PThU can start the new Bachelor of Theology
After the Minister of Education made a positive decision in November last year, the Protestant Theological University (PThU) has now also received positive word from the accreditation organisation NVAO about the new Bachelor of Theology. This means that the PThU can proceed with the new programme. "We are extremely pleased with this decision, as it confirms the quality of the programme and the structure of this course," said Rector Klaas Spronk. "Now we can welcome the first students as early as September."
High appreciation for the quality of the programme
The NVAO’s decision is based on research and advice from a review panel consisting of theologians/ministers, education specialists, academics, students, and professionals from the field. This panel gave an extremely positive assessment of the quality of the bachelor's programme and stated that it meets all the standards of the NVAO framework for extensive assessment. The panel noted that it is a scientifically oriented programme with a distinctive character. Key distinguishing elements include the emphasis on multidisciplinarity, ‘great books’ and ‘great practices’, as well as the intensive focus on personal and worldview development. The PThU has recently relocated to a newly renovated building on Jansdam in Utrecht. This new location, in combination with the Janskerk, serves as a unique and excellent base for the bachelor's programme.
A content-rich study programme with a wide range of options
According to the panel, the content of the curriculum enables students to achieve the intended learning outcomes optimally. Both academic skills and professional competencies are well-represented in the programme. The panel is enthusiastic about the curriculum’s focus on media and current affairs, as well as the relationship between art, culture, literature, and religion. The curriculum carefully considers study load, with a gradual increase in self-direction and complexity. There is also ample room for students who seek additional challenges.
The panel expressed great appreciation for the quality and diversity of the teaching staff. The bachelor's programme is unique due to its flexibility and the integration of existential themes. Depending on their personal circumstances and ambitions, students can choose whether to study the programme with or without the biblical source languages and have significant freedom in selecting their modules in the second year. This allows them to tailor their studies towards becoming a minister or to prepare for other master's programmes. Through the integration of personal and philosophical learning objectives within the Personal Development Track, students in this bachelor's degree are challenged not only academically but also personally and spiritually.
Optimal preparation for the Master of Theology
Ronelle Sonnenberg, Director of Undergraduate Studies at PThU, stated: "This confessional-theological bachelor's degree is part of the training for ministers in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. The programme provides an ideal preparation for PThU’s Master of Theology. With this bachelor's degree, we specifically target young students coming from secondary school (pre-university education), those with an associate degree from a university of applied sciences, or those who have taken a gap year. However, other interested students will also find an excellent place to learn to theologise at a high level. The ‘great books, great practices’ approach of PThU, combined with the latest didactic techniques, guarantees that students develop as broadly as possible and at the highest academic level in theology. The programme incorporates academic, personal, and spiritual formation in relation to the breadth of Protestant traditions within the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN). Students learn to speak and act with sensitivity to the complex and diverse contexts in which the church and Christian faith take shape."
Constructive collaboration
Rector Klaas Spronk emphasises the importance of collaboration: "PThU is keen to shape its programmes in fruitful cooperation with other institutions, as we have been doing for years with the University of Groningen (RUG). We continue to offer the PThU track within the Bachelor of Theology at RUG. We are also working towards broader cooperation in education with universities in Utrecht. In doing so, we give practical meaning to our core value of being ‘broadly oriented’. Meanwhile, PThU, together with the Protestant Church in the Netherlands and the training institutes CHE and Windesheim, is establishing a so-called ‘training delta’ for church workers, pastors, and ministers."
