Graduate Catalog

3 credit course

Persons with failed marriages constitute a marginalized sector of the ecclesial community, requiring a targeted outreach in keeping the Church’s call to evangelize all sectors of society. In this vein, CANL 512 Introduction to Marriage in Canon Law is a pastorally oriented course intended to introduce the foundational elements of marriage in canon law. It thus responds to Pope Francis’s call for the establishment of diocesan and parish ministries to assist those with doubts concerning the validity of their marriage. In this eight-week course, students will explore the natural law basis and ecclesiastical law structure of marriage as established for the Latin Catholic Church. Having explored these foundations, the course then explores fatal defects which may lead to invalidly tendered marital consent. This course will be eminently practical, including case studies and mock pastoral exercises. It seeks to provide a working familiarity with key concepts for persons working in parish ministry, adult faith formation and sacramental initiation, marriage ministers, and those curious about the workings of diocesan marriage tribunals.

3 credit course

This course addresses canon law as it relates to governance structures and temporal goods, including the relevant promulgated revisions of Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, and other new law under Pope Francis requiring transparency and accountability in Church governance. Topics include the Church governance structures and related fundamental notions contemplated in the Code of Canon Law, the acquisition, administration, and alienation of temporal goods, related contracts, pius causes, wills, trusts, and foundations. It also discusses current issues faced by dioceses such as reassignment of real estate, merging of parishes, the closing of churches, and the canonical status of educational and charitable apostolates.

This course replaces Church History, Part I  CHIST 562, 206-0501.

Church History I: Early Christians to the Middle Ages is the first of two graduate survey courses covering the whole of Catholic history. This first course examines the central themes and events in the life of the Church from the days of the Apostles to the end of the Middle Ages using text resources. Students will study the great events of the Church’s past, the development of Christian thought and belief, and the immense contributions of popes, saints, theologians, and common Christians to the progress of the Faith through the ages. Those who complete this course should be able to describe the key issues and topics related to the development of the Christian Church from the time of Christ to the end of the Middle Ages; explain the patterns of Church life from Pentecost to the start of the Renaissance and have a familiarity with the most important leaders, events, and writings; and build on the course foundation to delve deeper into Church history and to pursue other courses and seminars on specific topics related to the broader tapestry of Early and Medieval Christianity.

This course includes written lectures and online discussion.

3 credit course

TBD

3 credit course

This course explores various aspects of rapidly developing new technologies such as AI and virtual reality, the impact of social media on people’s lives and their relationship to fostering a contemplative and unity of life as well as advancing the Church’s mission of evangelization and sanctification.

3 credit course

The course addresses best practices of institutional communications as they relate to the Church’s mission of evangelization. It also addresses the Church’s role in fostering through its communication efforts and use of social media understanding, communion and collaboration, responsibility, and accountability. In this context, it also addresses communication strategies in the management of crisis and the opportunity for renewal.

3 credit course.

Foundations of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is a graduate-level course intended to introduce to the student the classical (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero) and medieval (St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas) roots of the fundamental principles that make up CST.

In this course, students will be exploring the philosophical, anthropological, and theological ideas that inform CST allowing for a deeper and more holistic understanding of its principles. Having explored these foundations, the course then presents how these principles are fundamentally challenged by the anthropological turn of modernity and the resulting “social question.” This course sets the stage for CST 510 and CST 520, which present CST as an answer to the great social challenges of late modernity through our present times.

*Cross-listed as PHIL 512

Curso de 3 créditos.

Fundamentos del pensamiento social católica (CST 500 SP) es un curso de nivel de posgrado destinado a presentarle al estudiante las raíces clásicas (Platón, Aristóteles, Cicerón) y medievales (San Agustín, Santo Tomás de Aquino) de los principios fundamentales que conforman la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia (DSI). La mayoría de los cursos de DSI comienzan por general con la encíclica Rerum novarum o Derechos y deberes del capital y del trabajo, publicada por el Papa León XIII el 15 de mayo de 1891. Pero esto es comenzar el dialogo de DSI por medias. Sin entender las raíces clásicas y medievales, la lógica interna de la DSI no se puede aprecia adecuadamente.

En este curso, los estudiantes explorarán la literatura e ideas filosóficas, antropológicas y teológicas que informan la DSI, lo que permite una comprensión más profunda y holística de sus principios. Una vez explorados estos fundamentos, el curso presenta cómo estos principios se ven desafiados fundamentalmente por el giro antropológico de la modernidad y la “cuestión social” resultante. Este curso prepara el estudiante para CST 510 SP y CST 520 SP, que presentan la DSI como una respuesta a los grandes desafíos sociales de la modernidad tardía hasta nuestros tiempos actuales.

3 credit course.

