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Master of Theology

Accreditation

The South African Theological Seminary was the first private tertiary institution in South Africa to earn accreditation for the MTh programme, by the Council on Higher Education, which has a stated policy of national and international comparability. In this regard we have been subjected to a very stringent evaluation. You are therefore assured that the degree you earn is of the highest standard and that the credits are internationally portable.

Our Masters programme offers a wide range of focus areas, each of which is supervised by highly competent academic specialists, who have been carefully selected to provide you with the levels of service excellence for which we have become known.

Options

The seminary offers two kinds of MTh programmes, namely, research MTh and the structured MTh.

The Research MTh (Thesis Programme)

The research MTh consists of a 180-credit thesis of 40,000-50,000 words (±140-160 pages) in a field of specialisation. The process begins with the course RES5300 Research Methodology, which culminates in the submission of a research proposal for a Masters thesis. Your proposal must be approved by the Postgraduate Committee, after which you may proceed with writing the thesis. You have a maximum of one year to get your proposal passed. If you fail to do so, you will not be permitted to continue with the programme.

We have faculty who are able to supervise a Masters thesis in any of the following fields:

Practical Theology	Church Leadership
Christian Education	Pastoral Counselling
Missiology	Systematic Theology
Biblical Studies	Bible Translation
Children’s Ministry	Church History
Homiletics	Sports Ministry
Biblical Greek	Biblical Hebrew
Worship Studies	Youth Ministry
Theological Ethics

For more details on the Full Theses program, click on the link below.

Master of Theology: Research Programme

The structured MTh (Outcomes Structured Programme)

The structured MTh consists of eight 15-credit courses and a 60-credit thesis (±60-80 pages). You will have a maximum of two years to complete the coursework, so you must complete four courses per year. If you fail a course, you have to register for it again (and pay again). The thesis component is expected to take 6-12 months. If you have not finished after one year, you may register for a second year (but may not extend the registration beyond the second year).

The courses for the structured MTh programmes are only offered online. You download all the study materials, upload your assignments, and interact with the course facilitator on the MySats site. The duration for each course is three months; you will need to spend approximately 10-15 hours each week on your studies

 

Pastoral Theology		Credits
THE5150	Biblical Worldview	15
MPT5150	Pastoral Ministry	15
MPT5151	Worldviews and Contemporary Issues	15
MPT5152	Biblical Exposition	15
MPT5153	History, Ecclesiology, and Missiology	15
MPT5154	Theology and Ministry	15
MPT5155	The Life of the Pastor	15
RES5150	Research Methodology	15
RES5600	Thesis	60

 

Biblical Studies		Credits
MNT5150	New Testament Introduction	15
MNT5151	Old Testament Introduction	15
MNT5152	New Testament Theology	15
MNT5153	Old Testament Theology	15
MNT5154	New Testament Exegesis	15
MNT5155	Old Testament Exegesis	15
MNT5156	Biblical Preaching	15
RES5150	Research Methodology	15
RES5600	Thesis	60

 

Missiology		Credits
MIS5150	Introduction to Missiology	15
MIS5151	Approaches to Missiology	15
MIS5152	Theology of Missions	15
MIS5153	History of Missions	15
MIS5154	Strategies for Missions	15
MIS5155	Issues in Missions	15
MIS5155	Biblical Worldview	15
RES5150	Research Methodology	15
RES5600	Thesis	60

 

Counselling Children*		Credits
MHE5150	Biblical Worldview	15
MCC5151	Counselling Children	15
MCC5152	Entering the Child’s World	15
MCC5153	Non-directive Play Therapy	15
MCC5154	Directive Play Therapy	15
MCC5155	Counselling Traumatised and Grieving Children	15
MCC5156	Parents as Co-partners in Treating Children’s Behavioural Problems	15
RES5150	Research Methodology	15
RES5600	Thesis	60

*Disclaimer: Kindly note that the successful completion of this programme
does NOT enable a graduate to register with the Health Professions Council
as a professional counsellor.

Note: There are also semi-structured programmes in Biblical Greek and New Testament. For details about these programmes, please contact the Postgraduate Registrar.

Enrolment Procedure

Entrance requirements

The entrance requirement to enrol for the Master of Theology program is a relevant, accredited, four-year Bachelor's or Honours degree. Bachelor's degrees with majors in fields such as theology, psychology or sociology are suitable. The pre-requisite is an appropriate four-year (level 7) theology degree (or equivalent). The Seminary offers a free, no obligation evaluation of your transcripts, which can either be faxed to us at +27 11 234-4445 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +27 11 234-4445      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or scanned and sent as email attachments to postgraduate@sats.edu.za . We will initiate a response to your request within two days of receipt.

Since the programme is a Master of Theology , applicants who have a ‘thin' theological background will be required to complete 60 credits of bridging coursework in theology. The admission committee will determine this based an evaluation of the applicant's academic transcripts.

The bridging coursework programme for non-theological backgrounds

If you have an accredited Bachelor Honours degree or a professional four-year Bachelors degree (480 credits exiting on NQF level 8) in a non-theological field, you may gain access to the MTh programme. To compensate for your thin theological background, you will need to complete 60 credits of bridging coursework before proceeding with the standard research or structured programme. The bridging courses are:

• THE5200 Man, Sin and Salvation: The primary purpose of the course is to bring you up to speed quickly with the central doctrines of the Christian faith and the debates surrounding them.
• BIB5200 Exegesis of Romans:  Exegesis of Romans is an advanced course about how to study the Bible with one big bonus thrown in — an in-depth study of Romans, arguably the greatest theological document ever written.
• GCS5200 Ethics and Apologetics: This entire course consists of two research papers (assignments) that the student must write, one on an ethical issue and the other on an apologetic issue.

Please note you are required to purchase the following textbook for the above-mentioned subjects: Erickson, Millard J. 1998. Christian Theology (2 nd ed). Grand Rapids: Baker Books

Application Procedure

Candidates are required to submit a completed application form together with certified copies of their ID, certificates and transcripts. The seminary offers a free, no obligation evaluation of your transcripts, which can either be faxed to us at +27 11 234-4445 or scanned and sent as email attachments to postgraduate@sats.edu.za . We will initiate a response to your request within two days of receipt. To access our online application form, simply go to www.sats‌online.org , click on South African Theological Seminary and Become a Student, then click on Apply Online. Students can enrol at any time throughout the year as applications are kept on file for up to three years. We look forward to being of assistance to you.

Pricing for Masters Programme 2010

Bridging programme*	R8700 ($1650) *If applicable
Research proposal Tuition Fees	R8700 ($1650)
MTh Tuition Fees	R8700 ($1650)

 

Enrolment

To access our online application form, simply click on apply online. We look forward to being of assistance to you.

Access to further programmes

Successful MTh graduates automatically have access to the Doctoral programmes in related fields at any accredited institution.  

See Postgraduate Faculty: Master of Theology