The Theology Tripos is possibly the most varied arts course available at undergraduate level - at least, that's been my impression. There is huge flexibility from the very beginning: the only compulsory papers in the first year are a language (there's a choice of four) and either the Old or New Testament paper.
Other than that, it's possible to tailor your study to suit your interests. I opted for the church history paper and Christian doctrine in my first year. This year, I've carried on with Hebrew and Old Testament, and have added philosophy of religion and more Christian theology. I find this maintains the balance between the abstract and the concrete, since the scriptural papers are very text focused, and studying languages is always technical at first. But this is just my approach! Other people prefer literature, sociology of religion, non Christian religions - all that the Faculty has to offer, really.
Â鶹Դ´ is great environment to work in, not least because it has such a strong theological tradition. The Chapel community is thriving, and Westcott House has a library which has come to my aid on more than one occasion. The Â鶹Դ´ library itself has a substantial number of key texts for the course, and also provides a great work space.
