The Advanced Diploma of Ministry provides students with the opportunity to undertake AQF Level 6 study in practical ministry-oriented disciplines. It is designed to inform and prepare men and women for ministry in one or more areas of pastoral service at a higher level than the Diploma of Ministry.

The Advanced Diploma of Ministry will integrate studies in biblical and theological disciplines with pastoral practice. A specialisation in pastoral, leadership and/or church focused ministry is required in which biblical and theological knowledge is applied to Christian practice. The award requires the completion of course units in Biblical Studies, Theology, and Christian Life and Ministry.

Course Information

Course: Advanced Diploma of Ministry (AdvDipMin)
Accrediting Body: Sydney College of Divinity
Australian Quality Framework Level: AQF 6
School: School of Bible Theology and Ministry

Number of Units: 12 units/ 108 credit points (CP)
Study Mode: Online (with facilitated learning opportunities)
Course Duration: 1.5 years full-time or up to 5 years part-time

Course Plan

Units:

4 core units
/ Introduction to the Old Testament OR Introduction to the New Testament
/ Spiritual Formation
/ Introduction to Pastoral Theology and Ministry
/ Introduction to Christian Doctrines

8 elective units, including:

2 x Practical Ministry Units
– Introduction to Discipleship
– Intercultural Communication (Bachelor level unit)
– Introduction to Youth Ministry
– Introduction to Christian Worship
– Introduction to Pastoral Counselling (Bachelor level unit)
– The Art and Science of Chaplaincy (Bachelor level unit)
– Cross-Cultural Ministry Experience (Mission Trip)
– Proclaiming the Good News
– Chaplain as Carer: Helping Youth in Need
– Talking to My Neighbour
– Children’s Ministry
– Supervised Ministry 1
– Supervised Ministry 2
– Introduction to Christian Leadership

6 Elective Units
–With at 36 cp at AQF levels 6 or 7 including at least 18cp in P

Schedules

Unit Descriptions

Course Details

Entry Requirements

Entry Requirements:

Satisfactory completion of Year 12 in the Australian school system, or its equivalent; or
Successful completion of a qualification at AQF Level 5 or above, or
Special Entry Admission for those with evidence of capacity for successful study at this level

English Proficiency:

Applicants whose entry qualifications were obtained in an institution where English is not the language of instruction normally require a minimum IELTS (or equivalent) score of 6.0 with no result below 5.5.

Course Outcomes

Knowledge

Graduates will have:

technical and theoretical knowledge and concepts with a wide range of knowledge in Biblical Studies, Theology, and Christian Life and Ministry than Diploma of Ministry Graduates,
reflective experience of focused practical ministry that will form the basis for further learning.

Skills

Graduates will have cognitive, communication, and technical skills in a ministry-related body of knowledge so that they are able to:

- identify, analyse, and act on ministry-oriented information from a range of foundational and intermediate sources,
- examine ideas and perspectives related to Christian faith and ministry,
- communicate relevant ministry-related knowledge, skills, and ideas to others.

Applications of Knowledge and Skills

Graduates will have the ability to:

- demonstrate an understanding of theological knowledge by selectively applying it in Christian ministry,
- perform technical operations within Christian ministry that have a level of complexity, taking personal responsibility for them,
- organise, with initiative and judgment, the work of self and others, and plan, coordinate, and evaluate the work of teams with some autonomy (within well-defined parameters).

Find expanded acacemic outcomes and regulations in the SCD Handbook.

Credit

Student Placement

We want our students to be doers, not just hearers. Most ACOM units have 30 hours of placement built into the requirements (noted in unit demand hour tally). Student vocational placement provides an opportunity to link academic work into practice through a process of instruction (online readings, facilitations and other learning activities), action (localised ministry) and reflection (thinking about your practice to understand how to improve it). The process of instruction-action-reflection continues across all of our units.

Vocational placement requires students to engage with a supervisor. This helps you integrate what you are learning into your place of practice. Students will be required to identify a local supervisor in their environment (e.g. a church, school, chaplaincy or welfare organisation). The supervisor will assist you as you reflect on your learning.

If you are uncertain if your unit of interests will require placement, please discuss with your SEM.

Spiritual Formation

Spiritual Formation is foundational to who we are. For ACOM, the learning process is not simply intellectual - it is about spiritual transformation. We care about the individual you are becoming and here’s why: we know that healthy, sustainable and effective graduates will be well grounded spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially.

Each ACOM course gives students the opportunity to study our Spiritual Formation units either as core or electives. Refer to your course plan to discover how our formation units can be incorporated into your study, or read more about the Spiritual Formation process.

Fees

Students can pay their fees upfront or access the Australian Government’s Fee-HELP system.

Fee-Help is a Commonwealth loan scheme that assists eligible students to defer all or part of their higher education tuition fees. Students wishing to utilise Fee-HELP should apply during admission, or contact registrar@acom.edu.au. To read more about Fee-HELP and check your eligibility go to https://www.studyassist.gov.au/.

2023 Diploma Level Fees

Applicable to courses studied at the Australian Quality Framework level 5 (AQF5 Diploma Level). Note that the Diploma of Christian Studies is studied at AQF7 Bachelor Level. Note that the Supervised Ministry unit is a considered to be a standard unit. Students registering into Supervised Ministry will incur the standard unit fee as listed above.

