing, mentoring and leadership development, and theological anthropology.
Organizational Culture in Faith-Based Organisations
This module will discuss issues such as leading change, intercultural engagement, globalization and secularisation, corporate social responsibility, entrepreneurship, public ethics, equality, diversity and inclusion, media engagement, conflict resolution, and interreligious relations.
Organisational and Personal Development
This module will explore concepts such as organizational behavior, innovation, and creativity, organizational resilience, succession planning and offer theological reflection on organizations and the nature of work.
Theological Reflection on Professional Practice
This module will cover research methods, research management, policy analysis and development, research ethics, reflective practice, and critical thinking – one of the assignments being a research proposal
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
The University's Careers Network provides expert guidance and activities, especially for postgraduates, which will help you achieve your career goals. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated careers and employability team that offers tailored advice and a program of College-specific career events.
You will be encouraged to make the most of your postgraduate experience and will have the opportunity to:
Receive one-to-one career advice, including guidance on your job applications, writing your CV, and improving your interview technique, whether you are looking for a career inside or outside of academia
Meet employers face-to-face at on-campus recruitment fairs and employer presentations
Attend an annual program of careers fairs, skills workshops, and conferences, including bespoke events for postgraduates in the College of Arts and Law
Take part in a range of activities to demonstrate your knowledge and skills to potential employers and enhance your CV
What's more, you will be able to access our full range of career support for up to 2 years after graduation.
Postgraduate Employability: Theology and Religion
Birmingham's Theology graduates develop a broad range of transferable skills including familiarity with research methods; the ability to manage large quantities of information from diverse sources; the ability to organize information in a logical and coherent manner; the expertise to write clearly and concisely and to tight deadlines; critical and analytical ability; the capacity for argument, debate and speculation; and the ability to base conclusions on statistical research.
Postgraduates in theology and religion go on to a wide variety of industries, including public service, education, law, consulting, and other competitive graduate schemes. Others consider further study and go on to doctoral research, including the Midland4Cities funded scheme. Employers that our graduates have gone on to work for include Birmingham Council, Frontline, and the NHS.
Program delivery
Each of the six taught modules runs over 15 weeks, comprising:
- 7 weeks of online content (with weekly live interactive discussion activities and group and individual tutorial meetings)
- 6 weeks of assessment preparation (including continuing discussion groups, activities, and tutorial meetings)
- A reading and catch-up week
- A 48-hour residential at Birmingham for your cohort to gather to discuss issues in person, visit key local case study sites, and strengthen your peer networks
Each module represents a total of 200 hours of study time, including preparatory reading, homework, and assignment preparation. You should have the capacity to dedicate approximately 8 hours a week on average to your studies throughout the two years.
Teaching Year
We have three teaching terms per year, the autumn, spring, and summer terms.
As a full-time student, you will typically take three modules in each of the first two terms, followed by your dissertation. If you are a part-time student, you will typically take three modules across each year, followed by your dissertation.
Each module represents a total of 200 hours of study time, including preparatory reading, homework, and assignment preparation.