Common Awards are qualifications for ordinands and lay ministers within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and its partners in the

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, and United Reformed churches, delivered in a three-way partnership between theological education institutions, the churches, and

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

Description

Before 2014, Theological Education Institutions (TEIs) within the Church of England had used local universities to validate their qualifications but since September 2014 they have been offering awards common across all institutions, validated by

. The intention behind the move to Common Award was to offer greater coherence and consistency across training institutions. A wide variety of courses are offered at various levels of the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ): * Foundation Award in Theology, Ministry and Mission (FHEQ level 4; 60 credits) * Certificate of Higher Education in Theology, Ministry and Mission (FHEQ level 4; 120 credits) * Certificate of Higher Education in Christian, Ministry and Mission (FHEQ level 5; 180 credits) * Diploma of Higher Education in Theology, Ministry and Mission (FHEQ level 5; 240 credits) * BA in Theology, Ministry and Mission (FHEQ level 6; 360 credits) * Graduate Certificate in Theology, Ministry and Mission to postgraduate studies (FHEQ level 6; 60 credits) * Graduate Diploma in Theology, Ministry and Mission to postgraduate studies (FHEQ level 6; 120 credits) * Postgraduate Certificate in Theology, Ministry and Mission (FHEQ level 7; 60 credits) * Postgraduate Certificate in Chaplaincy Studies (FHEQ level 7; 60 credits) * Postgraduate Diploma in Theology, Ministry and Mission (FHEQ level 7; 120 credits) * Postgraduate Diploma in Chaplaincy Studies (FHEQ level 7; 120 credits) * MA in Theology, Ministry and Mission (FHEQ level 7; 180 credits) * MA in Chaplaincy Studies (FHEQ level 7; 180 credits) * MA in Contemporary Christian Leadership (FHEQ level 7; 180 credits)

Participating institutions

The Theological Education Institutes validated by Durham University on the Common Awards are: *

Cambridge Theological Federation The Cambridge Theological Federation (CTF) is an association of theological colleges, courses and houses based in Cambridge, England and founded in 1972. The federation offers several joint theological programmes of study open to students in mem ...

Cranmer Hall, Durham Cranmer Hall is a Church of England theological college based at Durham, England. Cranmer Hall forms part of St John's College, Durham which is a recognised college of Durham University. It stands in the Open Evangelical Churchmanship, tradition. ...

* Lindisfarne College of Theology,

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

* The Queen's Foundation, Birmingham * Ripon College Cuddesdon and Oxford Ministry Course, Oxfordshire * St Mellitus College, London * St Stephen's House, Oxford * St Augustine's College of Theology, West Malling, Kent * South West Ministry Training Course,

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

* Trinity College with Bristol Baptist College, Bristol * Yorkshire Theological Education Partnership * South Central Theological Education Institution, Guildford, Oxford, and Winchester *

Scottish Episcopal Institute The Scottish Episcopal Institute (SEI) is the theological college of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Anglican church in Scotland. It provides training and theological education to those preparing for Laity, lay and Ordination, ordained ministries ...

* The Eastern Region Ministry Course, Cambridge * Luther King Centre, Manchester * St Padarn's Institute, Llandaff * Emmanuel Theological College, Liverpool and the North West * Sarum College, Salisbury

References

{{Reflist

External links

Common Awards
at Durham University
National Ministry Team
of the Church of England Church of England Professional education in England Durham University Educational qualifications in the United Kingdom Christian education in the United Kingdom