Programme Specification
A statement of the knowledge, understanding and skills that underpin a
taught programme of study leading to an award from
The University of Sheffield
1
Programme Title
Religion, Conflict and the Media
2
Programme Code
RELT43
3
JACS Code
V640
4
Level of Study
Postgraduate
5a
Final Qualification
Master of Arts (MA)
5b
QAA FHEQ Level
Master's, PGDip, PGCE, PGCert = 7
6a
Intermediate Qualification(s)
Postgraduate Diploma/Certificate
6b
QAA FHEQ Level
M
7
Teaching Institution (if not Sheffield)
Not applicable
8
Faculty
Arts and Humanities
9
Department
Faculty
10
Other Departments involved in
teaching the programme
English, History and Philosophy
11
Mode(s) of Attendance
Full-time and Part-time
12
Duration of the Programme
1 year Full-time; 2 years Part-time
13
Accrediting Professional or Statutory
Body
Not applicable
14
Date of production/revision
February 2015
15. Background to the programme and subject area
The MA in Religion, Conflict and the Media is a flexible Masters programme that allows students to specialise in
media presentations of religion (with a particular focus on Christianity, Judaism and Islam) and equips them with
the skills needed to pursue research at graduate level. They learn how to plan an original research project and
complete this in a dissertation. The programme is designed to meet the needs of graduate students in religious
studies, biblical studies and the humanities, particularly student from English and History. Students will also
undertake a substantial piece of supervised research in a dissertation. The programme is suitable for those who
want to acquire essential research skills before undertaking an MPhil or PhD or graduates who wish to enhance
their knowledge and skills, without necessarily wishing to go on to study for a research degree.
The Postgraduate Diploma offers the opportunity to gain expertise in key areas of religion and the media without
undertaking the dissertation.
The Department of Biblical Studies had an international reputation for innovative and interdisciplinary research
which the Sheffield Institute for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies will be developing and enhancing. Historically
the Department produced high profile research into key issues concerning the understanding of religion and
violence and this has continued to the present, including staff research on: contemporary constructions of
religion; intellectuals, religion and the ‘war on terror’; the origins of religious violence; the Bible and
contemporary politics (esp. America and the Middle East); and postcolonialism and the Bible. According to the
Research Excellence Framework 2014, Biblical Studies at Sheffield was ranked in the top ten UK universities for
publications in theology and religious studies. All submitted publications were classified as ‘recognised
internationally’, with 72% of our submitted publications classified as ‘world-leading in terms of originality,
significance and rigour’ and ‘internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour’. The
research produced by the biblical studies team, now incorporated in other departments in the Faculty of Arts and
Humanities but members of the Sheffield Institute for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies has been of a strongly
interdisciplinary nature.
The programme also offers top quality, innovative teaching, focusing on student-centred learning and the
development of transferable skills, including IT skills, with life-long learning and employability in mind in a
personal and friendly atmosphere. The Department of Biblical Studies had a strong record of postgraduate
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employment, with many of our postgraduates taking up academic posts at various institutions throughout the
world, and SIIBS plans to follow this tradition.
Further information is available on the departmental web pages (http://www.shef.ac.uk/siibs)
16. Programme aims
The aims of the programme reflect the teaching aims of the Sheffield Institute for Interdisciplinary Biblical
Studies:
1. Provide quality teaching that is informed and invigorated by the research and scholarship of its staff;
2. Sustain a culture of research and teaching that is able to foster the free and independent pursuit of
knowledge and the impartial analysis of value;
3. Foster an enthusiastic and self-motivated approach through student-centred learning;
4. Familiarise students with essential primary and secondary source materials, and major issues within
Religious Studies and Biblical Studies, particularly relating to religion, conflict and the media;
5. Develop skills in acquiring, using, and critically evaluating information and published research;
6. Equip students with the ability to identify problems and ways of resolving them, to construct and sustain
logical arguments, and to present reasoned and informed arguments clearly in both oral and written
form;
7. Develop abilities in a broad range of other transferable skills, such as information gathering and IT skills;
8. Provide focused training and preparation for both employment and subsequent research.
17. Programme learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding:
Candidates for the MA will have developed:
K1
an awareness of key issues in Religious Studies and Biblical Studies relating to the role and portrayal of
religion and conflict in the media.
