The MTh in Reformed Theology at Union is designed as a focused and demanding pathway into advanced theological study and doctoral research. The programme is coordinated by Dr Martyn Cowan, with significant input from Dr Graham Shearer and other research-active faculty. It is especially suited to students who want to develop advanced skills in dogmatics, historical theology, and church history within the Reformed tradition.
Students work across the major loci of Reformed theology while attending to the historical development of these doctrines and their contemporary significance. Close engagement with primary sources is central. Students read texts such as Calvin’s Institutes, the Westminster Confession of Faith, Augustine’s De Trinitate, and Thomas Aquinas, learning to interpret them contextually and theologically.
Methodologically, the programme emphasises careful textual analysis, historiographical awareness, and constructive theological reasoning. Written assignments and the 15,000-word dissertation cultivate independence, clarity of argument, and research discipline. A number of recent graduates have progressed to PhD study. For this reason, the MTh functions as Union’s key pathway to doctoral work, equipping students with the habits, tools, and confidence required for sustained academic research in the disciplines of systematic theology, historical theology, and church history.