Curriculum Strengths IREPM has renewed its curriculum and programming in response to the needs of ministers serving the church in the twenty-first century. As a premiere graduate program that educates students from across the globe, our curriculum strengths are varied and many. Is there an area of education and ministry that you would especially like to support through a financial gift?
Religious Education/ Catechesis Pastoral Care Formation for Ministry Women and Ministry Healthcare Chaplaincy Hispanic Ministry Ministry and Social Work		Youth and Young Adult Faith Church Management Spirituality Continuing Education Service to the Universal Church Religion and Public Education Alumni/ae Outreach and Support

I. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION/CATECHESIS
One of the most urgent needs of our time is handing on the faith to rising generations, and offering life-long catechesis to the whole adult community. IREPM’s MEd degree in Religious Education is world-renowned and uniquely situates us to prepare new leaders for this challenging ministry.

II. PASTORAL CARE
Within the nine possible concentrations of IREPM’s Master’s in Pastoral Ministry degree, Pastoral Care is the most subscribed as people prepare themselves for the general ministries of the church. Graduates with this concentration work in a great variety of pastoral functions and contexts.

III. FORMATION FOR MINISTRY
IREPM has been innovative in meeting the challenge of providing the holistic formation necessary for effective ministry within a university setting. Without spiritual resources, people cannot sustain themselves in a ministry career. Through programs of spiritual direction, group discernment, retreats, liturgical celebrations, etc., IREPM’s curriculum provides an effective component of ministerial formation. A recently added feature is the opportunity for an immersion experience by IREPM students into a third world ecclesial context.

IV. WOMEN AND MINISTRY
Since its inception IREPM has had a strong commitment to inclusive models of ministry and particularly to welcoming and supporting women in ministry. This commitment is reflected in our faculty, staff, course offerings, use of inclusive language, women’s participation in liturgy and more. IREPM’s student enrollment averages 70% women.

V. HEALTHCARE CHAPLAINCY
A significant number of IREPM graduates who obtain the MA in Pastoral Ministry with a concentration in Pastoral Care and Counseling pursue careers in healthcare chaplaincy. In response to the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC) new certification criteria and to better serve the church, beginning in September 2005, Healthcare Chaplaincy will be an explicit concentration within IREPM’s Pastoral Ministry degree.

VI. HISPANIC MINISTRY
Estimates foresee that within the next twenty years 65 to 70% of Catholics in the United States might be of Hispanic origin. IREPM’s recently launched Master’s concentration and Certificate in Hispanic Ministry will train and support the emerging leadership in Hispanic communities.

VII. MINISTRY AND SOCIAL WORK
A unique feature of IREPM’s curriculum is our joint degree MA/MSW program. This degree, offered in conjunction with the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, prepares people for leadership in the social ministries of the Church (e.g. Catholic Charities).

VIII. YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT FAITH
It is an enormous challenge to forge Catholic identity among youth and young adults, especially in a post-modern and often fragmented culture. IREPM has recently initiated a significant component in its curriculum to address this challenge and to prepare people for pastoral leadership in service to youth and young adult faith development.

IX. CHURCH MANAGEMENT
The new MA/MBA program attracts the growing number of students interested in the management and administration of churches and church-related organizations and corporations. Understanding competent and ethical management as a ministry reflects the university’s mission to educate individuals to serve with excellence in their fields and to work for social and economic justice..

X. SPIRITUALITY
Given the Jesuit charism of Boston College, IREPM has always had a strong commitment to spiritual formation for ministry and studies in spirituality. As the contemporary world reclaims its interest in the spiritual, IREPM is ideally poised to ground people in the rich treasury of Catholic and Ignatian spirituality.

XI. CONTINUING EDUCATION
IREPM offers a rich curriculum in continuing education that reflects a deep commitment to moving the church “beyond crisis to renewal.” The program has recently expanded its offerings to include options for participants to obtain Continuing Education Units and Certificates in Continuing Education.

XII. SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
In 1997 IREPM began offering modest scholarship support to educate pastoral leaders from Eastern Europe. To date we have had some seven recipients from Lithuania receive degrees from IREPM. We have recently partnered with Cardinal Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to extend such a program to the Vietnamese Church and likewise we have an invitation from the Jesuit Community of Amman, Jordan to prepare people to serve the Catholic communities of Jordan and Iraq.

XIII. RELIGION AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
There is a growing opportunity in public high schools to offer non-confessional courses in world religions. Given the strength of Boston College’s Comparative Theology area, IREPM is well placed to offer an MEd which would prepare people to teach world religions and foster religious understanding in the public school systems. The experience of September 11th intensifies the need for programs to promote religious understanding and respect for spiritual diversity.

XIV. ALUMNI/AE OUTREACH AND SUPPORT
Sustaining a vocation in ministry is fraught with many contemporary challenges. During their studies here our graduates typically forge a strong bond with IREPM. We recently initiated an extensive program of outreach to our alums designed to help sustain them in their ministries.

Updated: November 20, 2007
Maintained: Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry
© 2007 The Trustees of Boston College. Legal