The masters in Catholic Theology is one of the most popular graduate programs at Catholic International University.

• Provides systematic study of dogmatic, moral, and sacramental theology, Scripture, philosophy, spirituality, and Church history.
• Provides the solid foundation in Church teaching to qualify individuals to seek professional careers in the Church or to give the necessary tools to those already involved in Church work.

Our highly educated faculty offer flexible, fully online course offerings that are challenging, engaging, and affordable. Which means you can complete your master’s from anywhere in the world.

• Faithfully Catholic
• Rigorous course of study
• Forbes’ Best Online Theology Degree.

Our graduates go on to serve the Church and the world through ministry to the Catholic Church, non-profit leadership, education, law, health care, diocesan leadership, priesthood and religious life, and so much more. With your master’s in Theology, the Catholic Church will never be the same.

CORE COURSES (8 weeks unless otherwise noted):

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
THEO 503	The Catholic Theological Tradition	3
THEO 510	Revelation and Faith: Fundamental Theology	3
THEO 541	Theology of Church	3
THEO 552	Sacraments and Liturgy	3
THEO 560	Fundamental Moral Theology	3
THEO 632	Christology	3
PHIL 508	Philosophy for Theology	3
SCRPT 530	Introduction to Scripture and Salvation History	3

 

ELECTIVE COURSES (8 weeks unless otherwise noted):

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
CHIST 514	Church History I: Early Christians to the Middle Ages	3
CHIST 524	Church History II: Renaissance to Modern Church	3
CHIST 544	History of the Catholic Church in America	3
CST 500/PHIL 512	Foundations of Catholic Social Thought	3
CST 510	Social Doctrine of the Church, 1891-1965	3
CST 520	Catholic Social Teaching: John Paul II Benedict XVI, and Francis	3
RELED 560	Principles of Catholic Education	3
SCRPT 615	History of Biblical Interpretation 12 weeks	3
SCRPT 520	Pentateuch	3
SCRPT 640	Isaiah and the Prophets 12 weeks	3
SCRPT 570	The Letter to the Romans	3
SCRPT 581	The Gospel of St. John	3
SCRPT 662	The Synoptic Gospels	3
SPIR 501	Applied Catholic Spirituality	3
THEO 590	Theology of Sacred Architecture	3
THEO 598	Holy Land: The Fifth Gospel	3
THEO 599	Italy: Crossroads of Christendom	3
THEO 617	Father Spitzer’s Evidence for God 12 weeks	3
THEO 619	The Thought of Thomas Aquinas	3
THEO 640	Presenting the Faith in the Modern World: Dealing with Hard Questions	3
THEO 682	Forming a Catholic World View: Catholic Social Teachings	3
THEO 698	Thesis Direction 16 weeks	3

 

 

Interested in the 7 themes of Catholic Social Teaching or always wondered how to integrate social justice with your love for the Catholic Church? Get your master’s degree in Theology with a concentration in Catholic Social Teaching. Catholic International’s graduate programs are ranked best by Forbes magazine, so you know you’re getting a rigorous academic experience taught by top-tier faculty. You’ll get a full online Catholic International master’s in Theology degree while focusing intently on the seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching:

• Life and dignity of the human person
• Call to family, community, and participation
• Rights and responsibilities
• Option for the poor and vulnerable
• The dignity of work and the rights of workers
• Solidarity
• Care for God’s creation

The master’s in theology with a concentration in Catholic Social Teaching is a great option if you’d like to teach, serve in parish or diocesan leadership, work in the non-profit sector, grow personally and professionally, or just expand your heart for creating a more just society.

CORE COURSES (8 weeks unless otherwise noted):

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
THEO 503	The Catholic Theological Tradition	3
THEO 510	Revelation and Faith: Fundamental Theology	3
THEO 541	Theology of Church	3
THEO 552	Sacraments and Liturgy	3
THEO 560	Fundamental Moral Theology	3
THEO 632	Christology	3
PHIL 508	Philosophy for Theology	3
SCRPT 530	Introduction to Scripture and Salvation History	3

 

CONCENTRATION  COURSES (8 weeks unless otherwise noted):

Students will earn a total of nine credits from the following selection of courses:

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
CST 500	Foundations of Catholic Social Thought	3
CST 510	Social Doctrine of the Church, 1891-1965	3
CST 520	Catholic Social Teaching: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis	3

 

ELECTIVE COURSES (8 weeks unless otherwise noted):

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
CHIST 514	Church History I: Early Christians to the Middle Ages	3
CHIST 524	Church History II: Renaissance to Modern Church	3
CHIST 544	History of the Catholic Church in America	3
CST 500	Foundations of Catholic Social Thought	3
CST 510	Social Doctrine of the Church, 1891-1965	3
RELED 560	Principles of Catholic Education	3
SCRPT 615	History of Biblical Interpretation 12 weeks	3
SCRPT 520	Pentateuch	3
SCRPT 640	Isaiah and the Prophets 12 weeks	3
SCRPT 570	The Letter to the Romans	3
SCRPT 581	The Gospel of St. John	3
SCRPT 662	The Synoptic Gospels	3
SPIR 501	Applied Catholic Spirituality	3
THEO 590	Theology of Sacred Architecture	3
THEO 598	Holy Land: The Fifth Gospel	3
THEO 599	Italy: Crossroads of Christendom	3
THEO 617	Father Spitzer’s Evidence for God 12 weeks	3
THEO 619	The Thought of Thomas Aquinas	3
THEO 640	Presenting the Faith in the Modern World: Dealing with Hard Questions	3
THEO 682	Forming a Catholic World View: Catholic Social Teachings	3
THEO 698	Thesis Direction 16 weeks	3
CST 550	Rome Summer Institute	3
CST 560	Practicum	3

