University of the Free State & University of the North

Does anyone know anything about these two South African universities?

Although I am almost certainly going to pursue the Spurgeon's MTh, I have made contact with these two schools and received positive responses; they may present avenues for distance learning graduate degrees in theology.

Your responses will be appreciated.

 

Hey, Michael! I assume that you are referring to the University of the Orange Free State. If so, it has a well-respected theology faculty with international links. Yet, they move pretty exclusively in Dutch Reformed circles. Here in North America, you likely would find links to UOVS (as it is abbreviated in South Africa) at places like Calvin Seminary or the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto.

My only impression of the Univ. of the North has been that they do not seem to play a very significant role in the South African theological community.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

 

My big concern about situations like this is that word "may" which you've employed in your original post. When a school says that they "may" or might be able to enable you to pursue a degree this way, it likely means that they are not accustomed to working with foreign students through a distance-based format. While all might work out just fine, my concern is that these schools may lack the appropriate support structures for distance-based students, and that students, therefore, might end up feeling marginalized. While I don't mean to suggest that you should rule these options out entirely, it seems better to me to go to an institution that is committed to doing distance learning with excellence, and which, therefore, has the appropriate support structure in place.

 

CL,

Hello again! Thanks for responding; your points are well-taken. I have had requests from the University of Pretoria and the University of the (Orange) Free State to fax them copies of my transcript, and I've had one contact from the University of the North. The professor from the U. of Pretoria would, I believe, waive the requirement for one campus visit; as for the other two schools, I don't know yet if the master's could be done entirely by distance learning--they haven't told me one way or the other, although I asked that in my original e-mails. They are willing to consider it, though--apparently.

You raise what would be a concern about the Dutch Reformed perspective from the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State; that's one reason to give me pause about these schools. Do you know what tradion is prominent at the University of the North? Are they also Dutch Reformed? I believe I remember from visiting these schools' websites that they also have a connection to some Baptist theological colleges in South Africa; I can't remember if that's true of all three universities or just one or two. Do you know anything about that?

I believe I mentioned that Stellenbosch finally told me that they would require a 6-month on-campus residency, which I can't do, but I wasn't all that thrilled about their asking me to first enroll in the graduate diploma.

Anyway, I've found these South African universities to be helpful and flexible; I believe they offer excellent and very affordable opportunities to obtain highly credible and accepted graduate degrees.

BTW, is the U. of Zululand theology department also of the Dutch Reformed tradition?

Peace,

Michael

 

Michael,

I'm not sure what theological perspective predominates at Univ. of the North. I also don't happen to have any personal knowledge about what theological colleges are affiliated with Pretoria and UOVS. Sorry I can't be of more help to you along those lines.

I agree with you that if flexibility and affordability are what you are looking for, South African institutions provide an excellent option. Also, in my contacts with South Africans, I've found them to be very polite and friendly. I don't necessarily think you should rule these institutions out. In the cautions I've expressed, I simply mean to suggest that, should you decide to pursue a distance-based degree from an institution with no proven track record in providing for overseas-based students, you would be wise to check them out in detail to make sure they understand what they're getting themselves in to. If they don't understand their end of the bargain in supporting a distance-based student, it's quite likely that your experience could be strained. But I affirm you in your desire to continue checking these options out. Particularly, I think that Pretoria, which is working quite intentionally to develop distance programs within theological disciplines, poses an attractive possibility--especially in light of the potential meeting with an advisor in Princeton.

The University of Zululand does not fall into the Reformed camp. They seem to have strong representation from a wide inderdenominational, evangelical perspective.