BA Religion and Theology (V600)
2026 entry | view 2025 entry
Course summary
Studying Religion and Theology makes you an expert at understanding how people across the globe interact. You will learn how cultures and individuals deal with life-shaping questions and why changes and conflicts occur in religious cultures both past and present. These skills form a solid basis from which to pursue a range of careers including journalism, law, politics, publishing, teaching, communication and more.
Bristol is a culturally diverse and vibrant city, and we organise and encourage excursions to churches, mosques, and synagogues as well as Hindu and Sikh temples and Buddhist Centres. As part of your degree, you will have the opportunity to conduct fieldwork, enabling you to build community connections and discuss some of the big global questions with local people of diverse faiths and cultures. You will be taught by experts in a variety of fields including Buddhist studies, Christian theology, Islamic studies, Jewish studies and East Asian religions.
We have links with universities all over the world, and you have the option to study abroad for a semester in your second year. Our students can study at the global top 100 universities on four continents and in countries including Israel, Japan, Singapore, Canada, US, Belgium and Denmark. To find out more, visit the Centre for Study Abroad.
Course structure
Your first year provides a solid foundation in global religions' complex interactions across history and modernity. You will take units covering approaches to and issues in the study of world religions of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism across regional and cultural contexts.
Years two and three give you the opportunity to develop expertise and shape your degree by choosing optional units according to your interests. We offer a wide range of units on various aspects of and approaches to different Western and Asian religious traditions.
In your third year, you will also complete a dissertation working closely with your supervisor who will advise you on choosing and researching a topic. The annual dissertation conference is an opportunity for all final-year students to share their research.
In any year you can choose to study one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Latin or Sanskrit (subject to availability).
You will join a welcoming community which enables you to interact closely with lecturers. Tutors employ a variety of teaching styles, ranging from small-group sessions to larger lecture units.
Entry requirements
We accept a wide variety of qualifications and welcome applications from students of all backgrounds. Below is a guide to the typical offers for this course.
Find out more about BTEC entry requirements
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Selection process
- Regulations and codes of conduct we abide by to create a positive environment for learning and achievement are found in the University admissions policies and procedures.
- If applying with extenuating circumstances please see our policy.
- Full information about our selection processes for Religion and Theology can be found in the Admissions Statement:
Admissions statement - The admissions statement above relates to 2025 entry. The statement for 2026 entry will be available in summer 2025.