Diploma of Biblical Theology (DBT)

The DBT is for anyone who can’t study on campus with us.

It will help with training and equipping:

• Laypeople who have ministry responsibility and help run churches and missions.
• Teachers, those working on Christian missions both in Australia and abroad.
• General laypeople seeking to deepen their understanding of God’s promises in the Bible.
• Laypeople for volunteer work in their local churches and communities, including Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, youth group leaders and lay preachers.

• Content Delivery: The course material is delivered through a combination of interactive reading lecture notes, readings, and some multimedia resources. Students can read, listen, and reflect on the material at their own pace. While each lecture has a small video component, the DBT is primarily a reading course.
• Asynchronous Learning: Students participate in asynchronous group interactions, which means that each week, they can engage in discussions, share ideas, and ask questions in forums without the need for real-time attendance.
• Assessments: The course includes a variety of assessments such as forum participation, online quizzes, major thematic assignments, primary document forum discussions, and reflections on practical experiences. These assessments help gauge students’ understanding of the course material and their ability to apply concepts in real-life situations.
• Feedback and Progress Tracking: Students receive instant feedback from online quizzes and can track their progress in the course with activity completion markers.
• Community and Skill Development: The course focuses on fostering listening, communication, and feedback skills among peers, ministry members, and individuals from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. This helps students develop essential skills for effective ministry work.
• Flexible Learning: The online format of the course allows students to access the material at their convenience and study at their own pace, accommodating various learning styles and schedules. However, it should be noted that there is a regular schedule of tasks that must be completed by specific dates. The course is structured around a weekly schedule of readings and activities.

This course is also great if you wish to build a pathway towards further formal theological training for ministry. Graduates with the Diploma of Biblical Theology may be eligible to proceed to the College’s Advanced Diploma of Bible, Mission and Ministry program.

• Secondary Education. The normal minimum academic requirement for admission includes an Australian Higher School Certificate or equivalent qualification. The ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) is not used for admission.
• Work and Life Experience. Enquiries are welcome from Australian residents, without the Australian Higher School Certificate, as mature age students may qualify by an entrance exam.
• VET Study. Vocational education and training study (VET) is an eligible qualification for admission.
• Higher Education. An undergraduate degree in any field from an Australian university or equivalent is an eligible qualification for admission.

For full details see the Admissions Policy

For the application due date, please go to Apply

For those without an academic qualification in English, a certified copy of an IELTS score of at least 6.5 in all categories of the academic test. TOEFL scores are also accepted.

The Overseas DBT Bursary program offers an external program in the international student’s home country typically to equip them for an existing ministry. The scholarship provides up to 75% of the fees payable for each successful recipient for the 8 subjects within the Diploma of Biblical Theology. Recipients must be overseas students not resident in Australia, engaging in ministry in their home country, or preparing for a specific ministry role.

• Fees are charged by unit.
• See Current Unit Fees and Census Dates for Diploma of Biblical Theology.
• Fees can be paid upfront or via FEE-HELP (for eligible students).
• The Academic Board reserves the right to cancel the enrolment of any student whose fees are not paid by the due date. Fees and other amounts payable by students are determined by the College Governing Board and after preparation of the College budget in August prior to each academic year.

Moore College recognises Indigenous Australians as traditional custodians of this land under God’s good hand and is committed to seeing the work of the gospel thrive among Indigenous Australian communities. The Indigenous Australian Students webpage (Indigenous Australian Students (moore.edu.au)) includes additional information for Indigenous Australian students about admissions, available academic and wellbeing support, accommodation assistance, and Indigenous Australian student scholarships.

The Diploma of Biblical Theology (DBT) consists of eight units of study.

There are three core units and five elective units.

The three core units which must be completed are:

• BSD01 Biblical Theology
• BSD02 Reading the Gospel of Mark
• CTD01 Church History 1

Students can choose any five elective units. However, students are required to pass at least one elective unit from the three fields of Biblical Studies (BS), Christian Ministry (CM) and Christian Thought (CT). The unit code, such as, BSD01 indicates the field. CTD04 Apologetics is co-branded as a CM elective. This means it can count as a unit in the CM field.

Students commence their study with BSD01 Biblical Theology. After that, the two other core units and the elective units can be taken in any sequence. All units are offered each semester.

BSD01 Biblical Theology (Core)

In this unit you will look at how the Bible is structured and how it centres on and culminates with the revelation of the Lord Jesus. As such, we focus on the unfolding self-revelation of God in human history as revealed in the Bible. This unit will: help you grasp the overall content of the Bible; help you understand how to apply the whole Bible to different ethical issues; help you teach different parts of the Bible.

BSD02 Reading the Gospel of Mark (Core)

In this unit you will look at Mark’s Gospel in depth, and discover how it brings us face to face with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You will look at some of the historical background to Jesus’ life and ministry. You will also explore how Mark’s narrative guides readers to put their faith in Jesus as the one who brings hope for all who live under the shadow of death. You will explore key topics in Mark, such as the Kingdom of God, parables, miracles, faith, honour and shame, Christian discipleship, atonement and resurrection.

