Licentiate in Theology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Licentiate in Theology or the Licence in Theology (LTh is the usual abbreviation) is a theological qualification commonly awarded for ordinands and laymen studying theology in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The academic rank varies from undergraduate degree to masters degree.
Contents |
[edit] United Kingdom
The University of Wales, Lampeter LTh, introduced in 1940, was intended for graduate ordinands, and is a one year full-time, or two years part-time qualification. The University of St Andrews offered the LTh (Licence in Theology), a three-year course open to non-graduates. A three-year LTh is available from the University of Edinburgh.
[edit] Canada
In Canada, a four-year LTh is offered by Emmanuel College, Toronto
[edit] Australia
In Australia in former years, theological colleges that were not associated with Universities offered programmes which led to the award of a Licentiate in Theology, abbreviated ThL. For many years the ThL was a prerequisite to ordination as an Anglican priest, however nowadays the ThL is a "non award" course: i.e., it is not recognised by other institutions for entry to higher degrees, and persons wishing to be ordained usually complete a Bachelor of Theology at an accredited university, to enable them to later take an advanced degree if desired.
[edit] New Zealand
In New Zealand the LTh is offered by the Ecumenical Institute for Distance Theological Studies and was the standard avenue to ordination in the Anglican Church; it remains the standard for part-time distance ordinands.
A qualification similar to the LTh is the two-year postgraduate Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL), available from the Milltown Institute, Ireland.
