Christian colleges in Australia provide you with an environment that is primed for building your faith. Since Bible colleges and Christian colleges share big similarities, we will be using the two interchangeably in this article.
Whether is incorporating Christian values and lessons into classes, to weekly religious services and spiritual advisors, having an infrastructure that prioritizes your relationship with Christ is a huge benefit to your faith.
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As you know, attending a secular college can sometimes be a jarring experience, especially if you are used to the comforts of a Christian environment at home.
The beautiful thing about Christian Colleges in Australia is that you get the chance to be surrounded by reminders every day.
Reminders such as prayer before class, or a morning bible study, all go a long way in helping you grow into a stronger faith.
Therefore, if you are interested in knowing the Christian Colleges in Australia and what the future holds for you as someone who will graduate from any of the Christian Colleges in Australia, then ensure you read this article to the very end.
Is there a difference between a bible college and Christian college in Australia?
To so many people, Bible and Christian colleges are the same. While they are not completely the same, the two have their similarities and differences.
Whether Bible or a Christian college, both provide opportunities for students to enrich their personal walk with God. Each has its niche in preparing students for kingdom work.
Bible and Christian colleges offer classes and programs taught through a biblical lens. These classes can include Old and New Testament, ministry, Christian education, missions, counselling, church administration, music ministry, and evangelism.
The two colleges-Bible and Christian colleges-may grant Bachelor’s, Associate’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees.
They offer Christian focused classes and programs that are aimed at educating students in a practical and spiritual way in order to be prepared for any kind of career; whether in non-ministry or full-time ministry field.
Having seen the similarities, the biggest difference between a Christian college and a Bible college is that Christian colleges are typically liberal arts schools and they offer arts and science degrees with the expectation that students be taking religious classes.
Christian colleges and universities “provide higher education options to students who want to prepare for a traditional career in the marketplace while in a Christian setting.” They also don’t require students to take as many Bible classes, with some requiring as little as one to two.
Bible colleges focus more on Christian leadership and typically offer degrees where the primary purpose is an education in Bible.
While Christian colleges generally offer a Christian culture, Bible colleges emphasize a biblical foundation in every aspect of a student’s life.
Bible college students typically participate in chapel events, missions trips, worship groups, or service projects.
Bible colleges from research are considered to be more cost-effective than Christian colleges.
Christian colleges and universities “provide higher education options to students who want to prepare for a traditional career in the marketplace while in a Christian setting.” They also don’t require students to take as many Bible classes, with some requiring as little as one to two.
Having read thus far, you can see that there are considerable differences between a Christian college and a Bible college.
However, both are extremely valuable education and there is a place for both.
The reasons students attend a Christian College
Your choice of college to attend is your decision about what campus you want to grow for the next four years, with that being said, here are five reasons students choose to attend a Christian college:
- Use College As A Chance To Grow Your Faith
- Learn With Your Values Integrated Into The Classroom
- Surround Yourself With A Community Of Believers
- Programs Built With Your Values In Mind
- Religious Services On Campus
1 Use College As A Chance To Grow Your Faith
Christian colleges provide you with an environment that is primed for building your faith and they achieve that by incorporating Christian values and lessons into classes.
2 Learn With Your Values Integrated Into The Classroom
Unlike the secular colleges where you might be confronted with opposing views, Christian Colleges have faith-based values that are integrated into every class.
Whether it’s an art class, science or engineering class, you’ll get the benefit of seeing and hearing the influence of the Word on every subject.
3 Surround Yourself With A Community Of Believers
Just as you might have known, the relationships that you build while you are in College will follow you for the rest of your life.
Most times, these people involved in these relationships may end up becoming lifelong friends and may even become partners for so many.
Therefore the Christian Colleges in Australia will give you the best opportunity to meet people who encourage you in the right ways.
Your classmates will understand your values, and hopefully, share them.
4 Programs Built With Your Values In Mind
Aside from the classroom experience, there are a lot of other activities and events that colleges can offer you. Some of them include internships and on-campus activities.
In the Christian Colleges in Australia, students are provided with the opportunity to get involved with spiritually-minded activities.
Students get credit for an internship or community involvement at a local church, sign up to attend a mission trip over spring break, or hear from foreign missionaries and pastors during on-campus speaking events.
5 Religious Services On Campus
Also, unlike your secular colleges where it is easy to let your good habits fall by the wayside, in Christian Colleges in Australia, things like attending church regularly, joining a Bible Study, or participating in a worship group are some of the practices that help you prioritize faith.
There are chapel services, bible studies, and worship times on campus that ensure you don’t have to go far to find a place to connect with God.
Christian degree programs
Christian degree programs are offered most times in private universities because there is a lesser degree of state-based intervention and regulation.
