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Undergraduate Program Description
The undergraduate program in Theology is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for a reasoned reflection on their own values, faith, and tradition, as well as on the religious forces that shape our society and world. As a broad liberal arts discipline, theology encourages and guides inquiries into life's most meaningful issues from such diverse perspectives as ethics, Biblical studies, history, psychology, social studies, philosophy, and comparative religion. There is a strong, although not exclusive, emphasis on Christianity, especially as manifested in the Roman Catholic tradition.
The major in Theology has proven to be excellent preparation for vocations requiring careful reasoning, close reading, clarity in written expression, the ability to make ethical decisions, and a broad understanding of cultures. It provides a solid background for graduate study in the humanities and for such professional schools as medicine, business, and law. For those wishing to pursue a career in ministry or religious education, of course, Theology is still a prerequisite. Long gone, however, is the time when Theology was considered the exclusive domain of seminarians and the religious. Many students now elect Theology as a second major to balance and to broaden their education and to provide perspective on such first majors as biology, political science, or English literature.
Students who elect to major or minor in Theology are encouraged to meet with the Department's Director of Undergraduate Studies to review their opportunities as well as pertinent departmental policies.
The Theology Department boasts a large, internationally known faculty with expertise in areas as diverse as systematic theology, ethics, biblical studies, church history, liturgy, psychology of religion, and the dialog between Christianity and major religious traditions. A prestigious graduate program leads to the Ph.D. degree in several specialties. Nevertheless, the Department as a whole remains fully committed to the teaching of undergraduates and to the education of Theology majors.
Please Note: The University has converted from a course to a credit-based system beginning with the Class of 2014. Therefore, for students in the classes of 2014 and beyond, special information on course requirements is included in bold face type and in [brackets].
Course Offerings
The Department distinguishes five levels of course offerings:
(l) Core—introductory, designed for the fulfillment of the University's basic Theology requirement
(2) Level One—introductory, but not fulfilling the Core requirement
(3) Level Two—advanced undergraduate, more specifically aimed at minors and majors
(4) Level Three—addressed to advanced undergraduates (usually majors) and graduate students who are more theologically proficient
(5) Graduate—offered exclusively for professionally academic theological formation
Core Options
The Theology Core requirement is a two-semester sequence (six credit hours). Students must first take Part I, then Part II of the same Core course (preferably with the same instructor and in the same academic year) to fulfill the requirement and receive Core credit. Students shall select one 2-course sequence from the following:
- TH 001-002 Biblical Heritage I and II
- TH 016-017 Introduction to Christian Theology I and II
- TH 023-024 Exploring Catholicism: Tradition and Transformation
- TH 161-162 The Religious Quest I and II
Twelve-credit courses. Students may take these courses to fulfill the Theology requirement. There are two of these Philosophy/Theology courses: PL/TH 090-091 Perspectives on Western Culture (for freshmen only) and PL/TH 088-089 Person and Social Responsibility (for PULSE Program students only).
Major Requirements
The major curriculum in Theology incorporates both structure and flexibility. Majors take a combination of essential, required courses and electives from within and outside the Department of Theology. Programs are designed in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The ordinary requirements are ten courses [or 30 credits], distributed as follows. These year-long Core sequences count as two courses [or 6 credits] each:
- Either The Religious Quest or The Biblical Heritage. (Majors taking the Biblical Heritage option are encouraged to enroll in the enhanced section which is restricted to majors only.) These year-long Core sequences count as two courses [or 6 credits] each.
- Either Introduction to Christian Theology or Exploring Catholicism: Tradition and Transformation, Perspectives, Pulse, or the Honors Program. These year-long Core sequences count as two courses each.
- Five electives chosen in consultation with the departmental Director of Undergraduate Studies. At least three courses [or 9 credits] of these are to be from above the Core level. In some cases, the Director may also approve one or two electives from outside the Theology Department that will count as Theology electives. A unifying factor such as an overarching theme, doctrine, or cross-disciplinary interest will guide the choice of electives.
- The Majors' Seminar, ordinarily taken in the junior year, is designed to help majors synthesize course work by focusing on key themes, questions, and areas for further theological inquiry. This 3-credit course is offered each fall.