CTD01 Church History 1 (Core)

In this unit you will look at how the church grew and developed from the post New Testament era until 600 A.D. The unit explores the challenges of heresy and persecution as well as developments in articulating Christian theology in response to those challenges. There are several primary historical sources that are studied to give students a firm grasp of historical method. The unit will also give students a broad understanding of the people and movements within this period as well as some specific events that were pivotal and continue to shape how the church understands God’s self-revelation of himself through the Bible.

BSD03 The Twelve Prophets (Elective)

The unit introduces the student to the Twelve Prophets of the Old Testament (Hosea to Malachi), as individual books and as a coherent collection. It helps the student to read the Old Testament prophets aware of their historical, literary and theological nature, and to understand both their meaning for original readers, and their significance as Christian Scripture. Students will develop their competence as careful readers of the text, and be able to show how these ancient texts uniquely reveal and adorn the character of God.

CMD02 Making Disciples (Elective)

The unit contributes to the DipBT course by drawing on biblical and theological knowledge to form convictions, skills and habits with regards to making disciples of the Lord Jesus. The purpose of this unit is to grow students in theological understanding and practical skills necessary for disciple-making disciples to maturely respond to Jesus’ Great Commission, within the context of effective church/ministry structures.

CTD02 The Written Word of God (Elective)

The unit contributes to the DBT course by deepening the student’s understanding of the Bible as God’s powerful and personal address to his people. It focuses on providing the students with the resources to articulate the authoritative, inspired and unified nature of the Bible. The purpose of this unit is to give students confidence in the Bible as the primary source of knowledge of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and to equip them to answer various contemporary critical attitudes towards the Bible as the written word of God.

BSD05 Paul and His Letters (Elective)

The unit introduces the student to the letters of Paul as individual books and as a collection. It helps the student gain an orientation to the individual letters and to repeated themes throughout the collection. The unit also orientates the student to the apostle’s life and how the letters fit into the different missionary journeys presented in the book of Acts. Students will develop their competence as readers of Paul’s letters, and be able to show how these letters deepen our understanding of God and the gospel and how they call us to live the Christian life.

CTD03 The Cross of Christ (Elective)

This unit of study focuses on the theological achievement of God through the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. We will be studying the biblical teaching about the cross from both the Old and New Testament as well as exploring the theological implications of this teaching. As we do so, we will see that the emphasis the Bible places on the work of Christ in his suffering and death is at the very heart of the Christian message and theology. Throughout the unit, we will also engage with the reflections of various classical and contemporary theologians on this doctrine to clarify and categorise our understanding of the Bible’s teaching.

CMD01 Engaging With Islam (Elective)

The unit contributes to the DBT course by demonstrating how the biblical and theological core elements might be harnessed in engaging with people from an Islamic background with the gospel of the Lord Jesus. It focuses on providing the historical, theological and cultural background necessary to understand and engage with people from an Islamic background. The purpose of this unit is to move beyond theory and abstraction, and to give students a guided experience of engaging in personal, evangelistic ministry.

BSD04 The Pentateuch (Elective)

The unit introduces the student to the Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy), as individual books and as a coherent collection. It helps the student to read the Pentateuch aware of its historical, literary and theological nature, and to understand both its meaning for original readers, and its significance as Christian Scripture. Students will develop their competence as careful readers of the text and be able to show how these ancient texts uniquely reveal and adorn the character of God.

CTD04 Apologetics (Elective – this unit can also be counted as a CM elective)

The unit contributes to the DBT course by allowing the student to engage critically with current Christian apologetic issues. It develops skills of integration as the disciplines of biblical, systematic and philosophical theology are brought together for defending and commending Christianity in the context of contemporary Western culture. The purpose of this unit is to equip students to analyse and evaluate specific contemporary objections to the Christian faith and to address these objections with the explanatory power of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

2024 Study Dates

1st Semester: 12 February – 9 June  

• Orientation week: 5 – 11 February  
• Units commence: 12 February 
• Administration Date: 23 April
• Census Date: 30 April
• Final Assessment week: 3 – 9 June  
• Mid-Year Break: 10 June – 7 July

2nd Semester: 8 July – 3 November

• Orientation week: 1 – 7 July
• Units commence: 8 July
• Administration Date: 23 August
• Census Date: 31 August
• Final Assessment week: 28 October – 3 November
• End of Year Chapel (live stream): 22 November

The table below gives an indication of the likely peer cohort for new DBT students at Moore College. It provides data on students that commenced undergraduate study in 2024.

For issues of privacy, the following notes apply.

Notes:  L/N – Low numbers: the number of students is less than 5

N/P – Not published: the number is hidden to prevent calculation.