Centre for Postgraduate Studies

The Graduate Diplomas build on the basic foundation laid by the Graduate Certificates. Each Graduate Diploma is aimed at developing students’ ability to flourish spiritually at work, and to help them begin engaging the concerns of their work, Church, and society.

All graduates should:

1. Have a foundational knowledge of Scripture, Christian Traditions and Spirituality, and Integrative
2. Be able to draw insights from their learning to grow in Christ-likeness, flourish spiritually at their workplaces, and to engage the concerns of contemporary culture and

Students can opt for either the Graduate Diploma in Christian Studies (GDCS) or the Diploma in Theological Studies (DipTS).

1. GDCS is offered solely by Its curriculum emphases the students’ spiritual formation through practicums. It also develops their ability to apply their biblical and theological learning in their marketplaces by devoting 30% (9 credits) of its curriculum to Theological Application and Practice (TAP).
2. DipTS is jointly offered by BGST and TTC. It provides students the flexibility of completing the programme by taking courses either at TTC or BGST (subject to specific guidelines). Students can also opt to take the entire DipTS in either TTC or BGST. TTC Courses are offered mainly in the day, while BGST courses are conducted during weekday evenings, Saturdays, or in Self-paced Learning (SPL) mode to provide additional flexibility to working students.

While most BGST students start with the Graduate Certificate, students can also be admired directly into the GDCS or DipTS Programmes.

Programme Duration, Stacking and Credit Transfer

Credit transfer to TTC:

Up to 15 credits are transferable to TTC’s Bachelor of Divinity, or Master of Divinity programmes, subject to TTC’s validation process.

The Master of Arts in Theology and Integrative Studies (MATIS) is our current flagship master’s degree for lay theological education. This programme develops the theological and integrative competencies of our Graduate Diploma graduates and their ability to apply their learning to engage their marketplaces. All graduates are:

1. Competent in interpreting Scripture, Christian Traditions and Spirituality, and Integrative Studies, and integrating these learning
2. Able to nurture themselves and others in Christ-likeness to live out their calling at work, church, and society.

To help our students apply their learning and develop their ministry skills, the MATIS devotes 35% (21 Cr) of its curriculum to Theological Application and Practice (TAP)

Ministry Research Project or Research Thesis Options

While students can complete their MATIS entirely by course work, they can also undertake a Ministry Research Project or a Research Thesis as part of their programme requirements. They can do so by devoting 6 credits of electives to their thesis. Specifically, they must first complete a Guided Study (1.5Cr) to understand and identify the scope of their project or thesis, before embarking on the project and thesis itself (4.5Cr). With this option, students should note that they will need to complete 1.5Cr more electives than what is required in the MATIS (4.5Cr).

1. Ministry Research Project OR

1. Research Thesis

Students can take up to 6 credits of practicum credits (including CS102 and other Ministry Skills elective). A practicum course is graded pass or fail and will not contribute to the overall GPA of the programme. Practicum courses will be indicated in the Course Schedule when offered.

Note: MATIS used to be called Master of Arts in Theology and Inter-disciplinary Studies. The term ‘Integrative’ has now been adopted instead. ‘Integrative’ allows for some disciplines to be more important than others. The use of this term enables BGST to emphasise that while (i) robust theological application requires one to become inter-disciplinary, (ii) the Bible remains primary discipline out of the many.

MATIS is renamed from and replaces MCS. Both degrees are accredited by the Asian Theological Association. MCS graduates are not required to exchange their degrees.

MATIS graduates will be competent in engaging Scripture, Christian Tradition (including Church History, and Spiritual Discernment) and Integrative Studies. They will learn to nurture themselves and others in Christ-likeness to live out their calling in the Church and the marketplace.

