The Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in Brighton, Massachusetts, United States is the graduate divinity school of Boston College and an ecclesiastical faculty of theology that trains men and women, both lay and religious, for service, especially within the Roman Catholic Church. The school is operated by the Jesuits.
History
Founded in 1922 as Weston College in the Massachusetts town of Weston, the school was integrated into Boston College in 1959.
In 1974, Weston College became independent but coordinated with Boston College under the Boston Theological Institute. In 1975, Weston College was renamed to Weston School of Theology and operated from facilities in Cambridge, Massachusetts in a cooperative arrangement with the Episcopal Divinity School. In 1994, the school was renamed to Weston Jesuit School of Theology.
In December 2004, Boston College announced plans to create a School of Theology and Ministry by merging the Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. The reaffiliation of Weston Jesuit School of Theology with Boston College took place in 2008, and the school was moved to the Boston College campus in Brighton, Massachusetts, purchased in 2006. These buildings formerly housed the chancery of the Archdiocese of Boston and portions of St. John's Seminary.
Academic programs
The Boston College School of Theology and Ministry is a fully accredited member of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and offers the following degree and certificate programs:
Civil degree programs
- Master of Divinity (M.Div.)
- Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.)
- Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry (M.A.)
- Master of Theology (Th.M.)
- Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Education (Ph.D.)
Ecclesiastical degree programs
Three of the school's programs offer ecclesiastical degrees recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. The programs offering these ecclesiastical degrees are subject to the oversight of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education, and faculty members teaching in these programs are required to have the approval of the Congregation:
- Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (S.T.B.)
- Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.)
- Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.)
Dual-degree programs
The school also offers the following dual-degree programs in collaboration with other graduate schools at Boston College:
- Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry/Master of Social Work (M.A./M.S.W.) in collaboration with the Graduate School of Social Work
- Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry/Master of Business Administration (M.A./M.B.A.) in collaboration with the Carroll School of Management
- Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry/Counseling Psychology (M.A./M.A.) in collaboration with the Lynch School of Education
- Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry/Master of Science in Nursing (M.A./M.S.N.) in collaboration with the Connell School of Nursing
Students must be independently admitted to both schools prior to beginning a dual-degree program at the School of Theology and Ministry.
Certificate programs
The school offers a Post-master's Certificate in Spiritual Formation during the summer term.
Theology and Ministry Library
The Theology and Ministry Library is located on the Brighton Campus. It is open to all Boston College students, faculty and staff, and is a part of the Boston College Library System. Integrating the former collections of Weston Jesuit School of Theology and St. John's Seminary, it contains more than 2.44 million volumes. The library also participates in the Boston Theological Institute library program, which allows STM students to borrow materials from any of the other BTI libraries.
New Testament Abstracts
The School of Theology and Ministry publishes New Testament Abstracts, a scholarly journal that abstracts at least 2,150 articles selected from over 500 periodicals in different languages, as well as over 850 current books annually. New Testament Abstracts is published three times per year and is edited by professor Christopher R. Matthews.
Administration
The current Dean of the School is the Rev. Mark S. Massa, S.J. The previous Dean was the Rev. Richard J. Clifford, S.J., who oversaw the merger in 2008 and served in that capacity until 2010. Clifford is currently a professor of Old Testament at the STM.
Faculty
There are 27 full-time faculty members at the School of Theology and Ministry, in addition to 33 members of the Boston College Department of Theology with which students are able to work and take classes. The faculty at the STM can be divided according to their research in the following fields:
- Historical Theology
- Systematic Theology
- Practical Theology
- Church History
- Moral Theology
- Biblical Studies
- Religious Education
- Pastoral Counseling
- Canon Law
- Liturgical Theology
- Liturgy and the Arts
Student demographics
As of 2010, the current number of students at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry is 402 students during the academic year (and 380 students in the summer institute). While the majority of students at the STM are Catholic, it is also home to a number of Anglican/Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, Evangelical, Orthodox, Presbyterian, Unitarian Universalist, Nondenominational, Buddhist and Hindu students. The student body includes representatives from 27 nations and 6 continents, and students range in age from 21 to 74 years old. 65% of students at the STM are laypersons, with 35% representing a religious order or diocesan priests. Lay students in all programs study alongside Jesuit scholastics.
Notable alumni
- Robert Araujo, S.J., John Courtney Murray Professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law
- J. Donald Freeze, S.J., Academic Vice President of Georgetown University from 1979 to 1991
- Michael Holman, S.J., current Provincial of the British Province of the Society of Jesus
- Joseph Koterski, S.J., Associate Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University; Editor-in-Chief, International Philosophical Quarterly (1994-current); renowned expert in Aristotelian studies; President, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (2008-present).
- Thomas Lawler, S.J., future Provincial of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus.
- Richard Joseph Malone, Bishop of Portland from 2004-2012, and current Bishop of Buffalo
- James Martin (Jesuit), S.J., Jesuit priest, a writer and Culture Editor of the Jesuit magazine America
- Leo J. O'Donovan, S.J., the 47th President of Georgetown University
- David O'Leary, Senior Lecturer in Religion and Medical Ethics and Chair of the Social, Behavioral and Educational Institutional Review Board at Tufts University
- Katarina Schuth, Endowed Professor for the Social Scientific Study of Religion at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity at the University of St. Thomas
- Jeffrey Paul von Arx, S.J., current president of Fairfield University
- Kevin Wildes, S.J., current president of Loyola University New Orleans
See also
- Boston Theological Institute
- Boston College
- Pontifical university
- Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University
References
External links
- Official website
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