K2
a range of interpretative, critical and analytical skills from both Religious Studies and Biblical Studies.
K3
the skills to be able to produce a sustained and detailed piece of independent research.
Skills and other attributes:
S1
be able to deploy a range of skills, including methodological, historical, visual, and textual skills,
appropriate for further study.
S2
have a range of intellectual and transferable skills and a subject knowledge required for further study or
entry into the workforce as appropriate.
S3
be able to assess critically scholarly arguments and be able to offer informed and reasoned arguments of
their own.
S4
have had the opportunity to work with others in preparing, presenting or evaluating a project.
S5
have acquired computer and IT skills required for the handling of textual and graphical information,
including the use of the Internet and a variety of appropriate computer software.
S6
have acquired key skills in the design, development and implementation of a major research project.
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18. Teaching, learning and assessment
Development of the learning outcomes is promoted through the following teaching and learning
methods:
Interactive lectures are used extensively throughout the programme as the primary means of teaching and
learning. They provide an opportunity to discuss, explain, analyse, understand, and respond to information. In
addition, they are designed to help foster problem solving, communication, and presentation skills. They also
provide personal and social contact with fellow students and staff. The Issues in Religion, Conflict and the Media
module helps to develop essential techniques for research in religious studies, including how to define a
research topic, the location and effective use of research resources, the internet and research, analytical and
critical skills, writing up research, and helps to refine presentation skills with a short presentation at the end of
the module. Seminars contribute to the achievement of knowledge and understanding (K1-3) and the
development of key skills (S1-6).
Independent study. The programme places considerable emphasis on the need to implement a philosophy of
student-centred learning in order to help students develop an independent and self-motivated approach to their
learning. The timetabled classes and contacts with staff, inside and outside the classroom, help to provide a
framework and direction to independent student learning. The dissertation helps to refine research skills and
promote independent study. Independent learning contributes to the achievement of knowledge and
understanding (K1-3) and the refinement of key skills (S1-5).
Research seminars. Attendance at the departmental weekly research seminars, along with all staff and
postgraduates, is an important part of the learning experience. All postgraduate students are given the
opportunity to present papers and respond to the work of other students. In alternate weeks, there are
departmental plenary seminars with visiting speakers or members of staff presenting original research. The
research seminar programme contributes to the achievement and understanding (K1-2) and the refinement of
key skills (S1-6).
Opportunities to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes are provided through the following
assessment methods:
Regular formative assessment, usually in the form of presentation of essays or papers to small group seminars
or the Research Seminar for feedback (K1-3).
Summative assessment, in the form of extended essays, thesis proposal, analytical bibliography, oral
presentation and a dissertation, tests the ability to demonstrate subject knowledge (K1-3) and the development
and refinement of key skills (S1-8). The dissertation allows demonstration of detailed subject knowledge,
independent learning, and the application of key skills (K2, K3, S2-3, S6).
19. Reference points
The learning outcomes have been developed to reflect the following points of reference:
The research interests of members of the departments of Biblical Studies; research collaboration (writing and
joint grant applications) between James Crossley (Biblical Studies) and Jackie Harrison (Journalism Studies) on
religion and the media; research strategies of the Department of Biblical Studies; departmental Learning,
Subject Benchmark Statements
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/AssuringStandardsAndQuality/subject-guidance/Pages/Subject-benchmarkstatements.aspx
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (2008)
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/The-framework-for-higher-educationqualifications-in-England-Wales-and-Northern-Ireland.aspx
University Strategic Plan
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/strategicplan
Learning and Teaching Strategy (2011-16)
http://www.shef.ac.uk/lets/strategy/lts11_16
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20. Programme structure and regulations
Provide an overview of the structure of the programme
The programme is modular in format, allowing students to specialise in specific areas of Religious Studies and
Biblical Studies of their choice. It can be taken over twelve months (full-time) or twenty-four months (part-time).
