Online Masters in Catholic Liturgy/Theology/Education

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by silvergrasshopper, Jun 6, 2021.

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  1. silvergrasshopper

    silvergrasshopper New Member

    I am looking for a 100%-online part-time Master's programme in Catholic Liturgy/Theology/Education (the order indicating my preference) which is taught in English, inexpensive, and enterable with a Bachelor's degree in any field.

    Three programmes I've came across:
    1) Master in Theology (Domuni University): requires a Bachelor's degree Theology or Religious Studies.
    2) Master in Ecumenical Studies (Ukrainian Catholic University): focuses more on ecumenism (hence the name) than on Roman Catholic Theology itself.
    3) Master of Arts in Roman Catholic Theology (EUCLID University): somewhat okay contentwise but doubt arises as I did not receive the brochure which I asked via email. (Clicking the "Download Brochure" button on their website only produces an error.) Is this programme actually alive?

    Reading some other threads, I found out that South African universities do affordable online programmes in English; however I'm not aware of one which does Catholic Theology.

    I would appreciate any suggestion. Thanks a lot.
     
  2. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Nationally Accredited US Masters Degree:
    They are offering a free term and each term is only $450 right now
    Furthermore, if you're in a country NOT on their list of 35, you get it FREE

    https://nationsu.edu/masters-degree-programs/
    MASTER OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
    MASTER OF DIVINITY
     
  3. Mac Juli

    Mac Juli Well-Known Member

    Cool, but is is Catholic?
     
  4. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

  5. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Nations University is a Christian University, I think it will cover denominations such as Catholic and/or Protestants. It depends what the user wants, if it works, great, if not then a more expensive DEAC school as mentioned by our resident gladfly may work... But I wouldn't want to spend too much when Nations U can do the job!
     
  6. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

  7. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    It's not the same. Nations University is non-denominational, and I believe they're loosely affiliated with the Church of Christ. They're Protestant, so they have major differences with the Catholic denomination. Protestant schools typically do not cover the additional books that are included in the Catholic Bible.
     
    Dustin and Rachel83az like this.
  8. Courcelles

    Courcelles Active Member

  9. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    With the differences in theology, a "non-denominational" Protestant degree wouldn't be unlike getting a degree in Islamic or Hindu studies instead of Catholic Liturgy. They're all religious degrees, and I think that anyone of any religion (or lack thereof) should be allowed to study them, but they differ in very important and fundamental aspects. So they wouldn't work if you need the degree for a specific reason.

    As an example: Jews, Catholics, and Protestants all use different versions of the 10 Commandments. What we call the 10 Commandments in popular culture is actually specifically listed out twice in what Christians call the Old Testament. Catholics essentially use one and Protestants use another. Although they are more or less the same lists, they emphasize slightly different things. The Jewish faith parses the text differently than either Catholics or Protestants to emphasize a third version of the rules. For the interested, here's a relatively neutral page that explains the differences: https://www.juliantrubin.com/encyclopedia/bible/ten_commandments.html (I do not promise that the rest of the site is neutral, I haven't read it.)

    And that's just one relatively minor difference.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  10. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    I feel that the answer to this questions need more information. It'd really depend on why you need that degree. Is it for personal development? Or to get skills to use in an existing volunteer role in Catholic lay leadership? Or to get a competitive lay position that promises pay and/or prestige?

    I am partial to the Ukrainian Catholic University. It's a terrific school. However, that degree is very specifically in Ecumenism, not Catholic Theology. There is a class in Catholic tradition, and you can certainly study it from Catholic perspective. But it might not have enough substance in specific areas you listed. Having said that, again, great program. I could totally see myself trying to get it, TBH.

    The problem with Euclid is that it was discussed extensively in this forum, and we did not come to a definite conclusion. I personally like it, but it sounds like a chore having to constantly explain "treaty recognition" and "UN registry" to people, as well as explaining why you attended a school in The Gambia / Central African Republic. It is also a bit too expensive for a purely personal-interest degree, and is not attached to any of the Catholic authorities (Holy See/Diocese/Order/Prelature; someone really). Finally, they do look like a fairly small group of people, so how "alive" is any particular program at any particular time? No clue, probably no way to know save for enrolling.

