Music and liturgy are powerful tools for the mission of the Church. The Institute of Sacred Music at St Stephen’s House Oxford offers musicians, music ministers and liturgists a unique place to study, worship, and perform – either part time or full time – and obtain post-graduate qualifications up to master’s level.

The university city of Oxford offers an unparalleled setting for the Institute of Sacred Music, which offers selected liturgical and music experiences in Oxford chapels, together with context-based learning in aspects of choral preparation, alongside liturgical performance within the college’s own magnificent Church that serves as one of the chapels of St Stephen’s House.

The academic programme focusses on worship and liturgical studies and is partially delivered online. The programme is an ideal opportunity for musical or ministerial professionals worldwide to participate in part time tuition at St Stephen’s House, some of it remotely.

Hilary term (January – March) is the residential term in Oxford. The college provides accommodation and full- or half-board catering at competitive student rates. The residential programme includes practical formation, musical rehearsals, and a pattern of daily communal worship.

The collegiate setting of St Stephen’s House will bring students of the Institute of Sacred Music in touch with ordinands in training for ministry in the Church of England and involve social gatherings, communal meals and informal conversations within a vibrant community of academics.

Informed by the Oxford Movement, St Stephen’s House Oxford values and cherishes the sacramental, musical, and liturgical traditions inspired by the revival of aesthetical theology, church life and worship in nineteenth century Anglicanism. Plainchant, Choral Evensong and sung Matins, sung Eucharists and extra-liturgical devotions, such as Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, form the weekly pattern of worship in college. Students, however, may also explore other liturgical traditions present within the city of Oxford or the wider ecumenical settings of the Church of England. There are no requirements of any particular denominational affiliation in order to apply for this programme in Christian worship and liturgical studies.

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