Students at the Christian Colleges in Australia are prepared for faith-based careers, educated in strong and moral teachings, and above all, students are given the chance to blend their professional education with their personal view of religion and today’s values.
These Christian degree programs also help students gain knowledge in ethics, morality, philosophy, and literature.
Therefore by the time you graduate, you must have gained a wide range of practical knowledge and skills that are transferable to many different career paths. Some of the skills you will acquire includes:
- Debate
- Creativity
- Persuasion
- Organization
- Analytical skills
- Applied theory
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
- Presentation skills
- Written and oral communication
- Independent and interpersonal work skills
- Data analysis, synthesis, and interpretation
Undergraduate Courses
Undergraduate courses offer students an optimal learning experience through classroom teaching and hands-on ministry training.
The curriculum strengthens their faith and equips them with practical skills, empowering them to fulfill their divine purpose with confidence and passion.
Whether aspiring to become pastors or missionaries or deepen their faith, these courses guide them every step of the way. They shape students to become strong, knowledgeable, and spiritually grounded. Click here to find out more.
What Jobs Could You Get with a Christian Studies Degree?
Choosing the Christian Colleges in Australia means you are interested in learning more about faith but not sure what career paths might be open to you.
In the Christian studies program, degrees in theology and Christian studies teach you much more than specific knowledge about the Bible and Religion.
In these colleges, there are skills you can develop that will easily transfer over into careers that you may not have thought of.
Theology degrees prepare you to work in a theological field and below are some careers that naturally align with a Christian studies degree.
- Minister
- Youth and Family Ministry
- Theology or religion professor
- Teacher at faith-based school
- Director of religious education
- Para-Church Ministry
- Missionary
Missionary: Share the faith and provide aid to communities in need.
Teacher at faith-based school: Teach younger students about God, religion, the Bible, and spirituality.
Minister: Lead worship, preside over weddings and funerals, provide spiritual guidance.
Para-Church Ministry: assist faith-based community organizations to provide programming for children, youth, families, and other community needs.
Youth and Family Ministry: promote discipleship with youth and prepare youth for their transition to adulthood.
Theology or religion professor: This would likely require an advanced degree but would be characterized by teaching religion or theological theory and interpretation at a college or university.
Other community jobs to get with a Christian studies degree
As you must have read, there are a lot of faith-based jobs available and also there are non-religious jobs that you can get with a theology degree.
Each one of these fields that we are about to list involves a healthy amount of writing, critical thinking, or service—all of which are central to a degree in Christian studies.
- Teacher
- Ethicist
- Civil service
- Social worker
- Nonprofit sector
- Journalist or writer
- Historian or Archivist
- Community development
Teacher: To become a Christian school teacher, you might need additional education and qualification in order to teach students a specific subject in school.
Ethicist: As an ethicist, you become an expert in the regulations, practices, and procedures of a specific field and you will ensure that others follow them.
Civil service: Under the civil service, you will be able to work for the local, state and federal government in a variety of capacities.
Social worker: With a Christian degree, you can be able to help people cope with a variety of issues in settings as diverse as schools, prisons, hospitals, or private practice.
Nonprofit sector: Work in a variety of roles for a service-related company.
Journalist or writer: With a Christian college degree, you can apply your communication skills to write for religious or secular print or online publication.
Historian or Archivist: Research, curate, and categorize historical and religious artefacts and publications.
Community development: Support communities through the management and operation of community assistance programs.
The Christian Colleges in Australia
Australia has three Universities that are committed to promoting Christian spiritual growth and faith formation. In these Christian Colleges in Australia, whether you want to study religion or gain an unrelated degree, these Christian Colleges in Australia will give you a spiritually supportive environment.
- Australian Catholic University
- University of Notre Dame Australia
- University of Divinity
- Alphacrucis College
Australian Catholic University
This is one of the Christian Colleges in Australia that is not just a place to build your faith but also is home to world-leading facilities and industry placement opportunities.
It has over 20,000 students across its campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra. They offer a broad range of courses in areas like Science, Engineering and Maths. Teaching and Nursing. They offer Theology and Philosophy.
University of Notre Dame Australia
This is a private Catholic university with close to 10,000 students and is based in Fremantle in Western Australia (within the greater Perth metropolitan area).
They are one of the Christian colleges in Australia that offers a broad set of courses at the undergraduate level. They have courses in Philosophy, Ethics, Business, Arts & Science, Education, Health Sciences, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Theology.
University of Divinity
This is also one of the small Christian Colleges in Australia that focuses on religious teaching and at the same time offer courses in Biblical Studies, Christian Thought & History, Philosophy, Humanities, Theology Mission & Ministry.
