Common Awards are qualifications for ordinands and lay ministers within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

and its partners in the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, and

United Reformed The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resul ...

churches.

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 Durham University. 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 The national qualification frameworks in the United Kingdom are qualifications frameworks that define and link the levels and credit values of different qualifications. The current frameworks are: * The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) for ...

(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: * All Saints Centre for Ministry and Mission,

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...

* Cambridge Theological Federation *

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 tradition. Cranmer Ha ...

* Cumbria Christian Learning,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

* Lincoln School of Theology, Lincoln * 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. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

* The Queen's Foundation, Birmingham *

Ripon College Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and lay mi ...

, Oxfordshire * St Mellitus College, London *

St Stephen's House, Oxford St Stephen's House is an Anglican theological college and one of five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford, England. It will cease to be a permanent private hall in 2023. The college has a very small proportion of undergraduate ...

* St Augustine's College of Theology, West Malling, Kent * South West Ministry Training Course,

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

* Trinity College with Bristol Baptist College, Bristol *

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was master of Balliol College, Oxfor ...

(until 2022) * Yorkshire Theological Education Partnership * South Central Theological Education Institution, Guildford, Oxford, Salisbury and Winchester * Scottish Episcopal Institute * The Eastern Region Ministry Course, Cambridge * Luther King Centre, Manchester * St Padarn's Institute, Llandaff * Emmanuel Theological College, Liverpool and the north west

References

{{Reflist

External links

Common Awards
at Durham University
Ministry Division
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