Department of Religion M.A and Ph.D Programme

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

  1. a) A. Programme

All candidates must possess the minimum of five Ordinary Level Credit Passes which must include English Language and any four of the Arts and Social Science subjects.

 

Candidates must possess a good Bachelors degree in Religion and its variants (e.g. Religious Studies, Religious and Cultural Studies, Religious management and Cultural Studies, Islamic or Christian Religious Studies, Theology, etc.), not lower than a Second Class Lower division, from a recognized university.

 

All candidates shall be subjected to a selection process.

 

  1. b) D. Programme

Candidate must possess a good Master’s degree in Religion or its variants from a recognized university, with a CGPA not below 3.5 on a five-point scale. Candidates who did not make up to 3.5 will be required to register for the M.Phil/Ph.D programme. Such candidates must present two seminars and a research proposal for grading and must score a minimum CGPA of 3.5 before proceeding to the Ph.D, otherwise the M.Phil Degree should be awarded upon the submission of a thesis. This thesis should be examined following the procedure of a Ph.D. thesis.

 

DURATION OF PROGRAMMES

M.A.

  1. a) The full-timeA. programme would run a minimum of three semesters, and a maximum of four semesters.
  2. b) The part-timeA. programmes would run for six semesters and a maximum of eight semesters.

 

Ph.D.

  1. The full-timeD. programme would run for a minimum of six

semesters, and maximum of eight semesters.

  1. The part-timeD. programme would run for eight semesters and a

maximum of ten semesters.

 

Overstay Students

Candidates who fail to graduate at the expiration of the mandatory duration may be allowed to apply for an extension. The application to the SPGS Board for possible extension and completion shall be made through the Department and Faculty. A case can be made by the Board to the Senate for the completion of the programmes.

 

  1. AREAS OF SPECIALISATION: M.A. and Ph.D.
  2. African Traditional Religion
  3. Biblical Studies: Old and New Testaments
  4. Church History
  5. Islamic Studies
  6. Religious Ethics and Philosophy
  7. Sociology of Religion
  8. Philosophy of Religion
  9. Comparative Religion
  10. Ethics and Philosophy
  11. Interaction of Religion
  12. Islamic History, Thought and Institutions
  13. Islamic Law and Jurispredence
  14. Qur’anic and Hadith Sciences
  15. Islamic Religious Movements and Modern Development/New Religious Movements
  16. Comparative Religions Studies

 

  1. REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION

          M.A. Programme

  1. i) To be awarded the M.A. degree a student must have taken and passed the prescribed number of compulsory and required courses selected from the approved list, and totalling 30 units as follows:

Core Courses                            24 units

Thesis/Dissertation                  6units

Total                               30 units

 

  1. ii) In all cases, M.A. students must write and submit to the department a thesis/dissertation duly supervised by a lecturer in the department whose qualifications are not below the Ph.D. Such a thesis must be defended before an external examiner nominated by the department and appointed by Senate for that purpose.

 

Ph.D. Programme

To graduate, all Ph.D. candidates must take and pass all the requisite courses as prescribed in the Ph.D. course list below totalling 27 units as follows:

Core Courses                  18 units

Dissertation/Thesis         9 units

Total                     27 units

 

Every Ph.D. candidate must submit a Dissertation on a chosen and approved topic, supervised by a member of staff whose qualification is not below the Ph.D. and who is not lower than Senior Lecturer in rank.

The Ph.D. thesis must be defended before an external examiner duly nominated for that purpose and appointed by Senate.

 

  1. DOMAIN OF THE PROGRAMMES

The M.A. and Ph.D. Programmes shall be domiciled in the Department, and in Faculties of Arts or Humanities of recognized universities.

 

  1. ACADEMIC REGULATIONS

Good Standing:  To be in good standing, a student must in each semester have a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of not less than 3.0 on a five-point scale.

 

  1. WITHDRAWAL

An M.A. candidate whose CGPA is below 3.0 at the end of the third semester of course work shall be required to withdraw from the university.

 

  1. ATTENDANCE

In order to be eligible for examination in a particular taught course, a student shall have attended a minimum of 75% of the total periods of formal instructions delivered for the course.

