South African Theological Seminary Postgraduate Courses

Our focus is on people who are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, who love and respect the Bible as God’s word, are involved in advancing His kingdom through practical ministry and have a desire to develop these commitments further.

SATS offers biblically-based, academically rigorous, and practically relevant programmes. Like Hugh of St. Vincent, we believe education is the pursuit of wisdom and virtue, both of which are ultimately found in Christ through friendship with God. We design our programmes and our courses with the dual ambition of being both informative and transformative. We strive to engage the text and the context, the Word and the world in ways that are God-glorifying and missional.

SATS is known for providing rich online learning experiences. Our MySats platform affords our students a world-class portal for e-learning, connecting you to your study materials, fellow students, course facilitator, library holdings, and assessment tasks. We aim to take the distance out of distance education by automating processes that can and should be instant, freeing our staff to offer fast and friendly service where the personal touch is needed.

We serve people who are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, who love and respect the Word of God and dedicate their lives to advancing the kingdom of God through practical ministry. Like Pierre de la Ramée, we believe that theology is ‘the doctrine of living well for God’.

Since all our teaching and learning takes place online, you will need regular, personal access to the Internet. SATS courses can be completed on a smartphone or a tablet, but a personal computer is desirable for writing longer essays.

Doctor of Philosophy in Theology

Our Doctor of Philosophy in Theology is designed to raise up scholar-leaders in various fields of Christian ministry. It is a fully accredited online programme that provides the opportunity for ground-breaking theological research.

Master of Theology

Our Master of Theology is a research-based degree that is fully accredited and completely online. The degree takes the form of a substantial research project on a topic that is relevant to your life or ministry. You conduct the research under the guidance of a specialist supervisor.

Master of Divinity

We have received accreditation for a Master of Divinity programme. This is a two-year professional master’s degree designed for pastors. Since it does not require a prior degree in theology, it is the ideal gateway into advanced theological and ministerial training for second-career pastors. As with all SATS offerings, the MDiv is 100 per cent online, affording busy pastors and leaders the opportunity to receive high-level training within their ministry context.

The SATS MDiv is a 240-credit degree, consisting of 180 credits of coursework and a 60-credit capstone project. To register for the MDiv, you need an accredited four-year degree or equivalent with above-average grades. In South Africa, this means a qualification on NQF level 8 with an average of at least 60 per cent. For foreign applicants, we calculate equivalents on a case-by-case basis. You do not need to have any prior studies in theology. Your degree can

be in English, Engineering, Education, or any other academic discipline. If you have a three-year degree (NQF 7 in South Africa), we will allow you to do one year of bridging work to gain access to the MDiv.

Please note that the MDiv programme does not grant direct access to the PhD programme; the MDiv grants access to the MTh programme, which in turn grants access to the PhD.

For more information, please contact elsie@sats.edu.za

Bachelor of Theology Honours

The Bachelor of Theology (Honours) is a one-year postgraduate degree that builds on a three-year degree. You would be likely to choose the BTh Honours for one or two reasons. Firstly, it serves as a bridge between Bachelors level coursework and Masters level research. Secondly, it provides a potential access point into theological studies for students who have degrees in other disciplines.

BTh Honours Concentrations

We offer two concentrations in our Bachelor of Theology Honours Program. The launch of the BTh Honours with a Counselling Concentration Internship will be available in Term 3 (August – October 2021) and the full program 2022.

Firstly, the General Bachelor of Theology Honours provides a broad range of courses in Biblical studies, systematic theology, missions, ministry, and required courses in research design and methodology. You have considerable freedom to choose elective courses that fit your interests and ministry priorities. You should prefer this option if your motivation is to prepare for pastoral ministry, missions, teaching, or if you are preparing to continue your graduate studies.

Secondly, the Bachelor of Theology Honours with a Concentration on Christian Counselling is for those who are preparing to serve as professional Christian counsellors and considers continuing to a Master in Christian Counselling. This programme has a fixed curriculum – In addition to the required bible and theology courses and research and design courses (60% of the honours), the counselling courses including an internship, make up the other 40% of the honours).