Every year the Faculty of Theology celebrates the work of its students during the Dean's Awards ceremony.
First in Class Awards are given to students who excel overall and obtain the highest mark in their class.
Certificates in Academic Excellence are awarded to students with the best dissertation in their area.
Other Special Awards are presented by our sponsors to students who make a contribution to Maltese society through their research.
A Special Award in Applied Theology is given to a person who applied Theology concretely in society through his/her work.
The first Theology Dean's Awards ceremony was held on 28 July 2021 at the Valletta Campus, in the presence of the then Minister of Education, Hon. Justyne Caruana, the University Rector, Prof. Alfred Vella, and the Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Dr John Berry.
The Dean congratulated all students and highlighted the various achievements of the Faculty over the past years. He thanked the sponsors of the event and the Faculty administrative staff for the organisation.
The University Rector underlined the fundamental place that the Faculty of Theology holds on Campus and within society at large. On her part, the Minister of Education recalled with affection her years studying at the Faculty of Theology while reading Law and affirmed the importance of a robust theology for the development of dialogue and freedom in society.
First in Class Awards were presented to students who placed first in class with distinction:
The following Special Awards were given by different sponsors to students who made a contribution to Maltese society through their research:
Certificates in Academic Excellence in recognition of high standards reached in the dissertation were presented to:
A further Special Award in Applied Theology was given to Rev. Martin Micallef (Id-Dar tal-Providenza) in recognition of his sustainable promotion of human dignity and civic engagement through his work with persons with disabilities. Fr Micallef had written his Licentiate dissertation at the Faculty of Theology on the sexuality of persons with disabilities.
The event was sponsored by: CareMalta, Caritas Malta, SportMalta, AcrossMalta, Outlook Coop, Librerija Preca, Archdiocese of Malta, Architect Richard England, Secretariat for the Laity, Secretariat for Catholic Education, and the Entomological Society of Malta.
Ms Valerie Vella was the compere of the evening which included a short musical interlude by the violin and viola duo Mr Matthew Fenech and Mr Valhmor Montefort.
Iċċelebrati l-ħiliet tal-istudenti tat-Teoloġija (Il-Leħen, 08.08.2021) [PDF]
The ceremony of the Theology Dean’s Awards for 2020-2021 was held on 1 July 2022 at the Valletta Campus in the presence of the Director General for Educational Services, Mr Emile Vassallo, Pro-Rectors Prof. Joseph Cacciottolo and Prof. Ing. Simon G. Fabri, and the Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Rev. Dr Stefan Attard.
Opening the ceremony, the Dean congratulated all students and spoke about the way the Faculty has been engaging in various activities and its plans for the near future. He thanked the Faculty administrative staff for organising the event as well as the sponsors for their support.
The Director General for Educational Services addressed the event and Rev. Robert Falzon, SDB, recipient of the First in Class Award, gave a speech highlighting the essence of theology in terms of relationships with others as well as the theology of presence.
The evening was presented by Ms Valerie Vella and included a short musical interlude by mezzo-Soprano Vanessa Magro accompanied on the piano by Romina Morrow.
First in Class Awards were presented to students who placed first in class with distinction:
The following Special Awards were given in recognition of outstanding performance in research:
Certificates in Academic Excellence in recognition of high standards achieved in the dissertation were presented to:
A Special Award in Applied Theology was given to Commissioner for Justice, Ms Victoria Scicluna, in recognition of her promotion of human dignity and civic engagement. Rev. Dr Charlo Camilleri highlighted the link between Ms Scicluna’s work in this field and her postgraduate studies in Spirituality, particularly her dissertation on drug addiction recovery and insights from Carmelite spirituality.
The event was sponsored by: Miller Distributors, Midsea Books, Agenda Bookshop, Librerija Preca, Architect Prof. Richard England, the National Council of Women, St John Co-Cathedral Foundation, the Archdiocese of Malta, the Carmelite Institute Malta, the Secretariat for the Laity, the Secretariat for Catholic Education, and the Conference of Religious Major Superiors.
Updated October 2022
1. First in Class Award – to students obtaining the highest global mark. [If there is only one student, he/she will be given this award only if his/her overall grade is over 75%.]
2. Certificates in Academic Excellence – to students with the best dissertation in their area or, if the best dissertation was of a student who got the First in Class Award, the next best dissertation is chosen, even if it is slightly under 80%. This may be given to more than one student if they have the same mark.
3. Special Awards – to students with a dissertation which has a good grade and which can be linked to a sponsor.
[As for the Certificate in Academic Excellence and the Special Award, if two students have the same dissertation mark, the global average will determine who of them gets one of these prizes. However, more than one dissertation may be chosen if they have relatively high marks in relation to the rest and/or if any of them can be easily linked to a sponsor.]
4. Special Award in Applied Theology – to one person who ideally studied theology in the past and who has been applying it concretely in society through his/her work.