Pastors’ Training Course

What is PTC?

PTC is a three year programme of on-the-job theological education for trainee ministers. The course provides a flexible, affordable, high level theological education, in which ministry and theology are rigorously integrated. Our aim is to equip competent future pastors who will be able to build churches in which a culture of training is deeply embedded at every level.

Who is it for?

Students will normally have completed the Cornhill Training Course or equivalent, and be employed in supervised post-apprenticeship training roles in churches.

The content

PTC is a rolling programme of theological study based around 6 core modules:

  • Doctrine of God
  • Christology
  • The Holy Spirit
  • Ethics
  • Salvation and Church
  • Eschatology

Two modules will be studied each year. The core programme is supplemented with a rich and varied diet of topical material relating to ministry, expository preaching and church leadership.

The format

The course requires a day a week during university terms (two days a week if taking the MA qualification). We alternate home study days with classroom days. Classroom days are usually devoted to processing the implications of material the students have already studied at home.

All PTC students engage in the same programme of home study and classroom discussion.

We also hold three residential study weeks each year, usually with visiting speakers. These are devoted to a variety of theological and ministry topics.

MA Theology option

We have recently developed an option to study the course to MA level, in conjunction with Union Theological College in Belfast. UTC’s innovative distance learning MA is structured exactly like our own course, with an additional Dissertation module after three years. Students who take the MA follow the regular PTC course, use the same core texts throughout, engage in the same classroom programme, but do additional written assessments requiring wider reading.

The MA option is particularly suitable for students who require a degree level qualification for further ministry, or wish to develop their thinking and writing skills more intensively. We recommend that MA students will need two days a week for study during university terms.

The MA Course Specification Document can be found here.

MA in Theology

This fully online postgraduate programme provides students with the opportunity to study theology by concentrating on some of main topics in systematic theology. Delivered through our partners at BibleMesh this course enables students to see the role of Scripture in developing theological understanding and the manner in which ideas have developed amidst controversy.

www.union.ac.uk

Cost

Pastors’ Training Course Fees: 2024-25

 

  • The PTC fees are currently set at £3,375 per year.
  • Students are invoiced termly for £1,125 (three terms).
  • Fees include tuition at classroom days and study weeks (lunches provided), a residential study week with accommodation and all meals provided and attendance at all Cornhill Scotland ‘Book in a Day’ and conference events for the duration of the course. They also include full access to the extensive Perlego digital library. (Fees do not cover travel to teaching days and conferences, and the cost of any additional books purchased by students).
  • Please note that fees are reviewed annually.
 

MA in Theology Option: 2024-25

Fees for the optional MA are set by BibleMesh in conjunction with Union College, Belfast.

  • Fees are invoiced in US Dollars.
  • Students are invoiced for each of the 6 Modules (two per year), and the Dissertation.
  • PTC students receive a 30% discount off the MA Fees (the discounted fee is shown in brackets).
 
  • Per Module: $1,625   ($1,137.50)
  • For Dissertation: $1,625   ($1,137.50)
  • MA Programme Total: $11,375   ($7,962.50)
 

For guidance purposes, at current prices and exchange rate, the total cost of PTC with the MA, over three years is approximately £16,300.

 

Application

If you are interested in applying for the Pastors’ Training Course then please contact us.

You can download the application form here.

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