 

Graduate Certificate in Catholic Social Teaching

• Provides the education that parishes, priests, deacons, and lay leaders need to put CST into practice in ministries of charity that have the power to transform lives and engage parishioners in doing God’s work through corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Program Goals

• Demonstrate an understanding of the sources of CST
• Identify and explain the principles of CST as developed in key magisterial documents
• Integrate the principles of CST in discussion and analysis of contemporary social issues
• Apply knowledge of CST to identify and respond to the ministerial needs of specific constituencies

Course Lists

Students will earn a total of nine credits from the following selection of courses:

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
CST 500	Foundations of Catholic Social Thought	3
CST 510	Social Doctrine of the Church, 1891-1965	3
CST 520	Catholic Social Teaching: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis	3
CST 550	Rome Summer Institute (Under development)	3
CST 560	Practicum (Under development)	3

 

Graduate Certificate in Church History

• Offers Church History study at the graduate level without the requirements of a full Master’s program.

Program Goals

• Summarize knowledge of major stages in Catholic Church history
• Identify and analyze at least one major historical event in the Church
• Apply theological and secular methodologies to Church history and their relationship to one another
• Interpret trends in ecclesial historiography
• Develop necessary reading skills to critically engage historical texts in light of the best scholarship and Church tradition.

Course Lists

Students will earn a total of twelve credits from the following selection of core courses:

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
THEO 503	The Catholic Theological Tradition	3
CHIST 514	Church History I: Early Christians to Middle Ages	3
CHIST 524	Church History II: Renaissance to Modern Church	3
THEO 632	Christology	3

 

Students will earn 6 credits from any of the following elective courses:

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
CHIST 544	History of the Catholic Church in America	3
CST 500/PHIL 512	Foundations of Catholic Social Thought	3
CST 510	Social Doctrine of the Church, 1891-1965	3
CST 520	Catholic Social Teaching: John Paul II Benedict XVI, and Francis	3
SCRPT 530	Introduction to Scripture and Salvation History	3
SCRPT 616	History of Biblical Interpretation, Part 1	3
SCRPT 617	History of Biblical Interpretation, Part 2	3
SCRPT 640	Isaiah and the Prophets 12 weeks	3

Catholic International reserves the right to substitute suitable comparable courses different from the ones listed for the student to complete the certificate.

Graduate Certificate in Sacred Scripture

• Offers Sacred Scripture study at the graduate level without the requirements of a full Master’s program.

Program Goals

• Demonstrate acquaintance with the full range of Scriptural texts and the relationships among them
• Exhibit familiarity with ancient and modern interpretive tools and hermeneutical methods
• Illustrate how scholarship is related to Catholic theological and doctrinal concepts
• Read and interpret Scriptural texts on their own in light of the best scholarship and Church tradition

Course Lists

Students will earn a total of 12 credits from the following selection of courses:

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
THEO 503	The Catholic Theological Tradition	3
SCRPT 530	Introduction to Scripture and Salvation History	3
SCRPT 616	History of Biblical Interpretation, Part 1	3
SCRPT 617	History of Biblical Interpretation, Part 2	3

 

Students will earn 6 credits from any of the following elective courses:

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
SCRPT 520	Pentateuch	3
SCRPT 570	The Letter to the Romans	3
SCRPT 581	The Gospel of St. John	3
SCRPT 640	Isaiah and the Prophets 12 weeks	3
SCRPT 662	The Synoptic Gospels	3

Catholic International reserves the right to substitute suitable comparable courses different from the ones listed for the student to complete the certificate.

Graduate Certificate for Catholic Educators

• Offers coursework to provide sound religious formation for Catholic youth and adults and accurate information to discuss the Faith with those who may be seeking a faith life or are otherwise unaffiliated with the Catholic Church without the requirements of a full Master’s program.

Program Goals

• Teach, promote, and defend the Catholic Faith
• Demonstrate knowledge of Church teaching and the ability to access, interpret, and apply these teachings in various Church and Catholic education settings.

Course Lists

The Certificate program offers students an overview of basic Catholic theology, Scripture, Catholic social teaching, along with the feature course, Principles of Catholic Education.  Learners selecting this option will have basic coursework to provide sound religious formation for Catholic youth and adults and accurate information to discuss the Faith with who may be seeking a faith life or are otherwise unaffiliated with the Catholic Church.

Course Number	Course Title
THEO 503	The Catholic Theological Tradition
RELED 560	Principles of Catholic Education
THEO 682	Forming a Catholic World View: Catholic Social Teachings
SCRPT 530	Introduction to Scripture and Salvation History
SPIR 501	Applied Catholic Spirituality
THEO 640	Presenting the Faith in the Modern World: Dealing with Hard Questions

 

Students will earn 6 credits required from any of the following elective courses:

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
CHIST 544	History of the Catholic Church in America	3
CST 500/PHIL 512	Foundations of Catholic Social Thought	3
CST 510	Social Doctrine of the Church, 1891-1965	3
CST 520	Catholic Social Teaching: John Paul II Benedict XVI, and Francis	3
SCRPT 530	Introduction to Scripture and Salvation History	3
SCRPT 616	History of Biblical Interpretation, Part 1	3
SCRPT 617	History of Biblical Interpretation, Part 2	3
SCRPT 640	Isaiah and the Prophets 12 weeks	3

Catholic International reserves the right to substitute suitable comparable courses different from the ones listed for the student to complete the certificate.