Applications and Admissions Process for the BA in Contextual Theology at Luther King House - Open College Admissions
Information about our BA Undergraduate Degree Course
Luther King House has students studying on our theology courses from a wide range of church traditions. If you wish to study theology with us and to develop your Christian ministry without seeking formal selection to train for an ordained ministry through a particular denomination, you can apply to study with us through our “Open College”. The application process for our Open College is outlined in this document.
General information about the BA in Contextual Theology programme can be found on the ‘BA Contextual Theology’ page of our website:
www.lutherkinghouse.org.uk/courses-learning/ba-contextual-theology/
Entry requirements, tuition fees information (including our Bursary Fund tuition fee support for low-income Open College students) and an application form can all be found on our ‘Application and Fees’ pages.
If you would like additional information about our academic programmes, or our short courses or other events, please contact the Registry Office at Luther King House, by email: or by phone: 0161 249 2504.
You can also arrange to visit Luther King House at a mutually convenient time for a more detailed chat about the courses we offer and for a tour of the building and our on-site facilities.
It is also possible for you to access our undergraduate BA programme handbook, which is located on our Moodle virtual learning site: http://learnlutherkinghouse.org.uk This handbook contains all the key information students need about their programme regulations, including information about how to apply for formal recognition of any Advanced Prior (Experiential) Learning (AP(E)L) you may wish to seek credit for, where appropriate, and about the individual modules currently on offer at Luther King House for the undergraduate academic programme. For more information about how to set up a (free) Moodle account and access the BA programme handbook, again, please contact the Registry Office.
How to Apply
To apply, please complete the BA in Contextual Theology application form (located on the BA page of our website).
Please complete all required sections of the form in full. Unfortunately, we are unable to process incomplete applications. Receipt of an incomplete application may therefore delay the admissions process, since we will need to contact you to ask for the missing information before we can process your application further. In particular, please remember to include all of the following information:
· Details of the context in which you will be applying your learning
· Essay on why you are interested in the course you are applying for
· How you intend to fund your studies
· If you are an international student, full evidence of how you meet the English language requirements, plus a self-certified copy of your passport*
· Full contact details of 2 referees (where possible, one should be able to comment on your academic ability, and one should be from your church context).
· Self-certified copies of your most recent educational qualifications, if applicable.
If you have any queries about how to complete the application form, please contact the Registry Office and we will be happy to help.
Please note that completion of the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form on the final page of the application form is entirely optional. This form is included for statistical monitoring purposes only, to help us in our aims to be inclusive and fair in our selection and admissions processes, and it is not used in the process of making decisions about individual applications.
*Luther King House has been given Highly Trusted Status by the UKVI, which means we are able to admit international students needing Tier 4 visas to our programmes. A separate information sheet is available on our website for any international students in need of Tier 4 student visas, outlining the additional requirements made by the UKVI in relation to international student applications. This includes links to pages of the UKVI website, where the UKVI’s current English language and financial requirements are specified in detail.
Applications can be submitted to the Registry Office by email, to:
or by post, to: Registry Office
Luther King House
Brighton Grove
Manchester
M14 5JP
Again, please note that only fully completed applications can be processed, and receipt of incomplete applications is likely to delay the admissions process.
Confirmation of receipt of your application will be sent to you immediately upon receipt of your application. If you do not receive confirmation of receipt within 2 weeks of sending us your application, please contact us to check if your application has been received.
How We Decide Who to Admit to our Courses
In deciding whether to admit you to one of our academic programmes, we are trying to assess whether you are open to learning new things about yourself, faith and ministry; and whether you have the potential both to successfully complete a programme of academic study with us, and to integrate and apply your learning to your own context within your own lay or ordained ministry. The standard entrance qualifications for the BA programme are a minimum of two 'A' level and three passes at C or above, one of which must be English, in the General Certificate of Secondary Education (or the equivalent). However, it is also possible for mature entrants to be admitted to our undergraduate or postgraduate programmes without standard entry requirements, provided you are able to demonstrate you meet the general criteria outlined above. We assess whether you meet these criteria by considering the following questions:
· Do your interests correspond with what we are offering on our courses?
· Do you show evidence that you are open to learning new things, and are able to respect and learn from a diverse range of Christians from many different cultures, and with a wide variety of faith backgrounds, church traditions and beliefs?
· What is your previous education and do you have any formal academic qualifications?
· Do you meet the standard entry requirements specified for the programme of academic study you wish to apply for?
· If you don’t have formal academic qualifications, or don’t meet the standard entry requirements, what evidence have you shown of your informal learning – what you have read or done that shows you can engage with this course? How might your wider life experiences help to equip you for studying on this course?
