There are many ways to gain entry to study a course at the Sydney College of Divinity. The option you choose will depend on your prior study and the award that you wish to study. Some of the pathway options consider more than just your educational attainment to date providing an opportunity for those with extensive work and life experiences to commence a formal study program. Entry requirements for a Sydney College of Divinity course are the same for domestic and international students.
For those who have undertaken all their qualifications in a language other than English, a proof of proficiency in English could provide an entry (subject to meeting other entry requirements for the award) to study with the Sydney College of Divinity.
The various pathways outline the possible entry options to a Sydney College of Divinity course.
Australian Year 12 students
Year 12 students with no ATAR are eligible to enrol as Special Entry in:
Year 12 students with an ATAR equal to or greater than 65 can enrol in:
ATAR related adjustments
There are no ATAR related adjustments available to students Australia wide.
Criteria that may apply in addition to ATAR
There is no further criteria to be considered for entry into the eligible award in addition to the ATAR.
Other admission options
Mature age entry is a further option to school leavers. For the student who has reached the age of 20 years admission into the Diploma of Ministry and Diploma of Theology is permitted. For the student who has reached the age of 21 years admission into the Diploma of Christian Studies, Associate Degree of Christian Thought and Practice, Bachelor of Ministry and Bachelor of Theology are options.
Interstate Year 12
Admission criteria for interstate Year 12 students is the same as for NSW students. The state based university entry score is converted to an ATAR. For a student from Queensland, the OP cut off is 16 or less for admission into the Associate Degree of Christian Thought and Practice, the Bachelor of Ministry and the Bachelor of Theology.
Students with a qualifying ATAR are eligible for admission into undergraduate courses up to 5 years after they complete year 12. At this point mature age special entry would apply. Those who are 20 years old can apply for the Diploma of Ministry and Diploma of Theology. Twenty-one years old and above are eligible to apply for the Diploma of Christian Studies, Associate Degree of Christian Thought and Practice, Bachelor of Ministry and Bachelor of Theology.
There are no bridging or enabling courses that lead to entry into any Sydney College of Divinity award.
Students who have a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification can apply to study at the Sydney College of Divinity.
Students who have completed Certificate IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma awards could be admitted into the Sydney College of Divinity higher education Diploma and Bachelor program. If the VET study was in a theological related discipline credit may be granted.
Students who have completed VET Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma award in a theological discipline could be admitted into the Master of Arts. Entry into the Master of Arts by way of a Vocational Graduate Certificate/Diploma is a provisional admission.
Every course has its own particular entry requirements.
Students who have completed an undergraduate higher education award in a theological related discipline could be admitted into the following programs:
Previous study in theological related disciplines could be considered for further credit.
Students who complete the Bachelor of Theology or Bachelor of Ministry may move on to the Bachelor of Theology (Honours) or the Bachelor of Ministry (Honours) respectively, or the Master of Arts or the Master of Theology and hence to higher research degrees – Master of Philosophy, Doctor of Ministry, Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Theology.
Sydney College of Divinity provides programs in theology and related disciplines for students who have already gained a three-year undergraduate degree in another field. Students may complete a variety of awards from Graduate Certificates up to the Master of Divinity, with various entry and exit points. Specialised awards are available in particular disciplines through the Master of Arts, which can also be taken as exit points from the Master of Divinity.
The Graduate Certificate in Arts, the Graduate Diploma of Arts and the Master of Arts are “nested” in order to provide students with the opportunity to undertake theological subjects at graduate level with an option as to entry and exit points.
On completion of appropriate graduate studies a student may move on to either the research interdisciplinary awards, Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy, or in the case of the Master of Divinity on to the purely theological award Doctor of Theology.
A specialised opportunity for advanced research is available with the Doctor of Ministry, which incorporates the pursuit of advanced study in Christian Life and Ministry by research at the highest academic level in the context of professional practice.
Students who have completed a postgraduate higher education award in a discipline that is not a theological discipline could be admitted into the Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma or Master of Divinity programs.
If the students postgraduate award is in a theological discipline then admission into doctoral programs could be possible.
