Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.)

Course Requirements

Degree Requirements and Advanced Standing

1. The Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) is a 120-credit program (for those admitted from outside Quebec and without a prior Bachelor's degree, or as Mature Students). Students who are admitted on the basis of a Quebec DCS or equivalent may be awarded Advanced Standing/Transfer Credits to reduce Credit Requirement to as low as 90 credits. Students who are admitted on the basis of a recognized Bachelor's degree may be awarded Advanced Standing/Transfer Credits to reduce Credit Requirement to 60 credits. Advanced Standing/Transfer Credit is only determined after McGill receives final official transcripts for prior studies. Please note that Course Equivalency or Transfer Credit requests are evaluated on a term-to-term basis by the Program Director of the B.Th. program in consultation with the course instructor. Previously approved equivalencies does not guarantee future course equivalency approvals.

   Questions about Credit Requirements and Advanced Standing/Transfer Credits may be directed to: studaffairs.relig [at] mcgill.ca.

2. Students must achieve satisfactory academic standing (a grade of C or better) in all required courses and the complementary courses specified in year three, and accumulate sufficient acceptable credits to make a total of either 60 or 90-credits, in order to receive their degree. It should be noted that students who take the B.Th. program as part of the Master of Divinity program need to maintain a minimum CGPA of 2.5 to be eligible for the M.Div. degree.
3. Normally the program credits must be earned within five years from the date of entrance.

Program Description

The Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) program offered by the School of Religious Studies is the most intensely theological education available as a first undergraduate degree in a publicly-funded University in North America. A steadily growing proportion of B.Th. students at McGill (38% of graduates 2012–2014) are taking a 120-credit or 90-credit program as a first, undergraduate, degree permitting an exceptional concentration on academic study of Christianity. Overall, B.Th. graduates completed their degree on average within 2.8 years.

For students with a prior Bachelor’s degree, however, the 60-credit (two-year) B.Th. can also function as the first 60 credits (or two years) of the ATS-accredited M.Div. program offered by the McGill-affiliated theological colleges of the Montreal School of Theology (MST). ATS accreditation of the MST and its M.Div. degree is thus “by virtue of affiliation with the McGill University School of Religious Studies.” (Bulletin 51 PART 2 Membership List 02/01/2015).

Because of this relationship between the McGill B.Th. and the MST M.Div., one key measure of educational effectiveness of the B.Th. program is that graduates of the 60-credit, post-graduate B.Th. show the expected skills and attitudes required for success in the intensively pastoral third, In-Ministry Year of the MST M.Div. program.

Thus, between 2010 and 2014, out of 52 MST M.Div. graduates, 25 had also graduated with the McGill B.Th. degree from the School of Religious Studies. A further 10 of the 52 MST M.Div. graduates had taken at least some required courses in the McGill B.Th. program before proceeding to the M.Div. degree. The effectiveness of the McGill B.Th. program is therefore heavily and intentionally represented in the overall educational effectiveness of the MST M.Div. and in the data underlying the MST Statement of Educational Effectiveness.

The Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) program offers academic instruction in the disciplines of Theology, Biblical Studies and Church History, and provides a more intensive study of Christianity than is available in the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree programs.

Students interested in completing a Major Concentration, Minor Concentration, Honours or Joint Honours in the broader field of Religious Studies should pursue a the Bachelor of Arts program.

The Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) may be taken as a first or second baccalaureate degree.

As a first degree (90 or 120 credits) it offers a more intensive study of Christianity than is available within the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) programs, while also permitting the student to combine this specialization with other academic or professional interests, whether in Religious Studies or in other faculties and schools of the university.

As a second bachelor’s degree (60 credits) the Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) program is designed primarily for those who intend to qualify for the ordained ministry in a Christian denomination, although here too some students pursue the degree out of an interest in the academic study of theology for its own sake, or with a view to combining these studies with proficiency gained in other disciplines. The 60-credit program forms the core of the Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) degree.

The Bachelor of Theology program can be pursued independently, or in affiliation with one of the three Theological Colleges affiliated with McGill University in the Montreal School of Theology. Those studying for the ordained ministry normally pursue the Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) as part of the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program offered by the colleges of the Montreal School of Theology: Montreal Diocesan Theological College (Anglican Church of Canada), the Presbyterian College (Presbyterian Church in Canada), and United Church Studies at Montreal Diocesan Theological College (United Church of Canada).

