The name referred to the qualification being a licence from the university for a candidate for ordination in the Church of England to present himself to a bishop; this caused some confusion with licentiate degrees in France and other European countries.
From 1918, the LTh was only available to students at these affiliated colleges (including institutions in Australia, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Nigeria and Sierra Leone as well as in the UK) and was not offered at Durham.
However, these follow the naming conventions of the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and do not include a licence in theology.
The LTh, introduced in 1971, was intended for graduate ordinands, and was equivalent to the final year of a bachelor's degree.
[7] As of 2024,[update] the course was still offered by the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, the successor institution of St David's College, but now called the Graduate Diploma in Bible and Theology in keeping with the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.
[10] The University of Aberdeen offered a Licence in Theology until 2002, when it was withdrawn due to the Church of Scotland deciding to no longer recognise the degree.
[4] Archbishop Desmond Tutu took a Licence in Theology at St Peter’s College, Johannesburg, in 1960, prior to his ordination as a deacon.