Academics
Courses Offered under Senate of Serampore
Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.)
This four year formative, internal course on Theology accepts students from Tamil Churches all over India who need to have a basic undergraduate degree as well as at least a year of volunteer or other work in Christian Ministry, either in the Church or related work as part of the admission requirements. The curriculum imparts a strong focus on contextual Theology combined with a focus on social involvement. During the course of study, the students are sent on societal exposures so that they are able to contextualise their academic knowledge.
The four-year curriculum adopted by the Seminary is in reality only a three-year programme with a preparatory semester and an internship semester added. The curriculum lays stress in the first year, on Orientation and Introduction; in the second year on Understanding and Involvement; in the third year, on Action and Reflection and in the fourth year, Application and Integration.
As freshers, the students are given the option to volunteer and involve in either one of the interest groups on Ecology, Human rights, Alternatives, Communication and Inter-faith Relations, all through their course of study.
During the second year, the students are expected to stay Off Campus in houses in the nearby slums, with a view to enable them develop an understanding of the prevailing situation in the peoples life among whom they live. During the daytime, they come to the Seminary for classes.
In the third year, for one term, the students are placed at our Rural Theological Institute. Besides classes there, the students will be experiencing the rural life style. During the second term, on Internship the students volunteer for placements in various people’s movements, action groups and mission institutions, so that they get a practical exposure on the issues involved.
The fourth year sees the students completing their Thesis as the part requirement for getting graduation / completing their degree from the Senate Of Serampore.
The curriculum for the whole course, listed below, shows the streams, under which the students are expected to write several papers
- Preliminary Hebrew or New Testament Greek
- Old Testament- New Testament- Theology and Ethics
- History of Christianity- Religion and Society
- Christian Ministry
- Communication
- Social Analysis
- Missiology
I. Off Campus Programme:
The main aim of this programme in the second year of study is to enable the students to learn from the society, alongside the seminary classes. It is for the sake of having the impact of the society on the students during their training. Besides this, the following ideals are aimed at: -
i. to foster the students’ maturity in discerning the forces in the society which are instrumental in
changing and creating new structures and whose impact affect human development.
ii. to build up a feeling of security in the absence of such security a seminary campus would provide.
iii. to help make responsible decisions on stewardship, matters of time, money etc.
iv. to build up relationships with neighbours in ‘life situations’.
v. to develop a style of life of their own.
vi. to take the seminary insights into the society and to bring the feedback into the seminary in matters of identification, gape etc.
vii. to experience the felt needs of a community for a specialised ministry.
II. The Internship programme:
This programme is integral to the content of education itself. The emphasis at Arasaradi, is to send the students, whenever possible, to a non-Church situation.
The aims are as follows:
a. To expose the student directly to the challenges and demands of the Indian society.
b. To enable her/him to consider her/his own and the church’s Ministry in relation to these challenges and demands.
c. To inculcate the habit of private study.
d. To enable the student to grow in personal maturity and theological awareness.
e. To feed into the total theological programmes of the seminary, the experiences and insights that the students and teacher have gained.
Master of Theology
The Master of Theology, offered as a two year course to train teachers for the theological colleges has, over the years developed as a programme to equip Women and Men at an academic level, higher than that of the B.D. programme for the various Ministries of the Church. It also serves as a preparatory course for advanced study and research at the doctoral level. Particularly in the context of the cultural pluralism and the increasing communal scenario, the M.Th. course offers the student an integrative and inter-disciplinary approach to study with due need for specialisation.
TTS offers the following specializations in M.Th:
- New Testament
- History of Christianity
- Social Analysis
- Communication
During the final year, M.Th students are expected to complete a thesis, as part requirement of their degree under the Senate Of Serampore.
Bachelor of Christian Studies B.C.S and Diploma in Christian Studies Dip. C.S.
These two courses are offered with a view to enable the Laity who are desirous of undergoing theological studies with the purpose to involve in Christian Ministry, to have the option of doing non-residential part time programme on Theology.
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