Application deadline

Wednesday 15 May 2023.

Applicants should apply as early as possible to be eligible for certain scholarships and for international visa purposes.

“Studying at St Andrews has inculcated in me critical thinking, rigour and precision in writing. The lecturers are always available and ready to help clarify an issue, answer a question, advise or give a listening ear. St Andrews is a unique family – home to students from a diversity of continents, cultures, races and languages.”

Mathew
- Cumbo, Cameroon

Entry requirements

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application requirements

CV or résumé. This should include your personal details with a history of your education and employment to date.
personal statement (optional)
sample of your own, single-authored academic written work (2,000 words)
two original signed academic references
academic transcripts and degree certificates

Further documentation:

Successful applicants will need to submit some further documentation to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem when accepting their offer. Details will follow once an offer is issued.

For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.

English language proficiency

If English is not your first language, you may need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. See approved English language tests and scores for this course.

Course details

The MLitt in the Study of Judaism and Christianity is a two-year taught programme run jointly by the School of Divinity at St Andrews and the Department of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The programme will allow you to explore both the breadth and depth of the Jewish and Christian religious traditions, encompassing languages, history, theology, and philosophy.

You will spend your first year in Israel and your second year in Scotland. Learn more about being an international student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Highlights

As members of two world-class universities in very different settings, you will immerse yourself in two unique and rich cultural, linguistic, and religious environments.
The programme will introduce the comparative study of Judaism and Christianity and allow you to develop your own expertise through modules that cross a wide range of sub-disciplines.
Language courses will equip you with the skills to study Jewish and Christian literature in the original languages, both ancient and modern (e.g. biblical and modern Hebrew, Koine Greek, Aramaic, Latin, German).
The programme is taught by a group of internationally renowned experts in all major areas of the study of Judaism and Christianity from ancient Israel to the 21st century.
The combination of rigorous intellectual training with extensive cross-cultural experience will prepare you to go on to PhD research or to enter a range of top-level graduate careers.

Modules

The modules published below are examples of what has been taught in previous academic years and may be subject to change before you start your programme. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the module catalogue.

Details of the modules taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem will be available in their module catalogue.

The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details about each module taught in St Andrews, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest St Andrews module catalogue, which is for the 2022-2023 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2023 entry.

Issues in the Comparative Study of Judaism and Christianity

Topics in the Relations between Judaism and Christianity

Students take three or four optional modules. These optional modules are subject to change in each year and are taken primarily from the Faculty of Humanities offerings in Bible, Comparative Religion, and Jewish Studies. Recent modules have included:

Selected Topics in Biblical Law
Selected Topics in Biblical Prophecy
Law in the New Testament
New Testament as a Witness for Broader Second Temple Judaism
Approaching Classical Jewish Texts from Medieval to Modern Times
Reading Medieval Jewish Exegesis
Monarchy in Classical Jewish Thought
Kabbalah and German Idealism
German-Jewish Thought and Culture
The Legacy of German-Jewish Modernism
Hannah Arendt and Rahel Varnhagen
Ethics and Jewish Education in the Thought of Emmanuel Levinas
Dangerous Liaisons: The Vatican and the Jews after WWII
Ineffability

Students take three or four optional modules. These optional modules subject to change in each year and are taken primarily from the School of Divinity’s offerings in biblical studies and in systematic and historical theology. Modules offered in recent years have included:

Hebrew Readings
Greek Readings
Biblical Themes: War and Peace
Creation and Chaos in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East
King and Messiah in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Second Temple Judaism
Epistle to the Hebrews
Johannine Literature and Theology: English Text
The Book of Revelation
From Nazareth to Nicaea: The origins of Christian theology
Theological Anthropology
The Doctrine of the Trinity
Christology
A Selected Patristic Theologian: Gregory Nazianzen.
A Selected Reformation Theologian
A Selected Medieval Theologian: Thomas Aquinas
A Selected Modern Theologian: Henri de Lubac

Students may also take eligible modules from Divinity and other Schools with the approval of the programme director.

Student dissertations are supervised by members of the teaching staff who advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. Both St Andrews and Hebrew University staff will be involved in the dissertation module.

Students begin their dissertations at the start of Semester 2, but will have time for particular focus during the three months in summer. The completed dissertation of 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August.

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, there are exit awards available that allow suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.

Teaching methods include:

lectures
one-to-one discussions
seminars
class presentations.

Class sizes in the School of Divinity at St Andrews typically range from 6 to 12 students.

Language teaching

Students are required to show an intermediate proficiency in at least one ancient or modern language other than English by the end of the programme and are expected to build language study into their programme accordingly in both Jerusalem and St Andrews. Teaching is available in biblical and modern Hebrew, Koine Greek, classical Latin, classical and modern Arabic, German, French, and Italian. 

Assessment will include seminar presentations, extended essays and end-of-semester written examinations.

Events

The School of Divinity at St Andrews regularly hosts international conferences and smaller symposia on themes across the field of biblical and theological studies.

Students are also welcome to participate in the School's weekly research seminars in Biblical Studies, Theology, and Religion and Politics.

Previous Divinity conferences.

Fees

Year one: $24,000 (charged directly by HUJI)
Year two: £21,000

More information on tuition fees can be found on the postgraduate fees and funding page.

Funding and scholarships

The University of St Andrews is committed to attracting the very best students, regardless of financial circumstances.

From 2023 to 2025, one scholarship to cover full fees will be available for home students (UK or Israeli). Please contact the School for further details.

Taught postgraduate scholarships Postgraduate loans

After your degree

Careers

Students on our Masters programmes are provided with the skills they need to succeed in an international job market, both academic and non-academic. 

Regular workshops, both general and subject-specific, in areas such as publishing, conference presentations, and job searches are offered by the School of Divinity and the University.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students on a taught postgraduate course and offers a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Further study

Many Divinity graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews or elsewhere in the UK and abroad.

PhD in Divinity

Postgraduate research

What to do next

Online information events

Join us for one of our information events where you can find out about different levels of study and specific courses we run. There are also sessions available for parents and college counsellors.

Postgraduate online visiting days

We encourage all students who are thinking of applying to the University to attend one of our online visiting days.

Contact us

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 2826
Email: divinitypg@st-andrews.ac.uk
Address

website

The Study of Judaism and Christianity (MLitt) 2023 entry