Programs of Study
Undergraduate Programs
B.A. in Theology and Religious Studies
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology and Religious Studies requires 30 credits in the major, including the two introductory courses required of all students. To ensure a well-rounded background in the discipline, each major must take at least one course in each of the following categories: Old Testament, New Testament, Systematic Theology, Historical Theology and Moral Theology. Theology majors must also take at least one semester of T/RS 490, the capstone seminar offered in the Spring. Each major is expected to confer with a departmental advisor for the selection and balancing of courses. The department also offers a double-major program compatible with most other majors.
Theology/Religious Studies Course Content
Theology Minor
The minor in Theology / Religious Studies requires 18 credits: T/RS 121 and 122 plus four more courses. In choosing for a minor, students may concentrate in one area of Theology (e.g., Moral Theology, Historical Theology, Biblical Studies) or they may select courses from several areas of theological inquiry.
Theology/Religious Studies Course Content
Catholic Studies Program
All courses taught in the Catholic Studies Program will seek to promote appreciation of the Catholic tradition by being faithful to the Church’s apostolic teaching. Courses will also encourage students (1) to integrate faith and academics; (2) to study the Catholic Tradition in an intellectually rigorous way; (3) to assess human intellectual activity and experience in the light of the Catholic faith; and (4) to examine the experience of Catholics in history, politics, various social groups, philosophical and religious movements, and/or science and technology.
The concentration consists of 18 credits: T/RS 214C is required; the other 15 are electives. Students may build their studies on their majors and interests. Students are invited to petition for readers that meet program standards. Students may likewise seek permission for courses not cross-listed to count for credit, provided they are eligible to do significant Catholic Studies work in them.
Catholic Studies Course Content
Peace and Justice Studies Program
The Synod of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church (1971) reported that “action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel….” Since, the 32nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus (1974-75) Jesuit institutions of higher education have aimed to reveal the link between the practice of faith and the promotion of justice. In this vein the University’s Peace & Justice Program was instituted to bring academic studies, including classes, community service and interdisciplinary research, into the process of building a more just and thus more peaceful society.
The Peace and Justice Concentration will be an attractive complement to the academic programs of students planning careers in law, international relations, human services, ministry and teaching — to name only the most obvious. However, any students who have a personal interest in the problems of peace and justice, regardless of their career goals, can benefit from its multi-disciplinary concentration of courses. It is open to majors from all the undergraduate schools of the University. Eight courses (24 credits) must be taken by students in order to have “Peace and Justice Concentration” added to their transcript. Courses may be taken as part of the cognate requirement (with permission of the chairperson of the major) or as part of the general-education requirements.