This course is designed as an introduction to the Church’s social doctrine between 1891, the date of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum novarum, and the closing of Vatican II in 1965. Students will read encyclicals and other Magisterial documents from this period (along with the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, which was released 40 years after the Council), and secondary literature. They will become familiar with the basic principles of this doctrine as these come to be introduced, developed, and refined over these decades. In class discussion and in the process of completing writing assignments, students will explore together the application of these principles to particular, concrete historical circumstances. Required synchronous sessions will be held each week on Monday evening.

3 créditos por curso

Existen algunas cuestiones fundamentales que son necesarias para el estudio de la teología sistemática. El curso comienza examinando la naturaleza y el método de la teología sistemática y las fuentes de la Revelación Divina. Los temas que se cubren en el curso incluyen a Dios, su existencia y atributos, la relación entre la fe y la razón, la inspiración e interpretación bíblica, el desarrollo de la doctrina cristiana y la autoridad en la Iglesia.

3 credit course

This course is intended to introduce the fundamental principles that make up CST following the Second Vatican Council. It builds upon the two previous courses in this sequence, CST 500 and CST 510, by drawing upon the philosophical, anthropological, and theological ideas that have guided the earlier tradition. After having reviewed the main lines of the Council in CST 510, this course gives equal attention to the magisterial teachings in the challenging and dynamic post-Second Vatican Council period under Saint Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis.

3 créditos por curso

3 credit course

This course explores the fundamental ethical principles and their relationships to business aspects of church administration. It addresses the issues of what true human and social development are, economic and social justice, the rights of persons and of cultures, the common failings and successes of business ethic approaches and initiatives. The course also discusses leading theoretical and ideological approaches to business in connection with Catholic social teaching, considers the rights and obligations of workers, social and economic organizations, as well as consumers, and the application of moral standards. It reviews the ethical foundations of contemporary business systems, the social responsibilities of businesses, civil societies, and governments – and the practice of assistance within the context of a broader ethical framework and vision.

1 credit course.

This course prepares students to understand the Catholic Church’s teachings concerning sex, marriage, and parenting as part of Catholic social justice, in order to communicate these more effectively in ways responsive to contemporary culture’s values, skepticism, and sometimes hostility.

3 credit course

This course introduces students to the great works of the Catholic literary tradition and its
expression of the Catholic sacramental, imaginative vision of reality.  This is a topical course
that can focus on the study of a single author and his or her significance or a single topic across
several authors and/or works.

3 credit course

Christopher Dawson argued that education communicates the heart and ideals of a culture.
This course is an exploration of the history and philosophy of the western educational tradition and its ideals.  Students will examine the tradition as it understood the ends of the human person and society and the purpose of education, beginning with the philosophical and religious traditions of ancient Athens and Jerusalem and the consequent Christian synthesis. They will also explore modern challenges to that tradition from the eighteenth century to the present in order to understand our own educational and cultural moment.

3 credit course

This course explores the life and work of St. John Henry Newman.  Newman’s emphasis on the liberal arts as providing a holistic vision of reality, his concern for the human and moral formation of students through the personal influence of the teacher, and his great capacities for friendship with and in the Truth are important for the cultivation of minds and hearts of students in our care.  Special attention will be made to the vocation of the teacher.

3 credit course

Since the founding of the first Catholic schools and colleges in the late 1700s, Catholic
education has shaped and been shaped by its encounter with the broader American culture.
This course explores the historical development of Catholic education in America while attending to the broader philosophical and cultural currents shaping American education.  This course will examine the ways in which American Catholic schools drew on the deep Catholic intellectual and educational traditions as it engaged American culture while at the same time, motivated by a strong missionary impulse, they sought to serve immigrants, the poor, Native Americans and Black populations in the new nation.

3 credit course

Predicated on the Catholic anthropology of the human person and the Church’s commitment to the most vulnerable among us, this course seeks to provide students with a deeper understanding of learning differences and needs, from mild to moderate, and various methods to addressing those needs.  Students will explore environmental considerations, curricular adaptation and accommodation, and organizational strategies that will enable all children to benefit from and flourish in a Catholic liberal arts school.

3 credit course

This course offers an introduction to morality and virtue-based Christian Ethics. Through an
exploration of the life of virtue found in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, students will examine moral excellence and virtuous action as the path to true human flourishing and happiness.  Students will also consider virtue ethics in the context of the moral and human formation of students in a classroom setting and in establishing the culture of the classroom.

3 credit course

This course offers an introduction to the essential principles and practices of classical pedagogy, from mimetic instruction to the Socratic method, that have been at the heart of the
liberal arts educational tradition for centuries.

3 credit course

The art of the word lies at the heart of the Trivium, the classical name for the teaching of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.  This course explores the nature of the Trivium, especially the way in which it communicates the theological, aesthetic, and cultural significance of the Church’s sacramental vision of creation and the human person.  Attention is also given to the nature of the imagination and its expression in word and the visual arts.