MATIS is right for you if:

• You are in the marketplace and want to grow your understanding of the Christian faith.
• You are looking for comprehensive theological training with both depth and breadth.
• You are exploring leadership roles in your church and in other ministries

Programme Duration, Stacking and Credit Transfer

Duration:

2 year Full-time
6 Years Part-Time

MATIS is stackable to: MDiv

Total Credits Needed for MATIS Accreditation: 60 Credits

ð Core Required Courses: 855.5 Credits
ð Elective Courses: 4.5 Credits

The Master of Divinity (MDiv) builds on the MATIS competencies to develop our students into skilled pastoral leaders, capable of leading churches and Christian communities. Its specific aims are two-fold: (a) to enable our MATIS graduates to stack up their ministry and pastoral skills training and prepare for the pastoral vocation; and (b) to provide them with the biblical language competencies and a range of pastoral skills to minister effectively.

All MDiv graduates are:

1. Skilled pastoral leaders who effectively expound Scripture and Christian traditions, and to draw on integrative studies for leading their churches and
2. Able to nurture themselves and lead others in Christ-likeness to live out their calling at work, church, and society.

The Biblical language requirement for MDiv is for 1.5 years (9 credits) of studies in either Biblical Hebrew (BH111, BH112, and BH211 / BH212) or Biblical Greek (BG111, BG112, and BG211 / BG212). Students also have the option to take a combination track where they take any 9 credits of BH 111, BH 112, BG 111 / BG 112. It is recommended for students to commence EITHER Biblical Hebrew or Biblical Greek early in their programme of studies.

To equip our students with the ability to apply their learning and engage their stakeholders winsomely, 40% (36 credits) of the MDiv is devoted to Theological Application and Practice (TAP).

Students can take up to 9 credits of practicum credits (including CS102, CS112 / CO101 and other Ministry Skills practicum courses). A practicum course is graded pass or fail and will not contribute to the overall GPA of the programme.

MDiv is right for you if:

You are looking for a robust programme with breadth and depth to be berer equipped to serve.

You want to be more thoroughly equipped as a pastoral leader.

You are considering a leadership position within your church or in other ministries.

Total Credits Needed for MDiv Accreditation: 90 Credits

ð Core Required Courses: 84 Credits
ð Elective Courses: 6 Credits

While theological training requires a robust intellectual study of Scripture, Tradition, and Integrative Studies, it should be augmented with an emphasis on how the intellectual learning can be applied to the students’ and their communities’ day to day lives. For this reason, practicum training is emphasised in BGST’s curriculum.

Types of Practicum Courses
There are 3 types of practicum courses in BGST: MDiv Field Education (MS/CM311), some Christian Spirituality courses (e.g., CS102, CS105 and CS115) and some Ministry Skills courses. All Practicum courses are graded Pass or Fail.

Some practicum courses are compulsory. CS102, for example, is required in all Graduate Credits. So are Field Education and Spiritual Care and Direction (CS112) / Basic Counselling Skills (CO101) for the MDiv programme. Others are offered as electives.

Students planning to take GDCS, MATIS or MDiv should note that the sum total of their practicum credits cannot be more than 3, 6 and 9 credits respectively.

1. Christian Spirituality Practicum Courses
   Christian Spirituality and Formation is a key emphasis in BGST’s training. We provide a wide range of courses (such as CS101, CS211 and CS212) to help our students deepen their love for God. Students who complete them will be awarded course credits.The school recognises, however, that spiritual growth requires more than just an intellectual study of the Christian spiritual traditions. More importantly, students must engage in spiritual disciplines and prayer on a prolonged period, oxen guided by a spiritual mentor. For this reason, some of our Christian Spirituality courses are offered as practicum credits (e.g., CS102).
2. Ministry Skills Practicum Courses
   To become effective ambassadors of Christ, students must not only develop their theological competency and learn how to apply these at work and church, but also develop the skills of engaging their communities in a winsome manner. This requires ministry skills training that, sometimes, require prolonged practice rather than essay writing. For example, learning how to facilitate conversations, coaching or counselling. For these reasons, some ministry skill electives will be offered as practicum credits.