2023	Audit for Future Credit (Upfront Only)	Standard Unit (9 Credit Points)
Standard Unit	$450	$1690
Spiritual Formation Unit	$800	$2290

Students holding a pension card and paying their fees upfront may be eligible for a $200 pension discount per standard 9CP unit at the relevant level of study.

To apply for a pension discount simply contact ACOM and provide a current copy of your pension card. Once your eligibility has been confirmed by staff, register for units making a note of your pension discount.

Key Dates

2023 Key Dates

Note the following definitions:
Census Date: Last date to withdraw from a unit without financial penalty.
Academic Penalty Date: Last date to withdraw from a unit without academic penalty. If a student withdraws from a unit between the Census Date and the Academic Penalty Date, the unit will appear on their transcript with a withdrawn grade.

Check below for the key dates associated with your trimester of study. Note that registering or withdrawing outside of the key dates could incur incidental fees.

2023	Trimester 1	Trimester 2	Trimester 3	Spiritual Formation (Year Long)	Summer 2023-2024
Unit Registration Deadline		30/4/2023	6/8/2023	29/1/2023	5/11/2023
Start Date	20/2/2023	29/5/2023	4/9/2023	20/2/2023	4/12/2023
Census Date	13/3/2023	19/6/2023	25/9/2023	17/4/2023	25/12/2023
Academic Penalty Date	2/4/2023	9/7/2023	15/10/2023	9/7/2023	7/1/2024
End Date	14/5/2023	20/8/2023	26/11/2023	26/11/2023	11/2/2024

Future Pathways

Studying with ACOM

Study Load and Demand Hours

Students can choose to study part-time or full-time. ACOM operates on a trimester basis, with formation and other select units, being taken over the course of the full year. A full-time load is considered six to nine units, which is usually two to three units per trimester, with one year-long unit. A part-time load is usually three to four units per year.

Each 9 credit point unit requires 143 demand hours of study. The demand hours represents the number of hours needed to meet all the requirements of the unit, including reading, researching and writing assignments and essays, and supervised fieldwork (see Student Handbook for hour breakdown).

For each unit we recommend that you allocate approximately 10-12 hours for study per week (with more required during peak assessment periods).

Computer Requirements

The Study Process

Students Apply and are admitted to their course, which are made up of both core and elective units. All new students are required to complete Student Orientation, which involves both signing up for a Student Orientation Session, and taking part in a Student Orientation module through the online learning platform.

All students have access to personalised support through a dedicated Student Engagement Manager (or SEM). Our awesome team of SEMs bring a personal connection and listening ear to students who are spread the length and breadth of the country. SEMs work closely with each student to provide tailored academic and pastoral support, cheering them on every step of their learning journey. Read more about our Personalised Support.

A variety of units will be on offer each trimester for students to view on the unit schedules, and register in for study. All of our courses are flexible for students to choose their units and load according to their time commitments, interests and courseplans.

All students study 'online' through our online Learning Platform: Moodle. This is where all study materials, unit information, assessments and learning activities can be found. However, each unit may have a variety of study options available that are found on the schedules, and selected at the point of registration. These include Facilitated or not Facilitated options.

Run by experienced leaders, educators, and practitioners in their fields of study, facilitations are an opportunity for students to learn alongside others in a dynamic environment of enquiry and exploration. Facilitations can be scheduled in regular classes, or events run over individual or consecutive days.

The following will be found scheduled next to units to advise what options you can choose:

Option	Type	Description
In Person: Facilitation	Learning with Others	In Person facilitations provide a physical space to strengthen skills by gathering like-minded local individuals together to learn and network together. These events can be run in a variety of locations across Australia and are run according to local time-zones.
Online: Facilitation	Learning with Others	Online facilitations provide flexible learning options for students nationwide, by giving them the ability to interact with facilitators and learners from across Australia from their devices. These events are run digitally on Zoom in AEST time-zone (or AEDT during daylight savings).
Online: No Facilitation	Integrated Learning Activities	ACOM is committed to ensuring students have the greatest flexibility to study at their own pace in their own place. To enable this all units scheduled in a trimester can be studied online via our digital learning platform. Students who choose this option will be provided with a series of Integrated Learning Activities designed to help them integrate what they are learning into life and ministry practice. These Integrated Learning Activities are available to all students to engage with, however only students who have selected the online Integrated Learning Activities study option are required to complete all activities to successfully pass the unit.

For more student information see:

Student Handbook
Student Policies

Assignments

ACOM assessments are essay based and do not usually involve exams. Units may include online quizzes and practical assessments that are completed in your ministry setting. Assessment dates are clearly published on our Learning Platform (Moodle) and all tasks must be submitted to pass the unit.

Required readings are provided for students with online library access for further research. ACOM is continuously improving its digital library of learning resources. We have thousands of specialist books, articles and journals available to our students through our copyright licensing arrangements. Useful for both research and personal study, our students have access to over 100,000 e-books and journals on the Bible, leadership, pastoral care, theology and more. To read more go to our Digital Learning Systems.

Some units may require the student to purchase textbook(s), so please check the textbook lists on the schedules or at the point of registration.

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