3 credit course

The art of number lies at the heart of the Quadrivium, the classical name for the teaching of Arithmetic, Geometry, Music/Poetry, and Astronomy.  This course explores the nature of the Quadrivium, especially the way in which it communicates the theological, aesthetic, and scientific significance of the Church’s sacramental vision of creation and the human person. Attention is also given to the unity of knowledge and the integration of faith and reason.

3 credit course

The renewal of Catholic education needs leaders skilled in organizational behavior and leadership who are also anchored in the Church’s teachings on the person and communities.
This course examines the theories, models, and research in leadership, organizational behavior, and administration while analyzing them through the lens of virtue ethics and the Church’s social teaching.  Students will apply what they have learned to challenges facing Catholic education and their own school communities as they lead them toward deeper renewal in Christ.

3 credit course

The Church identifies the synthesis of faith and culture as a primary goal of education. This
course presents the relationship of education and culture and how the Church forms students to bring the Gospel into their own culture to transform it from within. It draws upon the teachings of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI and unpacks the proposal of Christopher Dawson for the study of Christian culture as an integrating approach for Catholic education today. The course examines concepts of cultural literacy, a sociological understanding of the Christian life in the world, education as initiation into community, and a sacramental approach to pedagogy.

3 credit course

The graduate thesis is a culminating project that incorporates scholarly research on a topic
studied or referenced within the CDU MA (Liberal Arts Education) graduate program coursework. Upon completing the thesis, the student should be able to accurately and thoroughly develop a thesis, citing approved primary and secondary sources. This thesis should be between 30 and 50 pages (7,500-12,500 words), plus bibliography. Upon registering for the graduate thesis, students will submit a topic with initial bibliography for approval to Academic Leadership. Academic Leadership will then assign a thesis advisor, who will guide and review a formal thesis outline and bibliography, a fully developed draft, and the final thesis. All work must adhere to formats and conventions as described in Kate Turabian’s A Manual for Writers, 8th or 9th Editions. Three credits are awarded once the thesis director and Academic Leadership approve the thesis. All student work must be completed within the 16-week term in which s(he) registers.

3 credit course

This course covers the use of accounting as a management tool for effective management and growth. It includes the strengths and limitations of accounting as an information system, the role of accounting in management, planning and control, and the usefulness of accounting data for evaluating the results of operations and decision-making. Topics also include cost concepts, income planning, budget decision techniques, cost analysis, inventory control, quantitative decision techniques, as well as the introduction to development of accounting and budgeting information systems based on quantitative data processing. Provides a firm foundation in accounting – the language of business – which will help the student to understand and use the results in managerial decision-making and financially evaluate a wide range of programs to advance and integrate the evangelization mission of the Church.

3 credit course

Course Description 

Sound financial administration plays only a supporting role to an organization’s true purpose, yet it is a critically important one. Financial mismanagement can damage and even destroy an institution, whether it be a nonprofit, parish or church ministry.

Our goal is to demystify finance and enable students to use financial tools and develop financial strategies that will help their organizations weather economic storms and thrive in an ever-changing environment. Students who complete this course will be able to understand and use the tools of budgeting and financial management to fulfill the missions of their organizations and to make sound personal financial decisions.

Course Scope and Objectives 

This course will address the following topics: a contextual overview of nonprofit and for-profit sectors; governance best-practices; strategic planning as the cornerstone of financial budgeting; operating and capital budgets; tracking actual performance against budget; cost-benefit analysis; time-value of money; capital markets and cash management; personal financial planning. Students completing this course will: (1) gain an understanding of the key differences between nonprofit and for-profit organizations; (2) ratify and implement governance best practices; (3) tie successful financial management to a nonprofit’s mission; (4) build, execute, and track operating and capital budgets; (5) better understand the capital markets; and (6) develop sound practices regarding their own personal finances.

3 credit course

St. Irenaeus of Lyon said that “the glory of God is man fully alive.”  This course explores human flourishing in the light of the Fall and Christ’s Redemption.  Students will ground their understanding of the human person in biblical, theological, philosophical, and biological considerations as they assess the psychological, social and cultural dimensions of human experience.  Emphasis will be placed on the integration of the person in light of natural law and the Christian vision of the person as a unity of body and soul, possessed of reason, will and passions and made for “the freedom of the children of God,” fully alive.

3 credit course

Este curso ofrece una exploración filosófica de la persona humana. A lo largo de las semanas leeremos y dialogaremos algunos textos claves en la historia de la filosofía en torno al ser humano, abordando preguntas fundamentales como: ¿Qué tipo de realidad es el ser humano? ¿Qué define al ser humano? ¿Qué significa ser una persona humana? A su vez, a lo largo del curso, descubriremos puntos de intersecciones entre filosofía y teología mientras exploramos estas preguntas.

El curso se estructura en dos partes, cada una de cuatro sesiones. En la primera parte, que abarca las cuatro semanas iniciales, examinaremos algunas de las ideas principales de filósofos clásicos como Sócrates, Platón, Aristóteles, San Agustín y Santo Tomás de Aquino, quienes han reflexionado sobre qué tipo de realidad es el hombre. Estas contribuciones forman la base de la filosofía perenne sobre la persona humana.