BGST students are classified as follows:

Most students typically study at BGST on a part-time basis. If students take up 9 or more credits in a semester, they will be considered as a student with full-time load.

These are students who wish to take up studies leading to a BGST’s Graduate Certificate, Diploma or Master. Students may enroll on a full-time or part-time basis.

Non-programme Students – These are students who wish to take courses, in areas of interests to them, without enrolling into the Graduate Certificate, Diploma or Master programmes. If a student wishes to become a programme student later, he/she may do so by going through a Programme Admissions Application.

International students refer to any student who is not a Singapore Citizen or a Singapore Permanent Resident, intending to study at BGST. International students on a student pass are automatically considered as full-time students. They must fulfil a minimum of 15 credits per semester.

Most students start with 1-2 courses in one semester. On average, students need to devote 7.5 hours each week for a 3-credit class. Over a semester, the time commitment for a 3-credit course is:

You can adjust the number of courses to take, depending on the availability of your time and commitments. If you are in a programme study, please see the required course credits to fulfil for your programme. Each programme has a maximum duration for completion.

BGST programmes can be taken either full-time or part-time over an extended number of years. The maximum period of completion of programmes, depending on the nature of commitment are:

If you require a leave of absence, possibly due to:

1. Work re-location or significant workload issue;
2. Unforeseen family commitments; or
3. Health issues, e.g., surgery, illnesses

You can write to BGST for a Leave of Absence from your study for up to a period of 6 months. This would be subject to case-by-case review and approval.

The Course Schedule for each semester is publicised in May (for Semester 1 courses) and November (for Semester 2 courses) on the BGST Programmes and Courses (BPC) site https://courses.bgst.edu.sg/pages/courses

Please visit our courses site to learn which courses are offered for Live or SPL: https://courses.bgst.edu.sg/

BGST adapts to the “Open University” principle to theological education with the learning modes described below. Please refer to Course Registration for more details.

These are lectures and tutorials conducted live in person or live via an online format, e.g., zoom. For Live courses, registration should preferably be done at least two weeks before the course begins.

This is primarily self-directed learning. Lectures may be in audio or visual format. Each student will have a tutor assigned for each SPL course. Students may register for SPL at anytime and are allowed to set their own time frame and pace of study. Students are to note that all audio-visual materials of the course must be viewed and listened to, and all assignments completed within 6 months from the registration of the course. Students may take up to 50% of the total credits required by their programme in the form of SPL.

Students may convert from Live course to SPL or vice versa by submitting a Learning Mode Course Change Form, giving reason(s) for the change.

Audit students do not have to fulfil the assignment requirements. However, they are encouraged to do class exercises and assignments to get the maximum benefit from the courses. They will not receive grades that are transferable to BGST Postgraduate Programmes.

Credit Course students are required to complete all the course assignments by the stated deadline.They will receive grades that are transferable to any BGST postgraduate programmes.

When you take a course for audit, you may upgrade your course from Audit to Credit anytime throughout the course upon payment of the fee difference. You may also change from Credit to Audit due to work commitment or other constraints. This, however, must be done by the end of the first session, beyond which there will be no refund for the fee difference. An administrative charge of $50 will be incurred for the change. All Credit-Audit course changes are to be made through the Admin Office with a Course Change Form.

For credit students, there are two deadlines for submission of assignments. Should you miss both deadlines, your course will be converted from credit to audit with no impact on your GPA.

BGST course curriculum is organised around the following course types.

For programme study, a number of core courses are required to be taken. These courses are usually foundational in nature and aim to introduce a particular area of study. The number of core courses increases as one moves from the diploma to master programmes. Core courses are usually 3 credit courses

For each programme, a certain number of credits is allocated to elective courses. Students have complete freedom as to which courses they will take as electives. Depending on programme, allocated number of elective credits are required to be attained. Electives courses are usually 1.5 credit courses.