· Is the short essay you wrote as part of your application written with an appropriate standard of English for the course concerned, and does it show that you know something about the course you are applying for and have thought about why it is the right course for you?
· Do you have a context in which you will be able to engage in the practical tasks associated with the course, putting your learning into practice in a church, work or community context?
· Will you be able to devote enough time to studying on the course?
· Do you have the ability to finance your studies (either yourself, through the Student Loans Company, or through another organisation)?
· If you are an international student, do you meet the requirements of the UKVI for studying in the UK?
If we can see that you meet the above criteria through the combination of your application form and any accompanying documentation, your interview and your references, we will offer you a place on the appropriate programme, provided there are still places available at the time that we receive your references (the last stage of the application process). We have a maximum of 25 places available on the midweek BA course, and an additional 10 places available on the weekend BA course. Responsibility for who is admitted to the BA programme through Open College lies with the Open College Principal, in consultation with the BA Programme Leader and the President, as appropriate.
Interview and Admissions Processes
Once we have received your fully completed application, this will be passed on to the Open College Principal, and a mutually convenient interview time will be arranged with you. The interview will normally be conducted by the Open College Principal plus an additional member of staff – most often the President of Luther King House. If you are currently living overseas, an interview will normally be arranged to be conducted by Skype, though telephone interviews are possible where there is no internet availability.
Interviews normally last between half an hour and an hour, and follow a simple discussion format. They are an opportunity for us to find out a little more about you, but also an opportunity for you to find out more about the course. Our hope is that this will give you and us a good opportunity to decide if this course is the right course for you. We want to help all our students achieve their potential in their studies and in their faith and ministry, and to do that successfully it’s important for you to feel you’re on the right course for you. You will also be given a guided tour of the buildings and facilities if you have not visited Luther King House previously. We will also arrange for you to meet with the Academic Registrar, usually on the same day as your interview, but occasionally at a separate time, to give you the opportunity to talk through any financial, personal or educational needs you may have which we can assist you in getting appropriate support for. However, you are welcome to contact the Academic Registrar at any time during the application and admissions process for further guidance and support in respect of practical and administrative issues relating to your application and to preparing for your future studies.
Following your interview, we will aim to contact you in writing (normally by email) within 5 working days, to notify you of the outcome of the interview. If we are able to offer you a place, subject to satisfactory references, these will then be sought by the Registry Office. Upon receipt of satisfactory references, and once you have also met any other conditions of admission specified in our email to you, we will send you a formal offer letter, together with terms and conditions of your programme, and some key documents you may wish to refer to in advance of the course. You are asked to sign and return a copy of your offer letter to us at your earliest convenience, to confirm your intention to take up a place on the course. If you wish to accept the offer of a place on the course, but to defer your entry, this is normally possible, but please let us know this at your earliest opportunity before the course starts for the current year. During the summer, we will then send out detailed timetables and information about induction and registration processes, in preparation for the course start in September. Whilst we make every effort to provide the programme as publicised, there are rare occasions when significant unexpected changes need to be made to a programme of study at short notice, for example due to unforeseen staffing changes, changes in university validation arrangements or UKVI licensing status. Where this is the case, we will endeavour to contact all applicants concerned, at the earliest opportunity, to inform them of any such changes and to advise on the options available to them.
If your application has been unsuccessful, we will seek to give you a brief explanation of the reasons for this, together with guidance on applying again in the future, where appropriate, or suggestions of alternative courses which may better meet your individual needs. You are also welcome to contact us for further informal feedback on your application should you wish to do so. Any such requests for feedback should be made within 1 month of your receipt of notification that your application has been unsuccessful.
International Students Requiring Tier 4 Visas
As indicated above, international students requiring Tier 4 visas are able to apply to study on our BA programme, as we have been awarded highly trusted status by the UKVI. Requirements and application processes for international students requiring Tier 4 visas are the same as for other applicants in most respects. However, please note the following differences in the application process for those requiring Tier 4 visas:
· You must meet the UKVI’s English language requirements for studying on courses at the level you wish to study (in addition to any requirements set by Luther King House and the University of Manchester, which are noted on the application form).
· You must meet the UKVI’s requirements regarding demonstration of your ability to fund your studies and to fund your living costs whilst studying in the UK.
· You must be able to demonstrate that the course you are applying for involves academic progression from any previous UK studies, or to give a clear explanation of why the course you are applying for does not involve such academic progression.
· Before we can issue you with a Certificate of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), which you will need from us in order to apply for your Tier 4 visa, we will expect you to do the following in order to demonstrate that your application is in compliance with the above UKVI regulations:
a) If English is not the official language in your country of birth, provide acceptable evidence of your English language ability. This should take the form of either the results of a standardised test recognised by the UKVI or a degree certificate from a UK university;