    Domuni - I would pick for personal interest. Con - the project seems under-resourced, and secular degree authorization seem to be in flux. Pro: inexpensive, and Dominican. Attachment to the Order of Preachers can be enough to justify the degree to at least some Bishops or parishes for a lay position or a volunteer. I'm speculating here, and YMMV. I feel there is no "ticking bomb" situation here; you can't be blamed for trusting something that comes out of the OP.

    If you need the top-flight accreditation and prestige: CDU and Franciscan would each fit the bill IMHO. Less inexpensive, of course.
     
  11. Courcelles

    Courcelles Active Member

    CDU may well even be RA by the time you can finish, they have been awarded candidacy. That said, they’re expensive, more than Holy Apostles or St. Joseph of Maine per credit, both of which already are RA.

    I linked Holy Apostles above, here’s St. Joseph’s program: https://www.sjcme.edu/academics/online/programs/master-of-arts-theology/
     
  12. silvergrasshopper

    silvergrasshopper New Member

    Many thanks for the replies. The degree is only for my personal development. And yes, it should be a Catholic one. Sadly, neither Holy Apostles nor St. Joseph of Maine looks affordable to me at this time. Are those the cheapest ones in the US? (I'm a resident of a developing country.) I find it difficult to find a non-US university (perhaps one in South Africa or the Philippines) that does such a programme online; presumably there's barely any?
     
  13. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    What is your budget for a Master's degree? An Amercian's idea of "inexpensive" isn't going to be the same as those of someone from a developing country.
     
  14. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

  15. Courcelles

    Courcelles Active Member

  16. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    You're right. I'm not sure how I misread that! Still not a bad price, though.
     
  17. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    For Westerners, 13,500 USD might be quite reasonable, but silvergrasshopper mentioned coming from a developing nation. Depending on where he or she is, this may be more than a year's salary. After taxes, rent, food, etc., it could take many years to save up that kind of money. (Source: living in a developing country!)

    So are there any lesser known, cheaper Catholic programs outside of Western nations?
     
    innen_oda likes this.
  18. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Saint Joseph's College of Maine has tuition of $387 per graduate credit. https://www.sjcme.edu/admissions/online/costs-and-billing/ They have an 18-credit graduate certificate in Catholic theology: http://catalog.sjcme.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=36&poid=2850&returnto=1277

    Spring Hill College is $345 per credit for a MA Theology. https://www.shc.edu/admissions/tuition-and-aid/graduate-tuition-and-fees/ There are 48 credits in the degree, though. https://www.shc.edu/academics/graduate-students/degrees/master-arts-theology/

    You might be able to find something cheaper outside of the US (perhaps in Italy or Spain) but the request was made for a degree in English. There simply are not any degrees I can find that fit all the requirements of 1. In English 2. Specifically Catholic 3. Affordable. You can get Affordable and English but not Catholic (NationsU). You can get English and Catholic but possibly not very affordable (most of the links on this page). And you can probably get Affordable and Catholic but not English.

    For instance, here is a Spanish school that offers bachelor's degrees (official or titulo propio) for about 2000€ per year. https://www.facultadseut.org/es/tasas-academicas According to the scant English on the page, it's a blend of Catholic and Protestant theology. But you need to speak Spanish to get the degree.

    Masters titulo propio in Theology for 2460€ (minus 603€ if you fill out the form for a discount) https://www.techtitute.com/filosofia/maestria/maestria-teologia-practica But, again, you need to speak Spanish. You could do it with the help of Google Translate but you might miss some of the theological nuance that way.
     
  19. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

  20. silvergrasshopper

    silvergrasshopper New Member

    Many thanks again. As for the budget, Domuni's (€3,000 ≈ $3,700), UCU's (S1,000 per semester), EUCLID's ($6,000 - $7,000) are (roughly) less than half of SJCME's ($13,932). In general I can consider programmes costing no more than $7,000 in total.
     

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