Alphacrucis College
This is one of the Christian Colleges in Australia whose mission is to equip Christian leaders to change the world. They have courses in Business & Leadership, Chaplaincy, Counseling, Education, Theology, Music & Arts and Social Science.
Consider these Bible Colleges in Australia
The Bible and Christian Colleges in Australia are a lot, but we will be listing some of the Bible colleges in Australia in this section and providing links to their detailed information at the end of the list.
Bible Colleges in Australian Capital Territory (Canberra)
- Alliance College of Australia-Waramanga, ACT. 2611
- Australian Catholic University-Watson, ACT. 2602
- Unity College-Mawson, ACT. 2607
Bible Colleges in New South Wales
- Alphcrucis School of Christian Studies
- Australian Catholic University
- Australian College of Ministries
- Australian College of Theology
- Avondale College
- Booth College
- Broken Bay Institute
- Catholic Institute of Sydney
- Christ College
- Cornerstone
- C3 College
- Emmaus Bible College
- Hillsong International Leadership College
- Mary Andrews College
- Morling College
- Moore Theological College
- NSW College of Clinical Pastoral Education
- Pope Shenouda III Theological College
- Saint Andrew’s Greek Orthodox College
- School of Christian Studies
- Sydney College of Divinity
- Sydney Missionary & Bible College
- Tabor College
- Tahlee Bible College
- Wongabri Bible School
- Wesley Institute
- Western Sydney Bible School
- Youthworks College
- YWAM
Bible Colleges in the Northern Territory
- Nungalinya College
Bible Colleges in South Australia
- Adelaide College of Divinity
- Adelaide College of Ministries
- Australian Lutheran College
- Bible College of South Australia
- Catholic Theological College
- Influencers Leadership College
- Uniting College of Leadership & Theology
Bible Colleges in Tasmania
- Australian College of Ministries
- ICI College
- Worldview Center for Intercultural Studies
Bible Colleges in Victoria
- Australian Catholic University
- Australian College of Ministries
- Catholic Theological College
- Harvest Bible College
- Kingsley Australia
- Melbourn College of Divinity
- Melbourn School of Theology
- Presbyterian Theological College of Victoria
- Reformed Theological College
- Ridley Melbourne Theological College
- Salvation Army Training College
- South Pacific Bible College
- Stirling Theological College
- Tabor College
- Whitley College
- Yarra Theological Union
There is an ecumenical partnership of colleges called the United Faculty of Theology which is made up of the following colleges:
- Jesuit Theological College
- Melbourne College of Divinity
- Trinity College Theological School
- Pilgrim Theological College
Bible Colleges in Western Australia
- Harvest West Bible College
- Perth Bible College
- Trinity Theological College
- Vose Seminary
- Tabor College
You can get details and links to the above-listed schools at https://www.prayereleven.org/.
Student Visa for International Students
The Subclass 500 Student Visa allows international students to participate in a course of study in the Christian Colleges in Australia. For you to apply for a student visa, you:
- Must be enrolled in a course of study in Australia
- hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), or fall in one of the exemption categories, for your stay in Australia
As an international student who lives outside Australia, it is advisable to apply for students visa 6 weeks before your course starts.
Bear in mind that you will have to pay for visa costs and might also have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
The processing time for visas for the higher education sector is:
- 75% of applications in 24 days
- 90% of applications in 45 days
However, it is possible that your application will take longer if you do not fill in your application correctly if you do not include the documents that the Department needs, if more information is required from you, or if it takes the Department time to verify your information.
The decision about the visa application is notified in writing and will include the visa grant number, the visa expiry date, and the visa conditions.
When granted Visa, it lasts up to 5 years and in line with your enrolment.
However, if the visa is refused, you may have a right to a review of the decision, but your application fee will not be refunded if the visa is denied.
Once you commence study on a student visa you are required to notify any of the Christian colleges in Australia where you are studying if you change from a student visa to an Australian Permanent Resident Visa, Australian or New Zealand citizenship status. Changes to your visa status may affect your fee arrangements and eligibility for Australian government support.
Read the Department of Home Affairs website carefully, including the step by step information that provides an overview of the visa application process.
The required Visa documents
All required documents must be provided together with your student visa application. Applications are usually made online and your documents should be scanned in colour and saved PDFs, with certified translations if the original document isn’t in English.
Some of the documents that could be required include:
- A passport
- A confirmation of Enrolment (CoE)
- An Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)
- a Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) statement
- An evidence of English language proficiency
- Evidence of funds
- Completed health examination reports
You can enter and remain in Australia as an international student only if you have received your valid student visa. It is important you note that your student visa will be subject to a range of conditions and that means if you do not meet these conditions, your visa will be canceled.
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