The following courses will be tutored in English at The Newman Institute.
Autum Term 2026
August 31, 2026 – January 15, 2027
Module 1 (September 1 – October 23)
Module 2 (November 2, 2026 – january 15, 2027)
Application period for the Autumn Term 2026
March 16 – April 15, 2026
Apply at universityadmissions.se (in English) or antagning.se (in Swedish).
(Final deadline for receipt of supplementary grades and late applications: June 17, 2026.
All documents must be received by this date).
Courses spanning modules 1 and 2 (August 31, 2026 – January 15, 2027)
AI: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives
Artificial intelligence is breathing new life into ancient philosophical and theological reflections. The development of chatbots and other machines capable of imitating the intelligent behaviors of living creatures compels us to ask: What is life? Can computers think? Is mankind itself a machine, or perhaps rather a god wielding the power to create artificial worlds? Might we transcend death and achieve immortality through technological advancement? These are some of the questions we will explore in this course.
Period: 31 August – 15 January 2027
Dicipline: Systematic Theology and Philosophy
Level: Advanced bachelor’s and master’s degrees
Credits: 7,5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Leaders: Mårten Björk and Tomas Ekenberg
Mode of teaching: Distance teaching with mandatory Zoom meetings Mondays, 15.00-17.00, every other week.
Courses in module 1
(August 31– October 23, 2026)
Epistemology
What can we know? How can we be certain about anything? What are the sources of our knowledge? These are examples of questions in the field of epistemology. The course places these questions in a historical context, and presents and analyzes some of the answers that philosophers have given to them. Virtue epistemology will be a particular focus in this course, a perspective that goes back to the earliest philosophers and has seen a resurgence in recent years.
Period: 31 August – 23 October 2026
Dicipline: Philosophy
Level: Associate degree
Credits: 7,5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Leader: Erik Åkerlund
Mode of teaching: Choose between
- On-site in Uppsala Tuesdays and Thursdays, 13.00-15.00
- Half-distance with mandatory on-site meetings in Uppsala September 17 and October 15.
Theology of the Icons
This course explores the world of Eastern Christian iconography. Throughout the course we will reflect on the theological and anthropological foundations of Eastern Christian iconography. We will do this by surveying the historical development of the Eastern Christian iconographic tradition from early Christianity to the modern period, with particular emphasis on the iconographic types of Jesus, Mary, saints, and on liturgical feasts. The course incorporates rich visual presentations, reading materials (ancient source texts and contemporary studies), and additional learning resources.
Period: 31 August – 23 October 2026
Dicipline: Theological Studies of Culture and Society
Level: Associate degree
Credits: 7,5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Leader: Taras Tymo
Mode of teaching: Half-distance with a 2 days mandatory on-site meeting in Uppsala September 22 and 23
Courses in module 2
(November 2, 2026 – January 15, 2027)
Logic and Argumentation
A central question in modern logic is what constitutes a valid argument and a good argumentation. In order to answer this question, arguments expressed in natural languages are translated into formal languages of symbolic logic, whereby their logical structure becomes much clearer. In this course, two such formal languages are studied: propositional and predicate-logic language. Several methods in logic for analysis of validity of arguments are also studied. The methods are used in many academic disciplines and are useful for everyday life.
Period: 2 november 2026 – 15 januari 2027
Dicipline: Philosophy
Level: Associate degree
Credits: 7,5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Leader: Taeda Tomic
Mode of teaching: Choose between
- On-site in Uppsala: Tuesdays 16.00-18.00 and Thursdays 16.00-18.00. Final examination on January 15, 2027
- Half-distance with mandatory on-site meetings in Uppsala on November 13 and December 4. Final examination on January 15, 2027. (Optional meeting on January 8, 2027)
Spring Term 2027
January 19 – June 5
Module 3 (January 18 – March 19)
Module 4 (March 30 – June 4, 2027)
Application period for the Spring Term 2027
September 15 – October 15, 2026
Apply at universityadmissions.se (in English) or antagning.se (in Swedish).
(Final deadline for receipt of supplementary grades and late applications: November 30, 2026.
All documents must be received by this date).
Courses spanning modules 3 and 4
(19 January – 5 June 2027)
Stories of Saints and Martyrs: Scholarly and Devotional Approaches
How do we read saints’ lives? And where do martyrs’ stories fit in the formation of Christian culture? This course explores various ways of approaching hagiography from historical, cultural, and devotional perspectives through selected examples across the centuries, including students’ own choices.
Period: 18 January – 4 June 2027
Dicipline: Historical Theology
Level: Associate degree
Credits: 7,5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Leader: Barbara Crostini
Mode of teaching: Distance teaching with mandatory Zoom meetings every other Tuesday between 18.00 – 20.00 (Swedish time)
Theological Anthropology
Every theology entails an anthropology. This is because Christianity is not merely a doctrine concerning God, but also involves a vision of humanity and an understanding of the human place within God’s plan of salvation. In this course, we shall examine historical and contemporary texts on theological anthropology. We explore how classical theological questions—the Trinity, creation, the Fall, grace, the question of Christ’s nature, and eschatology—each imply a particular understanding of the end and nature of the human person.
Period: 18 January – 4 June 2027
Dicipline: Systematic Theology
Level: Associate degree
Credits: 7,5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Leader: Mårten Björk
Mode of teaching: Distance teaching with mandatory Zoom meetings every other Monday from 15.00 – 17.00 (Swedish time).
Courses in module 3
(19 January–27 March 2027)
Philosophy of Science with Natural Philosophy
The sciences occupy a prominent place in contemporary thinking, as well as in today’s society in general. In this course we will take a closer look at the knowledge claims and methods of the various sciences. In what sense can science be said to provide knowledge? What claims do the sciences make to describe reality? Can they help us understand fundamental aspects of the world, such as its temporal and causal structure, or the phenomenon of life in the physical universe?
Period: 18 January – 19 Mars 2027
Dicipline: Philosophy
Level: Associate degree
Credits: 7,5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Leaders: Christoffer Skogholt and Daniel Saudek
Mode of teaching: Half-distance with 2-3 mandatory on-site meetings in Uppsala. (dates will be published here when confirmed)
Courses in module 4
(7 April–5 June 2027)
Marian Devotion East and West: Early Texts and Key Images
Exciting new studies on early traditions have focused attention on the Eastern origins of Marian piety and delineated anew the contours of this contested figure within Christianity. This course addresses the roots and character of Mary through texts and images from various traditions by asking how as a woman she held her place in the patriarchal history of Christianity and how her position was defended, shaped and understood through feasts and dogmas against all odds.
Period: 30 March – 4 June 2027
Dicipline: Historical Theology
Level: Associate degree
Credits: 7,5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Leader: Barbara Crostini
Mode of teaching: Half-distance with 2-3 mandatory on-site meetings in Uppsala. (dates will be published here when confirmed).
Patristic Eco-Theology
Since the second half of the twentieth century, Judeo-Christianity has been criticized for being one of the main triggers for the modern ecological crisis. Hence, there has been an increasing interest in examining the relationship of Scripture, Church Fathers and contemporary Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox traditions to ecological issues facing contemporary society. In this course, we will discuss theories and perspectives from the biblical and theological traditions, with a special focus on the patristic and neopatristic sources, in order to build a dialogue with modern ecological issues and seek their resolution.
Period: 30 March – 4 June 2027
Dicipline: Theological Studies of Culture and Society
Level: Associate degree
Credits: 7,5 ECTS
Language: English
Course Leader: Oleh Kindiy
Mode of teaching: Half-distance with 2-3 mandatory on-site meetings in Uppsala. (dates will be published here when confirmed)