La segunda parte, también de cuatro semanas, se centrará en la filosofía de la persona humana tal como la articulan algunos destacados pensadores del siglo XX. Entre ellos, exploramos las ideas de Maurice Blondel, Fabrice Hadjadj, Albert Camus y Joseph Ratzinger, quienes dialogan con las ideas de filósofos clásicos discutidos en la primera parte del curso.

3 credit course.

Foundations of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is a graduate-level course intended to introduce to the student the classical (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero) and medieval (St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas) roots of the fundamental principles that make up CST.

In this course, students will be exploring the philosophical, anthropological, and theological ideas that inform CST allowing for a deeper and more holistic understanding of its principles. Having explored these foundations, the course then presents how these principles are fundamentally challenged by the anthropological turn of modernity and the resulting “social question.” This course sets the stage for CST 510 and CST 520, which present CST as an answer to the great social challenges of late modernity through our present times.

*Cross-listed as CST 500

3 credit course

This course will explore the treatment of the truth of existence including the truth of salvation (Christology) in the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Students who complete this course will be able to explain what samples from Thomas’ different texts mean and how they can be applied and how Aquinas saw the congruence between some ancient metaphysics and the ontology of the Scriptures. They will be able to analyze the way he treated the theology of God, Christ and salvation, human beings, and their actions.

*Cross-listed as THEO 619

3 credit course

This course reviews best practices for organizing and managing full-time and part-time personnel as well as volunteers in the context of the institution of the Church. Among others, it addresses matters related to the development of accountability in organizational structures, fostering proactive participation, and initiative. Finally, it addresses personnel strategic growth, hiring and integration, and best practices regarding personnel training and development, evaluation and promotion, as well as transitioning within a context of the demands of justice, charity, and pastoral care.

3 credit course

This course covers best practices for defining, advancing, and measuring strategic goals for a parish, diocese, or other Church apostolate and how to effectively engage the necessary financial resources. Ongoing issues related to operating and capital budgeting, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting are addressed. It also covers best practices regarding financial and asset management and control tools to prevent and protect organizations against fraud and embezzlement. Emerging models for investing, lending, and borrowing are studied within the context of the mission of the church and its variety of charisms. Techniques of leadership and team building for effective implementation of finance councils and boards are also discussed.

3 credit course

This course covers fundamental principles of fundraising within the context of the nature and the desire to advance the mission of the Church. Among others it addresses strategies to generate alignment of interest among relevant parties, and best practices to move an initiative from an idea to an implemented reality.

3 credit course

Principles of Catholic Education is a graduate-level course that will examine the theoretical framework and the pastoral foundations of catechetical ministry, particularly the work of learning and teaching in Catholic parishes and schools. It utilizes primary sources, a history of catechesis in the United States, and contemporary resources to identify principles of education that reflect the divine pedagogy and the development of a clear Catholic Identity. Students who complete this course should be able to analyze contextual factors influencing teaching and learning, evaluate educational resources, and design educational strategies appropriate for authentic human formation and catechesis for a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ.

This course includes written lectures, audio and video presentations, and asynchronous online shared learning activities

3 credit course

This course will approach the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch from the perspective of the ancient Hebrews.  Students will learn to appreciate the imagery that the Hebrews used from creation and the material world to describe spiritual experience and supernatural realities.  Specifically, students will gain understanding of two currents of thought that bring unity to the first five books of the Bible as well as the entire Bible.  The first will be creation theology where the idea of sacred space is prominent with the imagery of creation as temple, and the second is that of covenant.

This course includes written lectures, audio lectures, and online discussions.

3 credit course

This 8-week multimedia course will be a journey through the Bible as the Catholic Church’s foundational narrative, beginning with the story of creation and the fall, through God’s promise to Abraham, the covenant with Israel at Sinai and Deuteronomy and the eventual collapse of the Davidic Kingdom under the Deuteronomic covenant.  The course will climax with the solution to the problems of the law in the Old Testament and the eventual fulfillment of God’s promises through the person and work of Jesus Christ and his Church.  Students will be introduced to critical interpretive issues and will be invited to wrestle with disputed questions as they learn various ways of making sense of the Bible as a unified and coherent story with profound implications for today.

*Students who have taken SCRPT 330 as undergraduates should not enroll in SCRPT 530 but instead should enroll in another graduate-level scripture course of their choosing.