 

  1. COURSE EVALUATION

In the M.A. and Ph.D. programmes, the assessment of students’ achievements would be based on:

  1. Terminal examinations administered at the end of the course;
  2. Term papers, Seminar Papers,
  • Field Research/Reports, Group projects, etc.

 

  1. CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

All continuous assessment scores shall constitute between 30 40% of the total scores for a course, while the formal examination shall constitute 60-70% of the total scores for a course.

 

  1. EXTERNAL EXAMINATION SYSTEM

For the M.A. and Ph.D. programmes there shall be duly appointed external examiners who would assess and certify the overall performance of the students in their dissertation and thesis and any other aspects of the evaluation process that may from time to time be approved by Senate.

 

  1. EXAMINATIONS, GRADING PROCEDURE AND RESULTS

In addition to continuous assessment, final examinations shall be given at the end of a course. The total scores for continuous assessment shall not be less than 30%, and not be more than 40% of total scores for a course.

 

  1. PASS MARK

The minimum pass mark for M.A. and Ph.D. courses shall be 50%.

 

  1. GRADING SYSTEM

Grading of courses shall be done by a combination of percentage marks and letter grades translated into a graduated system of Grade Point Equivalent (or Grade Point Average GPA). For the purpose of determining a student’s standing at the end of every semester, the Grade Point Average (GPA) system shall be used. The GPA is computed by dividing the total number of credit points (or units) by the total number of units for all the courses taken in the semester. The credit points for a course is computed by multiplying the number of units for the course by the Grade Point Equivalent of the marks scored in the course. Each course shall be graded out of a maximum of 100 marks and assigned appropriate Grade point Equivalent as in the table (i) below:

 

Table:

(i)

CREDIT UNITS

(ii)

% SCORE

(iii)

LETTER

GRADES

(iv)

GRADE POINTS

(GP)

(v)

GRADE

POINT

AVERAGE

(vi)

CUM.

GRADE

POINT

AVERAGE

(CGPA)

(vii)

CLASS OF

DEGREE

Vary according to contact hours assigned to each course per week per semester, and according to load carried by students 70– 100 A 5 Derived by multiplying (i) and (iv) and dividing by Total Credit units 4.50– 5.00 DISTINCTION
60 – 69 B 4 3.45– 4.49 CREDIT
50 – 59 C 3 3.0– 3.44 PASS
Below 50 F 0 Below 3.0 FAIL

 

17      PRESENTATION OF RESULTS

Results for the M.A. and Ph.D. examination shall be presented from the Postgraduate Schools Board of Examiners to the Senate for approval.

 

 

  1. DEGREE CLASSIFICATION

The determination of the class of degree shall be based on the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) earned at the end of the programme, as indicated in the table (2) below:

 

Table 2:

CGPA CLASS OF DEGREE
(i) 4.50 – 5.00 DISTINCTION
(ii) 3.45 – 4.49 CREDIT
(iii) 3.00 – 3.44 PASS
(iv) BELOW 3.00 FAIL

 

  1. LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE M.A. and Ph.D. PROGRAMMES

1)       Comprehensive knowledge of area of specialization: This embodies an understanding of the historical and the theoretical foundations of the areas of specialization.

2)      Problem solving capabilities: Graduates should be able to demonstrate problem-solving capacity through critical, innovative and creative approaches to analyzing problems.

3)      Global perspective: Graduates should have a global perspective through understanding of both domestic and global environments.

4)      Communication competency: Graduates should be able to manage information, social responsibility, cultural and gender sensitivity and conflict resolution.

5)      Graduates produced should be research experts, university teachers of their areas and competent scholars.