Admission Requirements

The B.Th. program has three points of entry:

1. To enter the 120-credit degree program from outside Quebec, the applicant must hold a high school diploma, with a minimum average of 75%, or the equivalent. A maximum of 60 credits from another institution of higher learning can be considered for transfer into the 120-credit program.
2. To enter the 90-credit first-degree program, the applicant is expected to have completed the Diploma of Collegial Studies (DCS) of a Quebec CEGEP with a minimum average Cote R of 24, or the equivalent elsewhere. A maximum of 30 credits from another institution of higher learning can be considered for transfer into this program.
3. To enter the 60-credit program, the applicant must have completed a B.A. or other Bachelor’s degree with a minimum CGPA of 2.7 (B-). No credits can be transferred from another institution of higher learning into the 60-credit program.

Any McGill student in good standing, with a minimum of 30 credits, may apply for transfer from their current degree program into the B.Th. program. B.Th. students entering the 120- or 90-credit programs are free to pursue Minors in other departments, schools, or faculties, in consultation with their B.Th. adviser(s).

The B.Th. program extends over three academic years of full time studies for those admitted with a Diploma of Collegial Studies and over two academic years for those admitted with a Bachelor's degree. For all other students it requires four years. The normal load consists of five 3-credits courses (15 credits) each term.

ATS Accreditation

The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) in the United States and Canada is a membership organization of more than 250 graduate schools that conduct post-baccalaureate professional and academic degree programs to educate persons for the practice of ministry and for teaching and research in the theological disciplines. The ATS’s mission is to promote the improvement and enhancement of theological schools to the benefit of communities of faith and the broader public. The School of Religious Studies has been accredited by the ATS since 1952. 

The Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) program offered by McGill University is applicable to the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program offered by the Theological Colleges. The M.Div. is fully accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the U.S. and Canada (ATS).The Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) programme offered by the School of Religious Studies is the most intensely theological education available as a first undergraduate degree in a publically-funded University in North America. A steadily growing proportion of B.Th. students at McGill (38% of graduates 2012–2014) are taking a 120-credit or 90-credit programme as a first, undergraduate, degree permitting an exceptional concentration on academic study of Christianity. Overall, B.Th. graduates completed their degree on average within 2.8 years.

The School of Religious Studies is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools, 10 Summit Park Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15275-1100, 412-788-6505.  

Statement of Educational Effectiveness

The School of Religious Studies (SRS) has been accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) since 1952. Specifically, the S.T.M. programme of the School of Religious Studies is approved by the ATS; McGill’s Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) programme provides recognized components of the ATS-approved M.Div. programme of the Montreal School of Theology (MST).

The educational effectiveness of the S.T.M. programme is directly ensured by participation of S.T.M. students and M.A. students together in required Master’s seminar RELG 645, and with other graduate students (M.A. and Ph.D.) in regular graduate seminars.

The educational effectiveness of all the School’s programmes is enhanced by a long tradition of close cooperation with McGill University’s Teaching and Learning Services, which provides research-based support to all aspects of teaching, learning, curriculum development and evaluation.

The Bachelor of Theology (B.Th) programme offered by the SRS is the theological education available as a first undergraduate degree in a publically funded University in North America. A steadily growing proportion of B.Th. students at McGill are taking a 120-credit or 90-credit programme as a first, undergraduate, degree permitting an exceptional concentration on academic study of Christianity. Overall, B.Th. graduates completed their degree on average within 2.8 years.

For students with a prior Bachelor’s degree, however, the 60-credit (two-year) B.Th. can also function as the first 60 credits (or two years) of the ATS-approved M.Div. programme offered by the McGill-affiliated theological colleges of the Montreal School of Theology (MST). ATS accreditation of the MST and its approved M.Div. degree is thus “by virtue of affiliation with the McGill University Faculty of Religious Studies.” (Bulletin 51 PART 2 Membership List 02/01/2015)

Because of this relationship between the McGill B.Th. and the MST M.Div., one key measure of educational effectiveness of the B.Th. programme is that graduates of the 60-credit, post-graduate B.Th. show the expected skills and attitudes required for success in the intensively pastoral third, In-Ministry Year of the MST M.Div. programme.

Thus, between 2010 and 2014, out of 52 MST M.Div. graduates, 25 had also graduated with the McGill B.Th. degree from the School of Religious Studies. A further 10 of the 52 MST M.Div. graduates had taken at least some required courses in the McGill B.Th. programme before proceeding to the M.Div. degree. From the last review of 2012 up until 2019, 35 students have either graduated with the McGill B.Th. or taken at least some of the McGill required B.Th. courses before proceeding to the 3^rd year of the M.Div. degree. The effectiveness of the McGill B.Th. programme is therefore heavily and intentionally represented in the overall educational effectiveness of the MST M.Div. – and in the data underlying the MST Statement of Educational Effectiveness.

Program-Specific Information