3 créditos por curso

Este curso hará un itinerario teológico por la Biblia, vista como la narración que expresa la revelación de Dios y su plan de salvación. Tras una breve presentación de la revelación y la Escritura en Dei Verbum, el curso aborda la Biblia como Historia de Salvación. La historia de la salvación comienza con un Dios desconocido que se revela progresivamente hasta su máxima cercanía y manifestación para nosotros en la persona de Jesús. La Biblia es la Palabra de Dios revelada y escrita para nuestra salvación. Comienza con la historia de la creación y la caída, sigue con la promesa de Dios a Abrahán, la alianza con Israel en el Sinaí, el Deuteronomio y el colapso del reino de David bajo la alianza deuteronomista. El curso culminará con la solución a los problemas planteados por la ley en el Antiguo Testamento y el cumplimiento de las promesas de Dios en la persona y obra de Jesucristo y su Iglesia. Los estudiantes serán introducidos en cuestiones de interpretación crítica e invitados a ejercitarse en comprender la Biblia como un relato unitario y coherente con profunda significación para hoy.

3 credit course

Romans is the Bible’s most influential book in Church history but also the most controversial and difficult of St. Paul’s letters. Many central Christian doctrines are found here such as original sin, grace, election and predestination. But above all, the letter is St. Paul’s theological masterpiece, since he there explains how God, in the gospel of Jesus Christ, has been completely faithful to all of his promises to Israel given in the Old Testament. In this exciting eight week online course, we will approach Romans, therefore, as Paul’s interpretation and exposition of the story of the Jewish Bible, a story that has reached its climax in Jesus and the restored people of God.

This course includes written lectures and online instruction.

3 credit course

(Formerly SCRPT 571) This course on the Gospel of St. John is designed to help students gain a familiarity with the biblical text of the Fourth Gospel (in English). In particular, students will read and study the Gospel of St. John closely, examining its primary theological and literary characteristics.  Important secondary materials will guide our study.  In addition to employing the best of modern critical interpretation, the Gospel of St. John will be read here within the framework of the Church’s living Tradition.  Students who complete this course should be able to demonstrate a good understanding of the Fourth Gospel’s major theological themes, symbols, and literary techniques.

This course includes written lectures and online discussion.

3 credit course

This course offers an introduction to the academic study of the Bible. First, we will ground ourselves in modern Church teachings about the nature of divine revelation; the relationship of Scripture, tradition, and the Magisterium; and, guidelines for interpretation of Scripture.

Second, we will study Biblical interpretation in the Church and in the world as it has developed from the Patristic Era to the Renaissance. Starting with the Church Fathers we will move through the medieval scholastics, to the Renaissance and issues of the Protestant Schism-Heresies / Reformation, and finally the challenge of Enlightenment philosophy and textual scholarship.

While the course does stand its own, it’s the first of a two-part discussion of the interpretation of the Bible that was originally one course (SCRPT 615).

SCRPT 617, the second course, considers the academic study of the Bible in the post-Enlightenment era; the development of modern critical methods; the development of the Church’s response to these methods through Vatican II and the Pontifical Biblical Commission; and, directions for future development.

3 credit course

The second course to History of Scripture Interpretation, which considers the academic study of the Bible in the post-Enlightenment era; the development of modern critical methods; the development of the Church’s response to these methods through Vatican II and the Pontifical Biblical Commission; and, directions for future development.

3 credit course

(Formerly 206-0430 and SCRPT 540.) This course provides an introduction to the Old Testament prophets with a special focus on the prophecy of Isaiah.  It will begin with a brief study of Church teachings about reading the Bible generally, the Old Testament specifically, and the necessary beginning of all Catholic Biblical interpretation with the historical dimension of the inspired text.  Thus, students will become thoroughly grounded in the rise, division, decline, narrow survival, eventual destruction, and God’s promised restoration of the Davidic monarchy as well as the inextricable relationship between history and Biblical prophecy.
The beginning period of the course will also include an introduction to reading Hebrew poetry in translation and the importance of literary genre in Biblical interpretation.   In the second part of the course, the actual text of Isaiah will be studied.  Since the book of Isaiah’s historical span is awesome and its text has profound relationships to other Biblical prophets, students will work through the entire book while noting parallel ideas in other prophets as well.  Furthermore, because Isaiah’s prophetic words are rightly famous, students will also study the ways in which the book of Isaiah has profoundly influenced the New Testament as well as the later Church.
Students who complete this course should be able to:

• identify the salient points of the history of the Davidic monarchy from the time of David to the Babylonian exile and the relevance of history for understanding and interpreting the prophets;
• explain the phenomenon of prophecy in Israel and what made this phenomenon unique in the ancient world;
• understand the great challenges and great benefits that go with reading Israel’s prophets as Christian scripture;
• identify the main characteristics of Hebrew poetry, its difference from prose and the importance of literary genre in Biblical interpretation;
• give an overview of the careers of Israel’s major prophets as well as selected members of the so-called minor prophets;
• grasp the details of the life and times of Isaiah the prophet and their relationship to the book of Isaiah;
• gain an appreciation of theological themes in the book of Isaiah and the influence of these themes on the expectations of the New Testament authors;
• and gain an appreciation of how the book of Isaiah has influenced the Church down through the centuries.

This course includes written lectures, audio and video supplements, and online discussion.

