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Congratulations on joining the Theology MA, PGDip, PGCert programme, and a very warm welcome to St Mary's.

Your induction timetable

Welcome to St Mary's!

About the session

In this opening session you'll be introduced to the School of Theology and have a chance to meet other students. You'll also have chance to learn about the facilities available to support you in your studies (such as your personal tutor, library and IT resources) and get the most out of your time at SMU. During the summer please take some time to review various media channels and identify a news story which has theological implications and which interests you. Come ready to share details of the story and why you find it interesting.

This session will also serve as a general introduction to the content of the programme and as the first session of BML7021 Human Beings and Human Action. You'll be introduced to some of the main concepts and ideas which help to ground many of the principles and ideas used in the study of anthropology and theology, to better understand what it means to be human.

University-wide induction

Your Welcome Week timetable

Try some of the welcome activities and socials on campus during 16-20 September. From fitness to freebies, they're great ways to settle into university life.

Join one of the SU's Student Life sessions in Welcome Week

They’ll explain what’s good in the local area, and the societies and clubs you can join. Basically how to make the most of student life!

Join one of the mandatory Student Essentials sessions in Welcome Week

These are a warm welcome and introduction to different faces you’ll see at the university, plus essential info about support services, health and safety, the code of conduct, and ID cards.

Complete the two mandatory Learning Modules online

They’re about SMU’s safe and supportive environment for our students, staff, and visitors. These values of Inclusiveness, Generosity of Spirit, Respect, and Excellence set the tone for how we all behave as a community.

 

About your programme

Module information

You’ll complete your course one block or ‘semester’ at a time. In each semester you’ll study modules. Some are core modules you have to take – others you’ll be able to choose between when you arrive, personalising the course to your interests.

In your first semester you will study the following modules:

  •  Core
  •  Core
  •  Core

Further information about the structure of your course can be found within the programme specification document.

Resources

Once you’re registered, you can loan textbooks and other resources from our library. We have plenty of copies of key texts, though some students choose to buy their own.

We’ll let you know more in our induction sessions. Plus how to use our online learning environment Moodle – where you can access, lecture recordings, copies of lecture slides, handouts, further reading, and interactive resources.

The following titles are recommended for this programme:

An Introduction to Christian Theology, 2nd Edition (Essential)

  • Author: Anthony Towey
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury

The light of Christ: an introduction to Catholicism (Essential)

  • Author: Thomas Joseph White
  • Year of publication: 2017
  • Publisher: Catholic University of America Press

Faith comes from what is heard: an introduction to fundamental theology (Essential)

  • Author: Lawrence Feingold
  • Year of publication: 2016
  • Publisher: Emmaus Academic

The Meaning of the Church (Essential)

  • Author: Romano Guardini
  • Year of publication: 2021
  • Publisher: Cluney Media