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The Catholic Studies Project: An Overview
As the oldest and largest project of its kind in the world, Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas is recognized regionally, nationally, and internationally. Catholic Studies helps students, staff, faculty, and the Catholic community cultivate a rich interdisciplinary Catholic vision at the crossroads of faith and reason, spirituality and action, and Catholic thought and secular life.
Contents
- The Catholic Studies Project An Overview
- Integration Within the University of St Thomas
- The Project Department and Center
- Department of Catholic Studies
- Center for Catholic Studies
- Rome Program The Bernardi Campus
- Impact on the University Church and World
- The Catholic Studies Project in Summary
- References
The project involves active and productive campus citizens, generating:
Integration Within the University of St. Thomas
The Center for Catholic Studies and the Department of Catholic Studies are part of UST's College of Arts and Sciences. It maintains a special relationship with the School of Law, the Opus College of Business, Campus Ministry and the St. John Vianney Seminary.
The Center and Department also have collaborated with a wide variety of units across the campus including the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, the Muslim-Christian Dialogue Center, the Family Business Center, the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, Academic Affairs, the Aquinas Chair of Theology and Philosophy, the Luann Dummer Center for Women and student clubs, and a number of academic departments.
The Project: Department and Center
The Catholic Studies project at the University of St. Thomas is composed of a department and a center, which have distinct roles but are complementary in relationship.
Department of Catholic Studies*
The Department of Catholic Studies is responsible for undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The department also manages study-abroad programs, recruiting and admissions, scholarships and fellowships, social activities for students, and alumni relations.
*Information reflects the 2013-2014 academic year.
Center for Catholic Studies
The Center for Catholic Studies oversees the work of three major institutes and a quarterly journal as well as lectures and faculty development programs:
The Center creates a rich environment in which students, faculty, and staff engage, study, and integrate the Church's intellectual, spiritual, moral, and social contributions to human culture. Some of its activities include:
Over 70 percent of the Center's activities are funded through endowments, annual donations, foundations, and grants.
Rome Program: The Bernardi Campus
The Bernardi campus hosts a semester-long experience integrating academic study, cultural engagement, spiritual formation, and community living. About 30-35 Catholic Studies students study in Rome each semester. About two-thirds of majors and minors will spend a semester in Rome. Students take classes at the Angelicum, the Dominican university in Rome where Pope St. John Paul II earned his doctorate. A highlight of the program is Wednesday Community Night, which includes liturgy, dinner, and often a prominent guest. The students also study art and architecture, go on guided excursions throughout Italy, and have opportunities to serve the poor in Rome. Funded by the Bernardi family in 2000, the Bernardi Campus gives the Catholic Studies Abroad program a permanent residence in Rome.
Impact on the University, Church, and World
With close to 1,000 alumni, Catholic Studies students have become leaders in the Church and the world:
The University of St. Thomas Catholic Studies project has been a model for new Catholic Studies programs at over 90 universities worldwide.
The Catholic Studies project has committed donors. It currently has a $15 million endowment, and 55.2 percent of Catholic Studies alumni have donated to the program since its creation in 1992.
The Catholic Studies Project in Summary
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