 

COURSE OUTLINES

          1)      M.A. Comparative Religious Studies

          First Semester

          Core courses

  • Trends in Methodology of Religious Studies    –      3units
  • Themes in comparative Religion    –      3units
  • New Religious Movements in Africa     –     3units
  • Seminar     –     3units

Total                                           –    12units

 

Elective Courses

  • Phenomenology of Religion –   3units
  • Old Testament Covenant and Monarchy in Israel – 3units
  • The Origin and Growth of Western Christianity

in Africa                                                 –   3units

  • Islam in Africa –   3units
  • Foundation of Religious Ethics –   3units
  • Social Theories of Religion –   3units
  • The Early Christians and Scholastic Philosophers – 3units

 

SECOND SEMESTER

Core Course

  1. Religion and Social Change in Africa –   3units
  2. Seminar –   3units
  • African Traditional Religious Mythology and

Cosmology                                                   –   3units

  1. The Miracles and Parables of Jesus in The Gospels –   3units

Total                                                      –   12units

 

Elective Courses

  1. Rise and Growth of African Christianity –        3units
  2. Islamic Revivalist Movements in Africa –        3units
  • Bio-Ethics and HIV/AIDS in Africa:

The Religions Response                           –       3units

  1. Religion and Secularism –        3units
  2. Issues in Philosophy of Religion –        3units

Total Core                      –        24units

 

M.A. Dissertation            –        6units

Total Required                          –        30units

 

  1. EXAMINATION REGULATION FOR M. A AND Ph. D PROGRAMMES

For M.A. Programme, there shall be an examination for each course at the end of each semester. The courses examined shall not be less than fifteen (15) credits per semester. The passing grade in a Course shall be “D”. The Thesis shall be examined by an External Examiner in an oral defence with the HOD as the Chairman, the Dean, School of Post-Graduate Studies in   attendance with the other members as approved by the PG Guidelines. A secretary shall take down the minutes during the period of the Defence.

For Ph. D programme, the examination requirement for the award of the degree shall include the following: Successful passing of written examination in the four courses approved for the programme (and the passing grade for all Ph.D examinations shall be “C”); Presenting one successful PG Seminar to the Departmental Post-Graduate Board; Submission of a Dissertation and its acceptance by the Departmental Post-Graduate Board; Oral defence of such dissertation before the External Examiner with the Dean, School of Post-Graduate Studies or his Representative with other members as approved in the PG Guidelines (see p.21)

All candidates for the M.A. and Ph. D Degrees are required to do their writings according to approved format for writing both M.A. Thesis and Ph.     D dissertation in the Department of Religion and Human Relations (See your Supervisor or the office for the copies).

 

  1. AVAILABLE COURSES

Students will have the opportunity to specialize in any of the major areas of Religion and Human Relations relevant to the Nigerian context namely:

  1. OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES
  2. NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES
  • HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA
  1. AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION
  2. RELIGION AND SOCIETY
  3. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
  • COMPARATIVE RELIGIOUS STUDIES
  • ISLAM IN AFRICA

 

  1. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The successful graduates in Religion and Human Relations are well equipped for careers in Tertiary Institutions, Research Institutions, Governments as well as Corporate Agencies and Parastatatals. They are moreover, well prepared for their clerical and pastoral duties. They are also equipped to be self-employed or open their own private businesses or consultancy services.

 

  1. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Ph. D candidates may be required to register and audit any of the M. A. courses on the recommendation and approval of their supervisors. In addition, they have to do their appropriate seminars and write their Dissertations.

 

  1. STRESS AREAS
  1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND SEMINARS                     –           0
  2. OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES –
  3. NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES –           2
  • HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA             –           3
  • AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION –           4
  1. RELIGION AND SOCIETY –           5
  2. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY –           6
  3. THESIS OR DISSERTATION –           7
  4. COMPARATIVE RELIGIOUS STUDIES –           8

 

 

M.A. PROGRAMME

M.A. COMPULSORY GENERAL COURSES

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                 CREDITS

1ST SEM     2ND SEM

RHR 601          PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF RESEARCH

IN RELIGION/THEOLOGY                            3

RHR 602         MASTER’S RESEARCH SEMINAR                              3

RHR 671          MASTER’S THESIS                                                     12

RHR 691          AFRICAN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY I              3                                                                                                                                                                               ______________                                                                                                                                                    6          15

M.A. SPECIALIZATIONS

Candidates are advised to register at least 30 Credits or 10 courses relevant to the various specializations as listed below:

 

OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                              CREDITS

