Keen to be better equipped to serve God in your church, workplace, home?
Are you in a part-time or associate ministry role, and would like some theological training and a recognized qualification?
Thinking that you should be training for ministry, but aren’t yet sure whether a three or four year theological degree is right for you?
If any of these describe you, then the QTC Graduate Diploma of Divinity (GradDipDiv) is an option seriously worth considering.
Along the way, you will get to hear more from the range of visiting pastors and scholars that pass through QTC many of whom spend time in the classroom with our students. Recent speakers have included Matt Chandler, Daniel Block, Michael Horton, Kathleen Nielson, John Piper, Don Carson, Mark Dever, Douglas Moo, Carl Trueman, Richard Bauckham, Kent Hughes, Christopher Wright & David W. Baker.
Mode of Study: On Campus (Day and Evening) and Online
Full details of the ACT course can be found here. See the ACT Coursework Course Enrolment Policy for admission rules and processes.
What’s the commitment?
You can study the GradDipDiv in one of two ways:
- Full-time over ten months at QTC. Attendance at QTC is no more than 3.5 days per week.
- Part-time over up to four years. You can complete the GradDipDiv by attending classes for as little as one part-day per week, depending on your subject choices and how quickly you wish to finish the course. All of the required and highly recommended units for the GradDipDiv (see below) are offered with classes on a single day only. Most of our practical electives are offered on a single day or as intensives for your convenience. All of the required units for the GradDipDiv are offered in the evening on a regular cycle as well as in the daytime, and it is also possible to complete a GradDipDiv with QTC online for those living outside of Brisbane or whose work commitments make study in-person impossible. It’s also an option to do a GradDipDiv by a combination of daytime, evening, and online units through QTC.
What do I study?
GradDipDiv students take the following course:
- At least four biblical subject units, looking at the Old and New Testaments. You will take at least one of two foundation-level units that survey the whole Old Testament (OT001-512 & OT002-512), and at least one of two foundation-level units that survey the whole New Testament (NT001-512 & NT001-512). You can also choose to study any of our units that focus in-depth on particular parts of the English Bible, such as John, Romans and the Pentateuch. These units can be taken if you have already passed one of the foundation-level units in the same field (OT or NT).
- At least one unit in either church history, theology, or ethics. Normally we’d suggest that you take either Christian Ethics or Reformation Church History, both offered every year. As well as these we offer units in the other key areas of church history – the early church, the modern period, and Australian church and culture. We also offer four units that cover all of the major areas of theology, which you can take once you’ve passed your first subject at QTC.
- Two short units on how to study the Bible and know what you believe – giving you skills for reading and interpreting Scripture, an understanding of how the Word fits together as a whole (biblical theology), and an introduction to Christian Doctrine. These are Introduction to Biblical Interpretation in Semester 1 (BB008-806), and Principles of Systematic Theology (TH025-806). Each of these units is worth half of the credit of a normal unit (6 credit points rather than 12), so taken together they are worth one of the eight regular-sized units that you need as a minimum to complete the GradDipDiv. If studying on campus during the daytime, the 6 cp unit Expository Preaching in Practice (PC127-806) is taken in place of Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (BB008-806).
- For the rest of your course (at least two more subject units), QTC offers a wide range of options from which you can choose, depending on your ministry intentions. You can take at least two further units in the Bible, theology or church history, as well as one or more of our large range of practical electives in areas such as preaching, pastoral care, youth & children’s ministries, and missions. Please note that not all units are offered every year, and some may be offered in the same timetable slots as others units that you might like to do – consult the latest timetable.
- Any student who is likely to want to continue on to the MDiv should take all four foundation level Bible units (OT001-712, OT002-712, NT001-712 and NT002-712), as well as a Church History unit, and the two units of New Testament Greek (LA005-812 and LA006-812).
Admission Requirements:
Academic Qualifications: Completed 3 year bachelor degree or equivalent
Language Qualifications for NESB: IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum of 7.0 in reading and writing, and 6.5 in listening and speaking OR 10 years in Australia with English being the language primarily spoken both at home and work
Financial Support:
The course is accredited within Australia as an award of the Australian College of Theology, of which QTC is a member institution along with around 20 colleges nationally. As such, it is a recognized course for the purposes of Fee-Help, Austudy, Youth Allowance (provided you meet the government’s eligibility requirements), and for Overseas Students (ACT CRICOS provider number is 02650E). Current fee levels for units in the GradDipDiv are here. Full details of this ACT, including admission requirements, can be found here.
Your Next Step?
Contact the QTC Registrar for more details or to apply.
QTC is an affiliated college of the Australian College of Theology. The CRICOS course code for the Graduate Diploma of Divinity is 054685G.
