Bachelor of Divinity.
The Bachelor of Divinity Programme is a five-year, part-time degree course in theology, providing a comprehensive presentation of the science of theology through the study of the sacred Scriptures, the works of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and the documents of the Magisterium.
Each academic year begins in mid-September, with residential weekends at certain times of the year, and a residential week in the summer. These residential periods consist of lectures and tutorials. Between these periods, students work from home, using specially prepared course books, writing eight essays per year to a designated academic tutor who is a qualified theologian and who provides continuous assessment and written feedback through the course of studies. Academic grades are based upon each student's essays and an annual examination at the end of the academic year.
Entry is open to any adult capable of studying at undergraduate degree level who wishes to develop his or her theological education. People from all denominations and faiths are most welcome to apply. Students are typically from all walks of life, aged 18–75, married, single, and religious. Some have strong academic backgrounds; others have done little academic work since leaving school. The Programme provides an academic formation specialising in Catholic theology and also develops the religious formation of the students so that they may participate more fully in the life and mission of the Church. It does this through the dynamic of theological learning in a living faith-community. The Catholic orientation of this Programme means that academic discipline is combined with Christian worship. Students from all backgrounds are invited to participate in this – but by no means compelled. Academic standards are rigorously monitored by the Academic Board of Maryvale Institute and the Programme’s validating body.
The Programme began as B.A. (Divinity) in 1990 and the first students graduated in 1995. Every year since then there have been between twenty and thirty students successfully completing their degrees. Some have gone on to a teaching qualification, others have gone on to Masters degrees, and many have continued in their present walk of life, helping in parish catechesis, or simply becoming more articulate lay members of their local church and more confident and coherent apostles in their place of work.
For many years Maryvale Institute has been an affiliated college of the Theological Faculty of the Pontifical University, Maynooth, Ireland. The University has validated two of Maryvale's programmes: the M.A. (Theology) and the B.A. (Divinity). The Institute is currently negotiating new validation for the B.A. (Divinity) programme linked to the Pontifical Theology Faculty (Faculté Nôtre Dame) of the École Cathédrale in Paris. This would lead to the award of a Pontifical B.Div. Degree recognised by the Church and also, under the Bologna Agreement, by all the member states of the European Union. News of the progress of this validation process and its implications will be given as soon as is possible.
Cardinal John Henry Newman, who spent the first two years of his Catholic life at Maryvale, said that what he wanted was well educated Catholic laity. We believe that his dream is now being realised here at the same Maryvale House a century and a half later.
Click here for the Programme Specification.
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