A Three-Year Cohort Program
This is a three-year, cohort-model program designed for working adults. Cohort means that all students enrolled in the program must take all 16 courses, in the order that those courses are offered, in order to graduate with a B.A. All enrolled students will adhere to the same schedule for all three years of the program.
Schedule and Location
Courses are taught:
- In accelerated fashion: each 4 credit hour course takes about eight to nine weeks to complete
- Successively: courses are taken one after the other rather than taking two or more at the same time
Class meetings will be held
- Each Wednesday night, 7:00 – 10:00 PM;
- Usually one Saturday per month, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM; and
- Usually one Sunday afternoon per month, 1:00 – 6:00 PM (Saturday and Sunday classes are NOT scheduled on the same weekends)
Classes will be held at Aquinas High School in San Bernardino.
Coursework
Students must complete 60 of coursework, in good academic standing, to receive the Bachelor of Arts degree. This includes 40 credit hours of Theological Studies coursework, 16 credit hours of Core (general education) coursework, as well as an introductory course and a capstone course.
The Major
The Theological Studies major in this program introduces students to the pastoral and theological tradition of the Church; both content and context are the hallmarks of this approach:
- The content of what the Church teaches (for example, Biblical theology, the Church’s theology in historical perspective, theological ethics, major theological theme)
- The context in which the Church carries out its mission (for example, world religions of Los Angeles, U.S. Latina/o Theology, missionary disciples, major theological thinker)
Finally, the major is rounded out with courses that explore how the Church practices its ministry (ministry and pastoral leadership, and contemplatives in action). In the process, students learn how to analyze texts, think and write critically, and integrate reason and faith.
The list of courses is outlined below with their respective semester credit hours in parentheses:
Introductory Course
- Introduction to Degree Completion (2.0)
Theological Studies
- Introduction to Biblical Theology and Interpretation (4.0)
- Missionary Disciples: Exploring the Catholic Pastoral-theological Tradition (4.0)
- World Religions of Los Angeles (4.0)
- History of Christian Theology (4.0)
- U.S. Latino/a Theology (4.0)
- Ministry and Pastoral Leadership (4.0)
- Contemplatives in Action: Psychology, Spirituality, and Liberation (4.0)
- Topics in Theological Ethics (4.0)
- Major Theological Thinker (4.0)
- Major Theological Theme (4.0)
Core – General Education
- History: Chicana/o History (4.0)
- Sociology: Immigration and Los Angeles (4.0)
- Economics: Economics and Ethics (4.0)
- English: The Literature of the New Land (4.0)
Capstone
- Pastoral Integration (2.0)