Students are given the opportunity to pursue areas of personal interests, provided a faculty member is available to supervise the studies. These guided courses carry 1.5 credits each.

Students who intend to work on a Research Thesis or Ministry Research Project must first complete the Guided Study in the topic relevant to the thesis or project. These carry 4.5 credits each.

These courses (e.g., Field Education) may stretch over periods longer than one semester. Special regulations apply for these. Details will be provided for such courses.

Assignments can be in the form of Essays, Book Reviews, Project Presentations, Prayer Practicums, etc. Guidelines for assignment submissions include guidelines for

1. Assignment Format
2. Bibliographical Format, and
3. How to Write Them

Information about Style Guide, Paper Submission Formats and Research Thesis and Ministry Research Projects details will all be provided in the onboarding micro-learning course. Please refer to the – Welcome to BGST – onboarding course for details.

Most assignment deadlines are due 3 months after the last lecture. Details of the deadline are specified in the course syllabus of each course.

For all credit students, the deadline for submission of assignments is 3 months from the first day of the month following the last lecture / online session. Credit students who missed the 1st deadline, may submit their assignments no later than the end of the 6th month, but will incur a penalty of one third of a grade on the late assignment.

For all international students who are on a student pass, the deadline for submission of assignments is 1 month from the 1st day of the month following the last lecture. International students may continue to submit assignments no later than the end of the 2nd month, but they will incur a penalty of one third of a grade on the late assignments.

After this 2nd deadline (2 months for international students, 6 months for all other students), the course will be converted to Audit Course status automatically.

GRADING POINT AVERAGE AWARDS

Updates of academic records are issued by the Registrar’s Office at the end of each semester. Official transcripts bearing the seal of BGST may be issued upon receipt of a completed Transcript Application Form and the related fee. There should be no outstanding fees in order for transcripts to be issued.

BGST’s Convocation is held in May each year. To be eligible for graduation, a student must have:

1. Satisfactorily completed all requirements for the programme by the end of
2. Submitted a completed Application for Graduation Form to the Registrar’s Office by March 31 for the intended year of graduation.
3. No outstanding payments due to BGST.
4. Met the minimum academic Grade Point Average (GPA) accordingly:

Should you have questions that might not have been addressed, please write to us at enquiries@bgst.edu.sg or visit our FAQ page here: https://courses.bgst.edu.sg/pages/frequently-asked-questions.

You can enrol in a BGST programme or course at any time. However, please be mindful of the specific deadlines for course registrations.

If you’re uncertain about committing to a BGST program, you have the option to enrol in a course as a Non-Programme Student. Upon registration, you can choose to participate in the course either as an audit student or as a credit student. Further details can be found under the Audit | Credit Course section.

While many students choose to kickstart their BGST journey by registering for individual courses, we strongly encourage you to consider beginning with our shortest programme: the Graduate Certificate. Enrolling in a program not only streamlines your learning experience but also provides a structured timeline for completing your learning milestones.

Audit Course students do not have to fulfil the assignment requirements. However, they are encouraged to do class exercises and assignments to get the maximum benefit from the courses. They will not receive grades that are transferable to BGST Postgraduate Programmes.

Credit Course students are required to complete all the course assignments by the stated deadline. They will receive grades that are transferable to any BGST postgraduate programmes.

Audit-Credit Course Conversion
When you take a course for audit, you may upgrade your course from Audit to Credit anytime throughout the course upon payment of the fee difference. You may also change from Credit to Audit due to work commitment or other constraints. This, however, must be done by the end of the first session, beyond which there will be no refund for the fee difference. An administrative charge of $50 will be incurred for the change. All Credit-Audit course changes are to be made through the Admin Office with a Course Change Form.

For credit students, there are two deadlines for submission of assignments. Should you miss both deadlines, your course will be converted from credit to audit with no impact on your GPA.

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