Applicants with qualifications from a country other than Australia are eligible for admission into a Sydney College of Divinity award if the entry requirements are met.
If you have studied outside Australia and have obtained a qualification we will need your overseas qualification assessed to determine its comparability with Australian standards. This is done to establish whether your previous overseas qualification meets the entry requirements of the course you are seeking admission into.
The equivalence of overseas qualifications to Australian qualifications is evaluated with the help of the Government’s Country Education Profiles (CEP). The equivalence is then used to match against the admission requirements for entry into the Sydney College of Divinity awards.
If the overseas qualifications were undertaken in a language other than English, the applicant must provide proof of proficiency in English.
For students intending to enrol in a Korean language undergraduate and postgraduate (coursework) award, they must meet the English and Korean language proficiency.
If you have work and life experience, you may consider:
Students not possessing an undergraduate degree meeting the normal entry requirements could seek provisional admission into a Graduate Certificate award (with a professional concentration) via Professional Entry. Normally the professional experience and expertise of the potential student should align with the professional concentration in the Graduate Certificate award they are seeking to enter.
Entry will also consider the level of experience as set out in the requirements below:
* Typical Progression Pathways. Relevant work experience in a senior leadership role will include:
An application for credit for skills and knowledge from work and life experience could also be made and would require the student to put together a portfolio of documents etc that show how the skills and life experience align with units within the student’s course of study. Applicants are responsible for demonstrating that the skills and knowledge they have obtained through work or life experience, match the outcomes of the units in the accredited program. The Sydney College of Divinity makes a judgment about the extent to which the applicant has so demonstrated.
The GradCertIM is a course for professional development where the student may acquire transferable knowledge and skills over a reasonably short period of time. On this basis, professional entry into the Graduate Certificate in Intercultural Ministry will be considered by SSAC on the basis of five years of experience in a ministry or professional role. The candidate must be able to demonstrate that they have led people or projects even though their role may not have been senior in their organisation.
The three above short awards are designed for professional development where the student may acquire transferable knowledge and skills over a reasonably short period of time. On this basis, professional entry into the Graduate Certificate in Chaplaincy, Graduate Certificate in Governance and Strategy, and Graduate Certificate in Leadership Coaching will be considered by SSAC.
The professional entry will be on the basis of three years of experience in a ministry or professional role. The candidate must be able to demonstrate that they have led people or projects even though their role may not have been senior in their organisation.
Mature age entry can help you transition smoothly if you are returning to study after some time. If you are 20 or older and don’t have an ATAR or equivalent, or a record of tertiary study you have options to commence an undergraduate study program with the Sydney College of Divinity.
For the student who has reached the age of 20 years admission into the Diploma of Ministry and Diploma of Theology is permitted. For the student who has reached the age of 21 years admission into the Diploma of Christian Studies, Associate Degree of Christian Thought and Practice, Bachelor of Ministry and Bachelor of Theology are available options.
All mature age admissions are provisional admissions.
A student may be admitted to a course on the basis of special entry. Such students might be:
All special entry admissions are provisional admissions.
The Senior School Higher Education Pathways Program at the Sydney College of Divinity is designed to enable senior school students to undertake higher education studies as part of their Higher School Certificate.
The programs offered by SCD are ideal for senior school students considering future study pathways as:
The two pathways available are the SCD Extension and the SCD Enhance programs. Both programs are undertaken concurrently with the student’s senior school studies.
| SCD Extension Program | SCD Enhance Program |
| Single unit offering | Four-unit program |
| Not enrolled in an award | Enrolled in the AQF 5 Undergraduate Certificate of Ministry award |
| Units are offered at AQF Level 7 | Units in the Undergraduate Certificate of Ministry is offered at AQF Level 5 |
| Completed AQF 7 units may contribute to the Higher School Certificate* | The ability to take equivalent AQF 7 units to allow units from the Undergraduate Certificate of Ministry to contribute to the Higher School Certificate* |
| Not eligible for FEE-HELP | FEE-HELP is available to eligible students |
Provisional Admission means that admission or acceptance is subject to completion of some requirements. In provisional admission, your admission will be finalised once the requirements are fulfilled and completed.
