United Kingdom The Licence in Theology was initially offered in the United Kingdom, where it was one of two courses (the other being the Bachelor of Arts degree course) offered by
Durham University at its opening in 1833 and was first awarded in 1834. The name referred to the qualification being a licence from the university for a candidate for ordination in the
Church of England to present himself to a bishop; this caused some confusion with
licentiate degrees in France and other European countries. It required both the passing of an academic examination and a testimonial to the candidate's
moral character. The course initially had a standard length of two years, reduced to one for graduates of Oxford and Cambridge (and, soon after, for Durham graduates); this was raised to three years for 1841–1846, but this led to a serious fall in numbers and it returned to two years from 1846. It was abolished in 1949. The
Common Awards validated by Durham and offered to all
Church of England ordinands since 2014, as well as trainee ministers from the
Methodist,
Baptist and
United Reformed churches, include a variety of degree and non-degree qualifications. However, these follow the naming conventions of the
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and do not include a licence in theology.
St David's College, Lampeter awarded a Licence in Divinity (LD) from 1884 to c. 1940. The LTh, introduced in 1971, was intended for graduate
ordinands, and was equivalent to the final year of a bachelor's degree. the course was still offered by the
University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, the successor institution of St David's College, but now called the
Graduate Diploma in Bible and Theology in keeping with the
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.
St John's College, Nottingham, previously the London College of Divinity, replaced its Associate of the London College of Divinity diploma with a License in Theology diploma when it relocated to Nottingham in 1971. The college closed in 2019. The
University of Aberdeen offered a Licence in Theology until 2002, when it was withdrawn due to the
Church of Scotland deciding to no longer recognise the degree.
Australia The
Australian College of Theology offered a Licentiate in Theology from its opening in 1891, originally as a qualification only for ordained clergy. Until the 1970s, most Australian
theological colleges were not associated with universities and thus offered non-degree programmes such as the Licentiate in Theology. The Durham Licence in Theology was offered by
Moore Theological College from 1910 and
St John's College, Morpeth from 1912 as associated theological colleges. This was a "college degree" qualification for those preparing for ordination, sitting below the "university degree" of
Bachelor of Arts. The Durham Licence in Theology was offered by
Queen's College, Newfoundland as an associated theological college from 1912.
India The
Serampore College introduced a Licentiate in Theology in 1916 as an undergraduate programme. This ran until 1969, when it was upgraded to a
Bachelor in Theology programme.
Jamaica In
Jamaica, the Durham Licence in Theology was offered by St Peter's College (since merged into the
United Theological College of the West Indies) as an associated theological college from 1910. The course was transferred to the
Ecumenical Institute for Distance Theological Studies when it opened in 1993, where it was offered until the institute closed in 2015.
Nigeria In
Nigeria, the Durham Licence in Theology was offered by St Andrew's College, Oyo (now
Ajayi Crowther University) as an associated theological college from 1912. ==Current==