Selection Criteria and Procedure
More detailed information on criteria used in accepting applicants for ministry or lay pastor training will be sent with the application form, and potential students are advised to consult the General Secretary at Unitarian headquarters as well as read the following pamphlet available from the General Assembly:
 Could You Become a Unitarian Minister?
Briefly, selectors look for:
- Grasp of the Unitarian and/or Non-Subscribing Presbyterian ethos
- Practical knowledge of at least one of these movements
- Several years' practical experience of the life of a Unitarian or Non-Subscribing church congregation
- Sense of vocation
- Ability to communicate well
- Stability in one's personal life
- Experience of conducting worship
- Good general level of education and cultural knowledge
- Willingness to minister to the full range of Unitarian beliefs
- Willingness to undertake recommended courses
Intending students for the ministry or lay pastorate should apply to the general secretary, usually during the summer for courses starting the following autumn. Candidates are short listed in the autumn and interviewed in early January. Once students are accepted in principle they then discuss which training provision would be most appropriate; Unitarian College Manchester, Harris Manchester College Oxford, or, for Welsh speakers, a scheme based in Wales.
Ministers wishing to pursue in-service training, and lay people exploring the possibility of general theological or Unitarian education, should contact the principal directly.
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| Funding of Ministerial Training |
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Wherever possible students are expected to fund their own training.
Students who have not previously undertaken higher education may be eligible for Local Education Authority grants or student loans.
Applications for grants may be made to a number of trust funds, including the General Assembly Unitarian ministerial Students' Fund. The college will advise students after referral.
Where students undertake a student pastorate it is usually possible to arrange a bursary.
Students of the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland should seek funding through their Presbytery.
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Selection & Funding