Majors are encouraged to work with other departments in cross-disciplinary study. Students in the Lynch School of Education can also major in Theology. Theology majors can concentrate in education in the Lynch School of Education.
The Department's membership in the Boston Theological Institute (BTI) allows advanced Theology majors to cross-register into some 700 courses taught by 150 faculty members at eight other BTI schools. Students thus have access to the resources of one of the world's great centers of theological study.
Minor Requirements
The minor in Theology requires the Core and five additional courses [or 15 credits] . Three of these additional courses must be beyond the Core level. [Beginning with the Class of 2014, nine of these additional credits must be beyond the Core or level one].
Honors Program
Requirements for graduation with departmental honors:
- Completion, with at least a grade of A-, of at least one majors seminar, which will involve students in specialized study within one of the areas of our field (e.g., systematics, comparative, ethics, bible, etc.) and which will enable them to develop the skills of research and writing necessary for writing the senior thesis.
- Completion of at least four Level III courses (or the equivalent, e.g., a graduate course by permission of the instructor).
- Completion of a senior honors thesis under the direction of a designated faculty member. Students writing the honors thesis will be given three credits per semester in the fall and spring of their senior year. These six credits will contribute to the 30 required to obtain the major in Theology.
Information for First Year Majors and Non-Majors
Theology is the academic discipline concerned with the realities that are the center of religious faith and with the traditions of belief and worship that inform the life of communities of faith. Historical, biblical, psychological, ethical, pastoral, comparative, philosophical, and doctrinal studies are all included within the scope of Theology at Boston College, which introduces the undergraduate to a mature, critical approach to religious knowledge and experience. There is a strong, but by no means exclusive, emphasis on Christianity, and more specifically, on the Roman Catholic tradition.
The courses offered are grouped in four categories: (1) Biblical, (2) historical, (3) ethical and social-scientific, and (4) comparative and systematic or doctrinal. All courses, particularly those taught at the Core level, aim at fulfilling certain goals:
- A liberal arts goal of fostering awareness of the religious roots and background of our culture—for example, by giving students a coherent view of religion and its development, a groundwork for moral decision, and an awareness of their own existence as religious persons
- A specifically theological goal of introducing the materials and methods of one or more approaches to the academic study of religious faith and tradition
- A religious or confessional goal, explicit in some—though not all—courses, of exploring a particular tradition from the inside, healing negative encounters with religion, inviting commitment and belief, and the like.
Information for Study Abroad
There are no formal requirements stated by the Theology Department, but it is presumed that students will have completed at least one Core course [or three credits of the Core] before going abroad. The Department will allow six credits or two courses taken abroad to count toward major credit. A maximum of one Core course (three credits) may be taken abroad.
The international programs at the University of Durham and Oxford University are both recommended by the Theology Department. All Theology majors should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies while planning their study abroad program.
Fifth Year B.A./M.A. Program
Undergraduate Theology majors may opt to enter a 5-year B.A./M.A. program. Please Note: Application to the program must take place during the junior year. Students admitted to the B.A./M.A. program will follow the curriculum for regular Theology majors, except that all five of their electives [or 15 of their elective credits] in the major must be upper-level courses (level three and above). Furthermore, these upper-level electives must be chosen in consultation with the Department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies, who will make an evaluation of their appropriateness for the student’s graduate education. Two of these courses [or six of these credits] will count toward the M.A. as well as the B.A. The remainder of the M.A. may thus be completed by taking eight additional graduate courses. Interested undergraduate Theology majors must apply to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Expectations are that such applicants will have achieved an overall GPA of at least 3.33 and a major GPA of 3.5 or above.
Lonergan Center
Studies related to the work of the Jesuit theologian and philosopher Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984) have a focus in the Lonergan Center at Boston College. The Center houses a growing collection of Lonergan's published and unpublished writings as well as secondary materials and reference works, and it also serves as a seminar and meeting room. Kerry Cronin is the Director of the Lonergan Center, which is located on the fourth level of Bapst Library and is open during regular hours as posted. Information about the Center or the Lonergan Institute is available at www.bc.edu/lonergan.