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Program Advisors: Dr. Matthew Gerlach

Program Outcomes    

The Catholic Studies Program has three principal student learning outcomes, each having its own set of secondary outcomes:   

1. Appreciating the substance and content of the Catholic intellectual tradition by examining the dynamic interplay between Catholicism and culture, past and present.     
   
       
   
   1. Understanding the sociological-theological dynamics of religion in general and Catholicism in particular within human societies and cultures.     
   
   
   2. Remembering and analyzing the mutual influence of the Church and human culture from the first century A.D. to the present, especially the growth, flowering, and decay of forms of Catholic culture over time.     
   
   
   3. Evaluating the synchronic interrelationships between multiple facets of Catholic thought & culture (spirituality and religious life, intellectual culture, literature, the arts, social institutions, historical events) within a given socio-historical context.
    
2. Integrating faith and reason within diverse disciplines and professions.     
   
       
   
   1. Understanding the relationship between faith and reason as two distinct yet complementary modes of human knowledge.     
   
   
   2. Recognizing and evaluating the fruitful tension between faith and reason across a range of current academic disciplines and professions (e.g., sociology, psychology, philosophy, theology, history, music, nursing, business, education, art, politics, etc.).
       
3. Applying the Catholic tradition of thought and culture to the whole of one's life with self-knowledge (unifying faith and life).     
    

1. Developing personal discipline and intellectual habits requisite to a Catholic liberal education and the intellectual tasks of the New Evangelization.     


2. Creating a flexible plan of life which incorporates essential principles and practices of Christian, Catholic, and Benedictine spirituality into one's concrete state in life and anticipated profession.

For the major in Catholic Studies, students must take 4 foundation courses and 5 advanced for a total of 9 courses, a minimum of 34 credits (15 lower-level credits, 19-20 upper-level credits). Intended to complement a student's first major (i.e. complementary second major). C-average minimum required to graduate with the major.     

Foundation Courses (15 credits).    

Students must take 4 foundation courses at the 100- and 200-levels, at least one during freshman year if possible:    

(1) CTH 101: The Great Catholic Adventure (4 crs)
(2) CTH/PHI 210: Search for Happiness: Faith and Reason in Life (4 crs)
(3) CTH/SBS 220: Religion and Culture (4 crs)
(4) CTH/THE 234: Benedict: Yesterday and Today (3 crs). Taken sophomore year if possible, in Rome or on the Bismarck campus if not studying abroad in Rome.     

Advanced Courses (19-20 credits).    

Students must take 5 advanced courses at the 300- and 400-levels:    

(5) CTH 301: Catholic Imagination (4 crs)
(6) One advanced Catholic Studies/History elective (4 crs): either CTH/HIS 330: Catholicism and the Modern World or CTH/HIS 310: Catholicism and America
(7) One CTH 325 or 425 Special Topics course or another 300- or 400-level interdisciplinary course pre-approved by the program coordinator (3 or 4 crs)
(8) CTH 401: Great Catholic Figures (4 crs)
(9) CTH 498: Integrating Capstone Seminar (4 crs)     

For the minor in Catholic Studies, students must take 3 foundation courses and 2 advanced courses for a total of 5 courses, a minimum of 18 total credits (11 lower-level credits, at least 7 upper-level credits). C-average minimum required to graduate with the minor.     

Foundation Courses (11 credits).    

Students must take 3 foundation courses at the 100- or 200-levels, at least one during freshman year if possible:    

(1) Any 2 of the following 3 courses:     

CTH 101: The Great Catholic Adventure (4 crs)
CTH/PHI 210: Search for Happiness: Faith and Reason in Life (4 crs)
CTH/SBS 220: Religion and Culture (4 crs)     

(2) CTH/THE 234: Benedict: Yesterday and Today (3 crs). Taken sophomore year if possible, in Rome or on the Bismarck campus if not studying abroad in Rome.     

Advanced Courses (at least 7 credits).    

Students must take 2 advanced courses at the 300- or 400-level from the following 3 categories:    

An advanced Catholic Studies/History elective: either CTH/HIS 330: Catholicism and the Modern World or CTH/HIS 310: Catholicism and America (4 crs)
CTH 301: Catholic Imagination (4 crs)
CTH 325 or 425 Special Topics course or another approved interdisciplinary course at the 300- or 400-level (3 or 4 crs)