Please note: To play the video files all students must have media player software such as QuickTime Player, or else have an MP4 player such as an iPod.

It is highly recommended that students have a high-speed Internet connection to allow for downloading the large video files used in this course.

3 credit course

This course is an introduction to the three Synoptic Gospel accounts: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The course will follow a two-fold Christological hermeneutic. The first hermeneutic presupposes a prior act of faith that sees the person of Jesus Christ as the key to understanding the whole of the Gospels. The second hermeneutic uses a Canonical exegesis that involves reading the individual texts of the Gospels in the context of both the unity of the Gospel tradition and the wider biblical tradition. The first describes the interpretive science which guides the student, the latter describes the method or technique which the student applies to the Gospel text.

The course will examine preliminary questions like genre, the so-called “synoptic problem”, and historical-critical methods of research, although not focusing on these.

3 credit course

Applied Catholic Spirituality  introduces the student to the classical “three ways,”or  stages of the spiritual life, and the practical skills by which one may embark on the Catholic spiritual life.  Beginning with the teachings of Christ as recorded in the Gospels, this course also offers contemporary insight into the experience of personal conversion from the magisterial teaching of St John Paul II.  Following the framework of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the lessons of this course offer a testimony to the rich variety of Christian practices, illustrated in the lives and teachings of the outstanding masters of the spiritual life. Students who complete this course should be able to describe the unique contributions of these masters and identify the common threads that constitute the authentic tradition of Catholic doctrine and life.

3 credit course

This course introduces the student to the history of Christian theology as fides quaerens intellectum (“faith seeking [deeper] understanding”). Our method will be to survey Christian theology as it developed historically from the end of the New Testament times to the Second Vatican Council. As we examine several of the key issues that were debated in each epoch, we shall meet some of history’s most famous [and infamous!] theologians and come to understand their sometimes contradictory, sometimes complementary, ways of thinking about the things of God. Throughout our survey, special attention will be given to:

• the development of a chronological framework which will give order and coherence to all the theological knowledge you acquire in the future.
• the problem of “development of doctrine”: how can we say that the faith of the Catholic Church today is the same as the faith of the New Testament Church if certain Catholic practices and beliefs seem not to be explicitly found in the Bible?
• special critical moments in the history of theology, such as the period of the early Church Fathers, the Protestant and Catholic Reformation, and the theological revival leading up to the Second Vatican Council.

3 créditos por curso

Este curso introduce al estudiante a la historia de la teología cristiana como fides quaerens intellectum (“fe en busca de una comprensión [más profunda]”). Nuestro método será estudiar la teología cristiana tal como se desarrolló históricamente desde el final de los tiempos del Nuevo Testamento hasta el Concilio Vaticano II. Al examinar varios de los temas clave que se debatieron en cada época, conoceremos a algunos de los teólogos más famosos [¡e infames!] de la historia y llegaremos a entender sus formas a veces contradictorias, a veces complementarias, de pensar sobre las cosas de Dios.

3 créditos por curso

3 credit course

(Also PHIL 508) This philosophy course must be taken by all students in the MA program. It includes three major segments on Augustine and the Platonic Tradition: an overview of the thought of St. Augustine, its debt to ancient and Neo-Platonism, and its importance during the first millennium of Western Christianity.

This course includes written lectures and online discussion.

3 credit course

Old course number 206-0105

There are some foundational issues that are necessary for the study of systematic theology. The course begins by examining the nature and method of systematic theology and the sources of Divine Revelation. The topics covered in the course include God, his existence and attributes, the relation between faith and reason, biblical inspiration and interpretation, the development of Christian doctrine, and authority in the Church.

This course includes written lectures, audio lectures, and online discussions.

3 créditos por curso

3 credit course

(Formerly THEO 641 Theology of the Church) The theologian Henri de Lubac called the Church “the convergence of all of the mysteries.” The mysteries of God, the missions of the Divine Son and the Divine Spirit, Christ, man and world meet to constitute the Church. This course will help faithful students see how they participate in the great mysteries of salvation, the results of the missions of the Son and the Spirit. They will learn how to participate in Christ’s presence in the faith community and in the Church’s mission to the world. Students who complete this course should be able to explain how the scripture, tradition and magisterium relate to each other specifically in the description of the Church. The course explains the various elements of the Church of Jesus Christ through the mission of the divine Son. It also describes the operation of the accompanying mission of the Holy Spirit to realize the Church.

3 créditos por curso

3 credit course

(Formerly 206-0204 and THEO 551.) This course is designed to introduce the student to the study of the sacraments in the context of the worshipping Church. The course will begin by setting forth a notion of the worshipping community. This will form the basis of a systematic approach to understanding the sacraments and issues related to the study of the sacraments. There will also be an analysis of each of the sacraments and their significance for the life of the faith in the community. At the end of this course, the student should be able to describe fundamental issues related to the study of the sacraments, analyze key theological issues surrounding the sacraments, and articulate the relationship of the sacraments to Roman Catholic understanding of the faith. In addition, the student should be able to describe an integrative sacramental theory and an understanding of the significance of each sacrament as understood in the Roman Catholic tradition.