RHR 611          OLD TESTAMENT AND HUMAN RELATIONS

IN RECENT STUDY                                        3

RHR 612          BIBLICAL HEBREW PROSE I                                     3

RHR 613          BIBLICAL HEBREW PROSE II                                    3

RHR 614          DOCUMENTS FROM OLD TESTAMENT

BACKGROUND AND HUMAN RELATIONS                3

RHR 615          BIBLICAL HEBREW POETRY                         3

RHR 616          OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY                                               3

RHR 617          LITTERATURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT   3

RHR 618          AFRICAN OLD TESTAMENT SCHOLARSHIP AND

HUMAN RELATIONS                                                  3

_____________                                                                                             12        12

 

 

 

  1. NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                 CREDITS

RHR 821          EXEGETICAL STUDY OF A GOSPEL TEXT:

JOHN OR ANY OTHER                                                3

RHR 822         EXEGETICAL STUDY OF A PAULINE LETTER:

ROMANS, CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS  OR

ANY OTHER                                                                3

RHR 823         EXEGETICAL STUDY OF A PASTORAL

LETTER OR LETTER TO THE HEBREWS      3

RHR 824         EXEGETICAL STUDY OF ACTS OF THE APOSTLES  3

RHR 825         CRITICAL PROBLEMS AND METHODS

IN THE NEW TESTAMENT                            3

RHR 826         THE PARABLES OF JESUS

IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN SETTING                 3

RHR 827         GOSPEL MIRACLES AND FAITH HEALING

TODAY                                                             3

RHR 828         THE PAULINE MISSIONARY PROGRAMME              3

______________

12        12

  • HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA

 

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                              CREDITS

 

RHR 831          AFRICAN CHURCH HISTORIOGRAPHY                     3

RHR 832         THE EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AFRICA                   3

RHR 833         THEMES ON THE MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE

AND THE AFRICAN RESPONSE-WEST AFRICA        3

RHR 834         THEMES ON THE MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE

AND THE AFRICAN RESPONSE-EAST AND

NORTH AFRICA OR CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN

AFRICA                                                                                    3

RHR 835         RECONSTRUCTING LOCAL CHRISTIAN

HISTORY IN NIGERIA                                                3

RHR 836         AFRICAN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND THE

GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY IN IGBOLAND                          3

RHR 837         HISTORY AND GROWTH OF AFRICAN

CHRISTIANITY                                                           3

RHR 838         THEMES IN AFRICAN COMTEMPORARY CHURCH

HISTORY                                                                      3

______________

12        12

AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                              CREDITS

RHR 841          A CRITICAL STUDY OF APPROACHES TO THE

STUDY OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION

AND HUMAN RELATIONS                             3

RHR 842         PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF AFRICAN

TRADITIONAL RELIGION                                          3

RHR 843         SYMBOLS, RITES AND RITUALS IN AFRICAN

TRADITIONAL RELIGION AND

HUMAN RELATIONS                                      3

RHR 844         HEALING IN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION                3

RHR 845         RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP IN AFRICAN

TRADITIONAL RELIGION                              3

RHR 846         IMPACT OF CHANGE IN AFRICAN

TRADITIONAL RELIGION                                          3

RHR 847          AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS IDEAS           3

RHR 848         AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS SHRINES

AND DEITIES                                                           3

_____________

12        12

RELIGION AND SOCIETY

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                              CREDITS

RHR 851          BASIC ELEMENTS IN RELIGION AND SOCIETY      3

RHR 852         CHANGES IN RELIGION AND SOCIETY                                3

RHR 853         ETHICS AND VALUES IN SOCIETY I             3

RHR 854         ETHICS AND VALUES IN SOCIETY II                                    3

RHR 855         PROBLEMS OF MAN AND HIS SOCIETY                   3

RHR 856         THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF RELIGION                      3

RHR 857         RELIGIOUS INTERPRETATION OF SOCIAL

INSTITUTIONS                                                                      3

RHR 858         RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS                                                         3

______________

12        12

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                             CREDITS

RHR 861          METHODS, THEORIES AND ORIENTATIONS IN

THEOLOGY                                                     3

RHR 862         AFRICAN THEOLOGIES                                                         3

RHR 863         PROBLEMS OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY                   3

RHR 864         FUNDAMENTALS OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS               3

