University Abat Oliba (UAO) in Barcelona, Spain - PhD and MA via Distance Through AAI

The University Abat Oliba (UAO) is now offering full and part-time PhD and MA degrees via distance through the Adler-Aquinas Institute (AAI) here in the United States. The degree programs are new and both UAO and AAI will soon update their websites to indicate their collaborative agreement.

Facts:

1. UAO is a private B&M Catholic University with RA and NA accreditations.
2. AAI’s mission statement:

The Adler-Aquinas Institute was founded to provide a sound philosophical metaphysics (rooted in first principles grounded in sense wonder about the being of sensible things and faculties and habits of the intellectual soul) and a sound theology (rooted in revelation and the Magisterium consistently interpreting that revelation and the necessary conclusions there from), to open the minds of students to an appreciation of the spiritual as well as the scientific and humanistic inheritance of Western civilization.

3. UAO is RA through the Interuniversity Council of Catalonia, Spain
4. UAO is NA through the University Council, a division of Spain’s Ministry of Education
5. Both PhD and MA are offered by the UAO’s Humanities and Education Department
6. The MA is in Humanistic and Social Studies (focused on the thought and philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas)
7. The PhD is in Thomistic Studies (again, focused on the thought and philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas)
8. You must have an MA to be admitted to the PhD program, preferably UAO's MA. If you don’t have UAO's MA, they will review your MA and most likely require that you take some of their MA courses before starting the PhD.
9. Both PhD and MA work are done and written in English, although if you know Spanish or Catalán, that would be helpful. I’m currently listening to lectures in Spanish via video link.
10. The MA requires course work and a thesis; the PhD is dissertation-only like UNiSA.
11. AAI Scholars scholars teach some of the MA courses; they are also appointed as dissertation advisers and guide PhD students in the USA.
12. The MA is done completely via distance.
13. The PhD student is required to travel only one time to Barcelona to defend his or her dissertation.
14. On a part-time basis, UAO will allow a student to complete their PhD in 5 years. Under special circumstances, they can extend the time to 6, 7, or 8 years maximum. Not sure about the MA.
15. The total cost of the MA at today’s exchange rates without books and other administrative fees is about $5,000 (US). For the PhD, UAO requires a matriculation fee of about $1,000 (US) a year. Again, this doesn’t include the cost of books and travel.
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Needless to say, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to pursue a PhD from UAO through AAI. I submit my application by October 2013 and decisions for admission will be made in November 2013.

I know this is a very narrow field but I’m sharing this in case anyone is interested.

 

I'll never qualify for the degree, but I share your interest in St. Thomas Aquinas. I have a 20-lecture series on him on my MP3 player right now. I wonder, sometimes, if he were still among us, what his reaction to the current pricing model in US Higher education would be?

St. Thomas argued that it was immoral for sellers to raise their prices simply because buyers were in pressing need of a product. :smile:

I suspect much of the dramatic rise in cost of higher ed. is simply because they (the suppliers) can. :sad:

Johann

 

In the strict sense of what RA and NA mean in the USA, you are correct. But, UAO and its degree programs are approved by the self-governing body of the region of Catalonia and Spain's Ministry of Education. I borrowed the terms RA and NA to convey these points. The bottom line is that UAO's PhD and MA are solid programs. I don't see these programs having any difficulty being accepted in the USA.

 

It's a great find. Thanks for sharing it with us. I'm certain of your admission. Best of luck with your program. I hope you'll keep us updated.

 

Agreed. Since RA and NA are loaded US terms, it was not a good choice for me to use them to describe UAO's status as a solid university.

 

Thank you Kizmet. I hope it works out. I'm gathering my sources to get a head start on the program, even if I have to take additional Master's courses. I already have a Master of Arts degree from a Roman Catholic seminary. Some of the coursework included Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, and ethics. My second Master's in public administration included studies on the philosophical underpinnings of the US Constitution and ethics in government. So I anticipate not taking too many additional Master's courses for their PhD program.

 

Johann,

AAI is planning to offer catechetical courses via distance. Since most of the AAI scholars are Thomists, I'm sure some of their courses will be devoted to the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.

What is the name of the lecture series you purchased?

 

Since degree mills "sell" a product (as opposed to providing an education), does St. Thomas's argument apply to the mills?

 

I can't speak for him, of course -- but I rather think St. Thomas would find the false products of the mills morally objectionable at any price.

Nowadays, education has been so commoditized in our society that yes - legitimate schools can truly be said to "sell" their instruction. The only difference: what the legit schools sell has a certain value. What the mills sell does not.

And Boethius - I'll get back to you on the lecture set. Stay tuned.

Johann

Johann

 

I didn't purchase them. They were a free download. I believe they came from this site:

Course – The Mind of Man: The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas | DominicanWitness.com

Just right-click on the lecture titles -- "save target" and down they come.

Johann

 

The Adler-Aquinas Institute website is updated to reflect the MA-PhD program requirements. Cost information for 2013-2014 is indicated as well. (By the way, I translated the MA coursework requirements into English.)

 

Boethius,

Could I gather any information on your experience at Abat Oliba? I am very interested in the program.

 

You do realize, do you not, that you are responding to a three year old thread.

 

Yes, of course, but I went this route in addition to PMing Boethius.

Is starting a new thread a better option?

 

No, it's good to use old threads. I'm afraid though that our friend Boethius doesn't spend much of his time here anymore. Perhaps he's busy with school. In any case, you've chosen a fairly obscure school for your inquiry and I'm unsure if anyone else has and experience with this particular university. I hope you let us know if you learn anything further.

 

Never mind.

 

Holy Apostles College & Seminary in Cromwell, CT, now assists with this program at AOU in Barcelona since the acquisition of the Adler-Aquinas Institutes concentration in Christian Wisdom chaired by Dr. Peter Redpath. See Doctorate in Humanities Program | Holy Apostles College & Seminary for details.