This course includes narrated power point presentation, audio transcriptions, and online discussions.

3 créditos por curso

3 credit course

Old course number 206-0307

In this course moral theology comes alive and grows in the hearts and minds of people and transforms the way in which people make sense of life; the way using Jesus, crucified and risen, and his sense of life (the Beatitudes). With the help of readings by moral theologian Fr. Servais Pinckaers and others, students should be able to understand the foundations (the Triune God’s creating, redeeming, and sanctifying activities) and components (conscience, character, and prudence) of moral theology and how they come together in a person’s repentance and continuing conversion.

This course includes written lectures and online discussion.

3 créditos por curso

En este curso, la teología moral cobra vida y crece en los corazones y las mentes de las personas y transforma la manera en que las personas le dan sentido a la vida; la manera en que utilizan a Jesús, crucificado y resucitado, y su sentido de la vida (las Bienaventuranzas). Con la ayuda de las lecturas del teólogo moral P. Servais Pinckaers y otros, los estudiantes deberían poder comprender los fundamentos (las actividades creadoras, redentoras y santificadoras del Dios Trino) y los componentes (conciencia, carácter y prudencia) de la teología moral y cómo se unen en el arrepentimiento y la conversión continua de una persona.

3 credit course

This course is an introduction to the history, theology, and symbolism of Catholic sacred architecture that focuses on how the development of Catholic sacred architecture and theology has affected the shape, configuration, and use of the Catholic church throughout various architectural styles and eras. It will follow this development from Pagan and Old Testament ideas of sacred architecture throughout the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Counter-Reformation, and Vatican II. The course will give an overview of the various declarations of the Church regarding the construction and symbolism of the church edifice.

3 credit course

There is no better place to study the four canonical gospels than in the place where the drama of salvation was acted out.  The holy places in the land where the Savior walked speak so powerfully of the work of redemption that the land is rightly called “the fifth gospel.”  The learning in this course will primarily take place not online, but on site for ten days in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Galilee.  Prior to and subsequent to the trip, there will be some fascinating reading and online discussion which will be the basis for a term paper to be submitted at the end of the class eight week period.  The primary goal of this interdisciplinary course will be to give the student insight into the Bible that can only be captured by being in the land.  Secondarily, we will learn about the Fathers of the Church, including Origen, Eusebius, Justin, Jerome, and Cyril of Jerusalem, who lived and wrote in the Holy Land.  Finally, since travel in the Holy Land will bring us face-to-face with the Crusades and Muslim-Christian relations, we will learn about Church history and inter-religious dialogue.  For graduate students, the course could be counted toward a concentration in Scripture, Theology/Philosophy, Ecclesial Service or Catholic Culture or toward the certificate program in Scripture or Church History, provided one completes a research assignment appropriate to one’s area of study.  Approval is required, contact the Registrar.

3 credit course

(This course will not be offered in 2022.) While Christianity was born in the middle East, it was Italy that became, within a few decades after Christ’s resurrection, the Crossroads of the Christian world.  For two thousand years Christians from East and West, North and South, have come to Italy to serve Christ and his Church.  In this course, we’ll be examining the lives and work of many great Christians that spent part of their lives in central Italy.  The apostles Peter and Paul, the native Italians Sts. Benedict, Clare, and Francis, the Spaniard St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Greek missionaries Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the great artists Michelangelo and Raphael, all these and more will be the subject of our study.  Our learning will primarily take place not online, but on site for ten days in Rome, Assisi, Florence, and Orvieto.  Prior to the trip, there will be some fascinating reading and online discussion which will be the basis for a term paper to be submitted after the trip.  The goal of this interdisciplinary course will be to give the student an appreciation of the depth and breadth of the Catholic culture represented by the abundant monuments to faith to be found in central Italy. For graduate students, the course could be counted toward a concentration in Scripture, Theology/Philosophy, Ecclesial Service or Catholic Culture or toward the certificate program in Scripture or Church History, provided one completes a research assignment appropriate to one’s area of study.  Approval is required, contact the Registrar.

3 credit course

Prepared by Fr. Spitzer S.J., this course is based on his new book New Proofs for the Existence of God, which examines scientific data in the light of philosophical analysis specifically into the nature of proof itself. This cutting edge course makes a strong argument for the plausibility of theism. Robert Jastrow, the former director of Goddard Institute of Space Studies, said: “[the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason] has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” This analysis adds new meaning to life, to our understanding of transcendence and destiny. Come and join us in the journey.

This course contains video lectures with audio, written lecture materials, power points, and online discussion.