RHR 865         PASTORAL THEOLOGY                                              3

RHR 866         CONTEMPORARY ORIENTATIONS

IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS                                                          3

RHR 867         THE PROBLEMS OF GOD TODAY                  3

RHR 868         THE PROBLEM OF CHRISTIAN INNER LIFE                        3

______________

12        12

COMPARATIVE RELIGIOUS STUDIES

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                             CREDITS

RHR 881         THEMES IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION I                  3

RHR 882         THEMES IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION        II                      3

RHR 883         THEMES IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION        II          3

RHR 884         THE ESSENCE OF COMPARATIVE RELIGION                       3

RHR 885         RELATIONS AMONG PEOPLE OF LIVING

FAITHS                                                                        3

RHR 886         CHRISTIAN ENCOUNTER WITH NON-

CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS IN NIGERIA                                    3

RHR 887         ADVANCE RESEARCH METHODS IN

COMPARATIVE RELIGION                             3

RHR 888         TRENDS IN METHODOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS STU.  3

 

Ph.D PROGRAMME

Ph. D COMPULSORY GENERAL COURSES

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                 CREDITS                                                    RHR 901          Ph. D SEMINAR                                                          3

RHR 971          Ph. D DISSERTATION                                     9

RHR 991          AFRICAN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY                3                                                                                                                                                                                    ___

15

Ph. D  SPECIALIZATION

OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                  CREDITS

RHR 911          OLD TESTAMENT AUTHORSHIP AND

INSPIRATION                                                  3

RHR 912          OLD TESTAMENT HERMENEUTICS AND

HUMAN RELATIONS                                                  3

RHR 913          OLD TESTAMENT RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS        3

RHR 914          OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDOEPIGRAPHA,

APOCRYPHA AND THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS                        3

__

12

NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                  CREDITS

RHR 921          THE QUEST FOR HISTORICAL JESUS                       3

RHR 922          THEOLOGY AND ETHICS OF THE

NEW TESTAMENT                                         3

RHR 923          THE RESURRECTION                                     3

RHR 924          WOMEN IN NEW TESTAMENT TRADITION

AND THE AFRICAN UNDERSTANDING                    3

__

12

HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                  CREDITS

RHR 931          HUMANITY AND THE SOCIETY                                3

RHR 932          THE DYNAMICS OF THE RISE AND GROWTH

OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA                                   3

RHR 933          PENTECOSTALISM IN AFRICA                                  3

RHR 934          HISTORY AND HEROES                                             3

__

12

AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                  CREDITS

RHR 941          ADVANCED STUDIES ON PRINCIPLES

AND METHODS OF RESEARCH IN RELIGION

AND HUMAN RELATIONS                             3

RHR 942          AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS

WORLD VIEW AND THE QUEST

FOR AFRICAN AUTHENTICITY                                 3

RHR 943          GLOBALIZATION AND AFRICAN

TRADITIONAL RELIGION                              3

RHR 944          AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS

RENAISANCE                                                  3                                                                                              __

12

RELIGION AND SOCIETY

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                  CREDITS

RHR 951          HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIGNITY                                3

RHR 952          JUSTICE IN SOCIETY                                     3

RHR 953          WAR AND PEACE IN THE MODERN WORLD           3

RHR 954          CHRISTIAN ETHICS, ECOLOGY,

MEDICINE AND GENETICS                           3

__

12

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                  CREDITS

RHR 961          A THEOLOGY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE                     3

RHR 962          CHRISTIAN EXISTENCE                                            3

RHR 963          SYSTEMATIC CHRISTOLOGY                         3

RHR 964          CHRISTIAN/HUMAN DESTINY

THE KINGDOM OF GOD                                 3

__

12

COMPARATIVE RELIGIOUS STUDIES

COURSE NO               COURSE TITLE                                  CREDITS

RHR 981          THE NEED FOR CONTINUE RESEARCH

IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION                                    3

RHR 982         BASIC ELEMENTS IN COMPARATIVE

RELIGION                                                       3

RHR 983         SELECTIVE CHALLENGES IN

COMPARATIVE RELIGION                             3

RHR 984         RELIGION AND HEALING IN AFRICAN

AND AFRO-AMERICAN CULTS                                  3