Bachelor of Arts - Catholic Studies

The Catholic Studies Program is an academically rigorous and interdisciplinary exploration of Catholicism. Courses engage with the Catholic intellectual tradition - the 2000 year-long dialogue between and within faith and culture. It approaches the texts of the Catholic intellectual tradition with a view toward understanding the role that Catholicism has played in the human search for meaning and in the conviction that thinking is a critical part of belief.

Catholic Studies enthusiastically welcomes students from any or no faith tradition. The program is dedicated to a critical and scholarly engagement with Catholicism, and is dispositionally nondogmatic. Courses are especially attentive to the ways in which the Catholic intellectual tradition can help graduates understand issues of social and economic justice and peace.

Students in Catholic Studies benefit from an interdisciplinary course of study which draws from many different academic disciplines. The interdisciplinary character of the program helps them become well-rounded thinkers, able to analyze problems and phenomena from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and using diverse analytical tools. The program’s emphasis on the Catholic intellectual tradition will help students develop the skills of thoughtful reading, clear writing, and verbal eloquence.

Catholic Studies provides students with well-rounded interdisciplinary liberal arts preparation for success in a wide variety of career paths. They will be especially prepared for work in non-profit and government organizations, international development, education, and business.