Students must accumulate total of 180 credits by taking four taught modules (30 credits each), two of which will
be core modules (Research Methods in Religion and Biblical Studies; Religion in an Age of Terror) and a
dissertation [10,000-14,000] words), which counts for 60 credits. Two taught modules are taken in semester 1
and two in semester 2. Work on the dissertation will be started in the Easter holiday, and the dissertation will be
completed during July. Part-time students take one taught module in each of the first four semesters and
complete the dissertation over the summer of the final year.
The Postgraduate Diploma is awarded for the successful completion of non-dissertation modules to the value of
120 credits.
1. A candidate shall take
(aREL6000 F7 Research Methods in Religion and Biblical Studies 30 credits
REL6067 F7 Religion in an Age of Terror 30 credits
(b) units to the value of sixty credits from the following
REL6025 F7 Religion and Violence: Christianity, Judaism and Islam in Ancient and Modern Perspectives 30
credits (E/1 forthcoming)
REL6016 F7 Issues in Cultural Studies
30 credits
REL6019 F7 Issues in Religion, Theology and the Bible 30 credits
REL6024 F7 The Postcolonial Bible
30 credits
REL6360 F7 The Bible and Gender 30 credits
REL6450 F7 The Bible and the Historical Imagination 30 credits
REL6480 F7 The Bible and the Literary Imagination 30 credits
REL6983 F7 Christian Theology 30 credits
Sixty credits may include:
unrestricted F7 Level units to the value of thirty credits chosen from another Department as approved by the
Head of Department
(c) REL6452 F7 Dissertation in Religion, Conflict and the Media 60 credits
2. A candidate who has been awarded one hundred and twenty credits in respect of units listed in 1(a) and (b)
above shall be eligible for the Postgraduate Diploma in Religion, Conflict and the Media.
Detailed information about the structure of programmes, regulations concerning assessment and progression
and descriptions of individual modules are published in the University Calendar available on-line at
http://www.shef.ac.uk/govern/calendar/regs.html.
21. Student development over the course of study
The MA programme is designed to culminate in the writing of the dissertation. The core Research Methods in
Religion and Biblical Studies module, introduces key skills and the design of the research project is taught in the
Autumn semester in order to provide the foundations for the development and consolidation of knowledge and
understanding and key skills. The module on Religion in an Age of Terror will provide another core foundation
through discussion of key thinkers and key ideas in the study of the portrayal of religion and conflict. The
optional modules focus on general issues in the field in order to extend knowledge and understanding and
further refine key skills. Students may take an approved module in another Department in order to enhance their
knowledge and understanding of religion and the media in the contemporary world. The dissertation will allow
the student to undertake a lengthier piece of independent research focused on a specific area of religion and the
media. Teaching is informed by the latest research in religious studies and biblical studies. Students will have
further refined their analytical, critical, and problem-solving skills and will be able to handle complex materials in
a confident and creative manner. Their work will be distinguished by originality and critical understanding of the
latest developments in research.
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22. Criteria for admission to the programme
Detailed information regarding admission to programmes is available from the University’s On-Line
Prospectus at http://www.shef.ac.uk/courses/.
Students must have a good first degree (II.1 or I or equivalent) in the humanities or social sciences.
23. Additional information
Enquiries should be made in the first instance to the Administrator for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies at
siibs@shef.ac.uk (tel. 0114 222 0507)
This specification represents a concise statement about the main features of the programme and should be
considered alongside other sources of information provided by the teaching department(s) and the University. In
addition to programme specific information, further information about studying at The University of Sheffield can
be accessed via our Student Services web site at http://www.shef.ac.uk/ssid.
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