3 credit course

This course will explore the treatment of the truth of existence including the truth of salvation (Christology) in the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Students who complete this course will be able to explain what samples from Thomas’ different texts mean and how they can be applied and how Aquinas saw the congruence between some ancient metaphysics and the ontology of the Scriptures. They will be able to analyze the way he treated the theology of God, Christ and salvation, human beings, and their actions.

* Cross-listed as PHIL 621

3 credit course

Old course numbers 206-2301 and THEO 631

This course provides an introduction to Catholic theology of Jesus Christ.  Upon completion of this course, you will have probed the biblical witness to the mystery of Jesus; read important selections from the history of Christology, including those from the great councils of the first centuries of the Church; and examined contemporary systematic questions.  Introduction to Christology will provide a catechetical overview of the Church’s teaching on Christ, as well as an opportunity to engage in mature theological inquiry concerning this great mystery of the Faith.

This course includes written lectures and online discussion.

3 créditos por curso

Este curso ofrece una introducción a la teología católica de Jesucristo. Al finalizar este curso, usted habrá investigado el testimonio bíblico sobre el misterio de Jesús; habrá leído selecciones importantes de la historia de la cristología, incluidas las de los grandes concilios de los primeros siglos de la Iglesia; y habrá examinado cuestiones sistemáticas contemporáneas. Introducción a la cristología proporcionará una visión general catequética de la enseñanza de la Iglesia sobre Cristo, así como una oportunidad de participar en una investigación teológica madura sobre este gran misterio de la fe.

3 credit course

Presenting the Faith in the Modern World:  Dealing with the Hard Questions introduces the student to the more fraught and challenging applications of Catholic teaching to real life situations in contemporary Western society.  The course is designed to prepare students for real engagement with both contemporary secular and religious views at odds with Catholicism.  The course will equip those who hold teaching (or other public positions) with practical guidance on how to dialogue pastorally and constructively with persons who hold contrary viewpoints.

3 credit course

This survey course will introduce the basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching, which have been called the Church’s “best kept secret.” This course will help students to identify and explain the seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching; trace the history of Catholic social thought, especially the key Church documents and papal encyclicals from Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum in 1891 to Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ in 2015; understand the theological foundations for Catholic Social Teaching in Scripture and Tradition; and develop an ability to apply these teachings to specific situations and issues, including immigration, war and peace, economics, and the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death.

3 credit course

The practicum enables students to implement the skills that they have learned in the MA in Theology and Educational Ministry program through practical workplace training. One must complete the Practicum Proposal Assignment for RELED 560 and register for the MA in Theology and Educational Ministry program practicum prior to the start date of the first activity. Under the supervision of the onsite supervisor, in conjunction with the course professor, students will work in a limited way in their chosen field, observing and documenting the professional skills, ministerial attitudes, and theological connections or understandings related to the ministry experience and how they relate to the completion of the proposed practicum.

3 credit course

The graduate thesis is a culminating project that incorporates scholarly research on a topic studied or referenced within the CDU MA (Theology) graduate program coursework. Upon completing the thesis, the student should be able to accurately and thoroughly develop a thesis, citing approved primary and secondary sources. This thesis should be between 30 and 50 pages (7,500-12,500 words), plus bibliography. Upon registering for the graduate thesis, students will submit a topic with initial bibliography for approval to Academic Leadership. Academic Leadership will then assign a thesis advisor, who will guide and review a formal thesis outline and bibliography, a fully developed draft, and the final thesis. All work must be adhere formats and conventions as described in Kate Turabian’s A Manual for Writers, 8th or 9th Editions. Three credits are awarded once the thesis director and Academic Leadership approve the thesis. All student work must be completed within the 16-week term in which s(he) registers.

If a student proposes a project involving research on human subjects, he or she must first submit the proposal to Academic Leadership with a faculty advisor in mind. If the Academic Leadership approves the project and determines upon review of HHS standards that the topic indeed involves research on living persons (as opposed to merely anonymous data about people), both the student and the faculty advisor (if necessary) will be required to attend appropriate Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training. Please note that CDU charges a Human Subjects Thesis fee of $400 to cover the faculty training (if necessary), in addition to the cost of CITI student training that is borne by the student. These expenses are in addition to the tuition charged for the thesis course. Once the training is complete, the student submits the project for review by the institutional review board before implementation, using the IRB portal of American Public University. CDU has a memo of understanding with APUS that CDU will submit for IRB review each proposal, including any surveys, instruments, and other tools, that will be used for specific research on human subjects under the requirements of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation 45 C.F.R. Part 46. To facilitate the IRB application process, the student is urged to take an explanatory webinar and follow this checklist and complete the Clearpath Learning App as he or she builds the application in the portal. After the IRB has the opportunity to address questions or concerns about the application, a decision will be made to approve or disapprove the proposal within one month of submission. Upon approval, a student may begin his or her research. If the project takes over 12 months, a renewal form must be submitted. The APUS website contains other useful information such as the APUS IRB Manual, which includes sample consent forms to use in the process of conducting approved research.