Admission to any Sydney College of Divinity undergraduate course on the basis of Mature Age or Special Entry, or the entry into the Master of Arts by way of a Vocational Graduate Certificate is a provisional admission, and requires special procedures:
Provisional admission may be granted into the AQF Level 5 awards for an overall IELTS score of 5.5 with no score less than 5.5 in each band. All course units must be passed in the first 2 semesters of enrolment for the provisional status to be removed. If this requirement is not met the admission is cancelled.
Provisional admission may be granted into the AQF Level 7 awards for an overall IELTS score of 6.0 with no score less than 6.0 in each band. All course units must be passed in the first 2 semesters of enrolment for the provisional status to be removed. If this requirement is not met the admission is cancelled.
If students have undertaken their previous studies in an overseas country, they may have to provide proof of proficiency in English to gain entry into a Sydney College of Divinity award.
Students do not have to provide proof of proficiency in English if they have:
Students must provide proof of proficiency in English if they have undertaken all their qualifications in a language other than English.
Those students who have not completed previous studies in English may demonstrate proficiency in English by completing an IELTS test (or equivalent). The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) measures the language proficiency of people who want to study or work where English is used as a language of communication. It uses a nine-band scale to clearly identify levels of proficiency, from non-user (band score 1) through to expert (band score 9).
The test results required for admission are as follows:
| Award | IELTS Result |
| Diploma of Theology*;
Diploma of Ministry |
6.0 or greater overall, with no score less than 5.5 in each band of the test.
Provisional admission may be granted for an overall score of 5.5 with no score less than 5.5 in each band. All course units must be passed in the first 2 semesters of enrolment for the provisional status to be removed. If this requirement is not met the admission is cancelled. |
| Diploma of Christian Studies;
Associate Degree of Christian Thought and Practice; Bachelor of Theology; Bachelor of Ministry |
6.5 or greater overall, with no score less than 6.0 in each band of the test.
Provisional admission may be granted for an overall score of 6.0 with no score less than 6.0 in each band. All course units must be passed in the first 2 semesters of enrolment for the provisional status to be removed. If this requirement is not met the admission is cancelled. |
| Bachelor of Theology (Hons);
Bachelor of Ministry (Hons); and all postgraduate (coursework and research) awards |
7.0 or greater in all bands of the test. |
* An alternative English proficiency for the Diploma of Theology is a Certificate of Completion for the Advanced Level English for Theology from Australian Onsung International College.
In addition to the IELTS a prospective student may be required to attend such English language courses as prescribed by the Sydney College of Divinity.
Students awaiting an IELTS result may be admitted into a course on the basis of Special Entry. All Special Entry admissions are provisional.
International students enrolling in a Sydney College of Divinity(SCD) course in the English language must observe the below English language requirements for admission:
At the Korean School of Theology, where Korean undergraduate and postgraduate (coursework) awards are delivered, all course materials and teaching is in the Korean language. Teaching and support staff are native Korean-language speakers. Students are expected to work in a Korean language context. It is therefore a requirement that applicants be proficient in Korean and also have satisfactory English proficiency as Australia is an English speaking country.
If an applicant has satisfactorily graduated from High School in Korea at a level that would gain admission into a university, then this graduation is considered evidence of Korean language literacy sufficient to undertake an undergraduate course in the Korean language.
Applicants whose entry qualifications were obtained in an institution where Korean is not the language of instruction must be fluent in the Korean language and have achieved Korean proficiency equivalent to level of 5 on the 6 level Yonsei University Korean Language Test.
If an applicant has qualified for admission to a three-year degree from an accredited university in Korea then this graduation would be considered as evidence of Korean language literacy sufficient to undertake a postgraduate course in the Korean language.
If an applicants entry qualifications were obtained in an institution where Korean is not the language of instruction then the applicant should have achieved Korean proficiency equivalent to level of 6 on the 6 level Yonsei University Korean Language Test.
Find admission information for each of our courses in the links below.
