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Chaplaincy Studies

If you're passionate about professional, pastoral & innovative ministry for people and institutions in every place, then studying Chaplaincy is for you.

About the Course

We offer a range of Postgraduate qualifications in Chaplaincy Studies from Postgraduate Certificate through to a Masters in Chaplaincy Studies, along with Open Leaning and Continuing Professional Development options.

Our MA, PgDip and PgCert in Chaplaincy Studies are open to everyone who qualifies, and as many chaplaincy positions now require a postgraduate qualification in Chaplaincy, are especially suitable for those working or volunteering in chaplaincy, or considering a new career or a more senior role.

Individual chaplaincy modules are available for Continuing Professional Development, to enhance skills or simply because you are interested to explore this dynamic and fascinating area of ministry.

We will help you choose the right starting point to meet your needs, so please contact us to discuss your options.

Entry Requirements

Standard entry requirement

The standard entry requirement for our postgraduate taught programmes is a relevant undergraduate degree at a minimum level of 2.1 (upper second class) Honours, or equivalent.

Non-Standard Entry Requirements

If you don’t meet the standard entry requirements, we will consider your application on an individual basis, and especially for mature students, prior professional experience may be taken into account.

You will normally be required to: participate in a formal interview, provide evidence of theological reading and engagement at an appropriate level, demonstrate the ability to develop a critical argument, provide a piece of written work at an appropriate academic level.

You may be admitted to the postgraduate certificate in the first instance, with the possibility of progression to the MA dependent on the marks you achieve in your taught modules, or you may be required to complete some additional study prior to admission to the programme.

We recognise that standard procedures for assessing applications may not always give the full picture. LKC seeks to be an inclusive community, and to take into consideration students’ life experiences and academic potential, not only their previous academic qualifications. If you’d like to apply, but don’t meet the standard entry requirements and would like more guidance, please get in touch.

What the Course Covers

With opportunity to explore contemporary debates surrounding spiritual and pastoral care in secular and multifaith environments, role, boundaries and accountability, experienced tutors will support you in the ongoing development of your professional practice.

Senior practitioners enrich the courses, bringing current and personal insights, and attention is paid to the diversity of chaplaincy contexts, including health, education, criminal justice, sport, business, social care, later life and more…

Core Chaplaincy modules*

  • Multi-Faith and Secular Dimensions of Chaplaincy
  • Moral Issues in Chaplaincy
  • Reflective Practice: Relationships and Emotional Management in Ministry
  • Reflective Practice: Inhabiting Public Ministry
  • Reflective Practice Placement
  • Chaplaincy and Christian Mission
  • Chaplaincy in Organisational Context

For Diploma and MA Students “Research and Reflection: Resources and Methods” is required and all MA Students undertake a Dissertation in Chaplaincy Studies, presenting your own research.

In addition, students can choose further modules from the wide range available at LKC, including areas such as biblical languages, theologies of the body, spirituality, postcolonial and black theology and much more.

*Please note that not all modules are offered every year. There are limitations due to timetabling and we rotate some courses to increase availability of options for part-time students so please do check with us for current availability.

Student Support

We have a number of very experienced chaplains on our full time staff team at LKC and a range of external chaplaincy practitioners who join us to offer their skills, perspectives and insights. Their chaplaincy contexts range from care homes, to senior mental health chaplaincy, children’s hospice to airport, higher education to maximum security prison – whatever your current context or interests, you will be well supported and resourced for your learning.

We want everyone who studies at LKC to have all the support they need in order to progress in their academic studies. For further information about Student Support, including Disability Support, English Language and Study Skills, please see the Study Support page.

How the Course is Taught

Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert)

You will take 2 modules from the Core Chaplaincy areas, and a further module from a wider selection to support you in your specific context and interests.

Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip)

Everyone on the Diploma course studies a Research Methods module to support high quality investigation into your own areas of ministry and practice, along with three Core Chaplaincy modules and two further modules chosen from a wider selection.

MA Chaplaincy Studies

Students study a minimum of three core chaplaincy modules, and choice of two further from these and a wider selection on offer at LKC, along with a module in Research Methods and a Dissertation.

The duration of your course depends on how many modules you complete each year. Full-time students complete in a maximum of 1 academic year. Part-time students have a maximum period of 4 years in which to complete.

Flexible Study Patterns: You can study part-time or full-time, with a variety of timetabling patterns to give flexibility, including modules taught 4 or 8 weeks, intensive 4-day block-taught modules, and modules taught in combinations of one and two-day blocks. There are both onsite and online options within the course, so please contact us for more details of the options available in the coming year.

Course Fees

For details of our course fees, please see here

The examples given are for the lengths of study stated. The MA can be taken flexibly over a period of up to 4 years and fees can be spread over that period, please contact us for further information. Fees are reviewed on an annual basis and may be increased in line with standard inflationary indexes.

The MA programme is eligible for the Postgraduate Masters Loan scheme: https://www.gov.uk/masters-loan

You may also be able to access funding from your employer, or sending organisation, to meet fees for Continuing Professional development.

If you're ready to apply now, head over to our Application Process page where you can download the application form and find out more about your next steps.

Testimonial

Testimonials

Rachel

“Hearing from experienced practitioners was really helpful, making the theoretical learning clear and relevant. The different experience of the group members was also very useful. Really appreciated how much material was available on Moodle to support each week of learning too.”

Full-Time

BA(Hons)

Diploma

Certificate

Part-Time

BA(Hons)

Diploma

Certificate