Faculty of Theology > MA programme - The Rel...

Master's Programme in The Religious Roots of Europe

An innovative Master's programme in the Religious Roots of Europe (RRE), offered by The Faculty of Theology, gives students a unique opportunity to explore the three major European religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - and the impact that these religions have had on aspects of European history. Doctrines, rituals, canonical texts, myths, religious institutions - phenomena central to each of the three religions - are studied along with their relationship to society, politics, law, gender issues, and ethics. Specific topics may include ideas of martyrdom, the justification or condemnation of war, asceticism, religious authorities, the position of women, different strategies for interpreting authoritative texts and many more.

Student life

Students in the programme have founded a blog about life as an RRE student. The blog gives an impression of what the programme looks like from the students' perspective.

Academic Profile

The Religious Roots of Europe is the first joint Master's programme at The University of Copenhagen and is offered by The Faculty of Theology in cooperation with five other Nordic universities. Joint Master's programmes are desirable because of their natural international scope and due to the pooling of the competencies of more universities.

The aim of the Religious Roots of Europe programme is to expose students to the traditions, formative processes, and mutual interactions in the ancient world of the three most influential religions at the root of European culture and history: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In this regard the programme is unique.

The three religions have traditionally been studied more or less separately. The Religious Roots of Europe programme aspires to study the three religions together in their formative period from a comparative perspective and use a variety of approaches, including historical, philological, social scientific, feminist and literary approaches.

Structure and content

The programme is a two-year programme and takes up 120 ECTS credits in all, consisting of four terms of 30 ECTS credits of full-time study.

The programme consists of modules that vary in the number of ECTS credits allotted to each module. There is a progression between the different terms. Students must therefore complete requirements for a lower module before advancing to the next. The master's thesis should be written and assessed as the final module of the programme.

The master's thesis is written under supervision that offers guidance in the treatment of the subject matter, methodology and compositional techniques.

Learn more about the terms, modules and progression of studies on the RRE website

Which skills does the programme provide?

The programme offers more than themes of merely historical relevance. It will also greatly improve the students' general understanding of contemporary Nordic, European and Western identities, since the three religions in interaction with one another have had and continue to have a profound influence on the development of European culture and society.

The qualified teaching staff of the programme provide students with specialized up-to-date knowledge as well as the relevant communication skills that are highly valued in current job markets.

Career Prospects

The programme provides you with an ability to pursue a number of different career paths  in public administration, consultancy, media, diplomacy, business etc. where specialized religious or cultural expertise is needed.

At present, expertise in religious perspectives and questions is increasingly valued in various functions in society and in different kinds of companies and organisations.

Furthermore, the Religious Roots of Europe programme is an elite education (see come.ku.dk) that qualifies suitable students for innovative scholarly work, e.g., PhD programmes.

High Class Research

The Faculty of Theology at the University of Copenhagen ranks highly internationally for the quality of its research. Particularly in the fields of the Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible (the "Copenhagen school"), the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament in its Graeco-Roman context (including philosophy) and feminist Biblical studies, the Faculty is internationally recognized for its expertise.

The Faculty has broad contacts with researchers worldwide, not least through its participation in The International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU).

What are the Admission Requirements?

A maximum of six to eight students will be admitted to the programme at the University of Copenhagen each year.

The selection of students is based on the fulfillment of the following admission requirements:

A Bachelor's degree in a field of study that is relevant to the programme (e.g., theology, religious studies, classical philology, Semitic languages, ancient history). The applicant must have, or anticipate getting, a Bachelor's degree from a recognized and internationally acknowledged university.

Documented proficiency in at least one "classical" language (i.e., 20 ECTS in either Hebrew, Greek, Latin or Arabic; or 10 ECTS in two "classical" languages)

Documented proficiency in English:
Level B for Danish students with a Danish bachelor's degree 
TOEFL paper-based test score of at least 600
TOEFL internet-based test score of at least 83
TOEFL computer-based test score of at least 250
IELTS test score of at least 6.0

The selection of students is furthermore based on the relevance of the Bachelor's degree in terms of field of study, as well as on the grades achieved, and on the number of courses and ECTS-points that students have gained in relevant study areas (e.g., theology, religion, ancient history, culture and language). 

Tuition fees 

There are no tuition fees for students from Denmark and EU/EES countries (EU and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). For students from non-EU/EES countries the tuition fee is in the order of DKK 60,000 per year. 

When and how to apply?

Application deadline is 1 March.

The Application must include:

A Bachelor's degree Certificate (the degree certificate may be forwarded after the closing of the application period, but it must arrive at the faculty of Theology at the University of Copenhagen by August 1 at the latest).

Documentation for proficiency in at least one "classical" language (i.e., 20 ECTS in either Hebrew, Greek, Latin og Arabic; or 10 ECTS in two "classical" languages)

Documentation for proficiency in English.

CV and a letter of motivation.

The application must include all the required documents. Incomplete or late applications cannot be processed.

The application with all the required enclosures must be mailed via regular (air) mail or by an international courier service to The Faculty of Theology, E-mailed or faxed applications or documents will not be accepted.

The address is:

Faculty of Theology
University of Copenhagen
Købmagergade 44-46
DK- 1150 Copenhagen K
ATT: Martin Ehrensvärd

For further information

Programme coordinator Martin Ehrensvärd, PhD, PCC

Professor Troels Engberg-Pedersen, dr. phil. et teol.