Graduate Certificate of Divinity

Brisbane School of Theology • What? • Courses • Graduate Certificate of Divinity

Duration

1 semester full-time or up to 2 years part-time

Units

BST is an affiliated college of the Australian College of Theology (ACT). We have been approved to deliver ACT courses (FEE-Help available for eligible students).

If you already have an undergraduate qualification, but this is your first experience of studying theology, then the Graduate Certificate of Divinity will give you a great taste of what’s on offer.

A short course of only four units, the GradCert will give you either a better understanding of some core doctrines of your faith like grace or the person of Christ (the theology focus), or help you grasp the big-picture story of the Bible through an overview of both the Old and New Testaments (the Bible focus). You’ve also got different practical ministry options available to you, so you can get to grips with what’s involved in pastoral care, preaching, or church leadership. You’ll also be able to choose one book or key area of the Bible to explore more deeply, uncover a bit of church history, finally discover what ‘eschatology’ is all about, or even learn some Hebrew or Greek.

Perhaps you’re going to continue in the career you originally trained for, but just want to be better equipped to share your faith; maybe you’re thinking of getting more involved at church; or perhaps you’re exploring the idea of full-time ministry work. However you want to live out your faith, this course will give you a well-rounded biblical base from which you can start testing out where God might be wanting to put your interests and skills to work.

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What you need in order to study the GradCert

To be able to study the Graduate Certificate of Divinity at BST you need to have an undergraduate degree in a non-theological discipline. (If you already have an undergraduate qualification in theology then take a look at our Master of Arts in Theology or Master of Theology programs.)

If you’re an international student, and English is not your first language, you need to have taken the IELTS test and achieved an average score of 7.0. The restrictions of a student visa also mean that you’ll have to study full-time.

What you have to do to make sure you graduate

The program is made up of four units which are normally studied over just one semester. A total of 16 credit points is required to complete the program. You can study part-time if it suits you better, and we have plenty of evening classes so you can work while you study, as long as you finish the program within two years.

The different topics you'll be studying

If you study the Graduate Certificate of Divinity full-time it will take six months, as you will do four units over one semester and you need 4 units to complete the course. You can study part-time if it suits you better, as long as you finish the course within two years. Of your 4 units, two can be from from one of each of the following categories: Biblical Introduction, Church History, Language and Theology. You also have two elective units which you can choose from any of the sections below.

Biblical Introduction

OT introduction

Old Testament foundations OT301/OT501
Old Testament prophets and writings OT302/OT502

NT introduction

Jesus and the Gospels NT301/NT501
Early New Testament church NT302/NT502
初期新约教会 NT202CH/NT302CH

Exegesis

OT exegesis (in English or Hebrew)

The Pentateuch OT420/OT430/OT620/OT630
Former Prophets 1 & 2 Samuel
Exilic Prophecy (Isaiah 40-55) OT423/OT623/OT433/OT633
The Psalms OT426/OT626

NT exegesis (in English or Greek)

The Synoptic Gospels: Luke NT420/430/620/630
符类福音：马太福音 NT289CH/NT420CH
John's gospel
The Pastoral Epistles
Pauline Theology and Romans NT425/NT625/NT435/NT635
Paul and Corinthian Christianity NT421/NT431/NT621/NT631

Christian Thought

Theology

The knowledge of God TH401/TH601
The doctrine of God and the work of Christ TH402/602
The doctrines of grace and eschatology TH403/TH603
Church, sacraments and ministry TH404/TH604
上帝的教义与基督的工作 TH202CH/TH402CH

Church history

The Church to 1550 CH301/CH502
The Church from 1550 to modern times CH302/CH502
从1550 年后的教会 CH202CH/CH302CH

Ministry and Practice

Evangelism and mission

Mission perspectives EM301i/EM501i
Principles of evangelism EM324/EM524
Ministry in culturally diverse contexts EM418i/EM618i
Cross-cultural field education EM640
Contextual Asian Mission (draft unit outline)

Pastoral and church-focused ministry

Foundations of pastoral care PC402/PC602
密集课程 INTENSIVE: 牧者关怀的基础 PC202CHi/PC402Chi
Introductory preaching PC447/PC647
Congregational field education PC442/PC642
Practical ministry field education PC444/PC644
Spiritual formation for professional ministry PC408/PC608

Developmental ministry

Foundations for youth ministry DM310i/DM510i

Languages

Biblical Hebrew (A) LA003A
Biblical Hebrew (B) LA003B
Introduction to New Testament Greek
New Testament Greek (A) LA004A
New Testament Greek (B) LA004B
Intermediate Greek LA010

N.B. Core units are generally offered every year, while elective units are offered in alternative semesters. Please refer to the college timetable to find out what’s being offered.

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The kind of future the GradCert could offer you

Hannah Mbitu
Church Worker, Kenya

“When I came to college I had a passion to serve children and young people, and this greatly increased during my time there. I developed confidence as my understanding of Scripture was growing every day, and I was helped to write good sermons and teaching lessons for my Sunday school work. Above all I learned the importance of humility in the Christian life, and it made all the difference to me that I could see the lecturers and staff demonstrating this in their own lives – they interacted so freely and kindly with students and served them during community lunch and were the first to be cleaning up afterwards. I was so greatly blessed by my time at BST.”

BST | Brisbane School of theology