Graduate Course Offerings: Summer 2013

ON-CAMPUS COURSES

Front Royal Campus, June 24 – August 2

SCRI 606: Old Testament (Dr. Eric Jenislawski)
Tues & Thurs, 1 – 3:30 pm
A survey of the historical, wisdom, and prophetical books of the Old Testament as a preparation for the New Testament era. Includes the revelatory stages of salvation history, the importance of Biblical typology, and the function of fulfilled prophecy.

THEO 603: Holy Spirit & Ecclesiology (Professor Joseph Arias)
Monday, 1 – 3:30 & 6:30 – 9 pm
a study of the Person of the Holy Spirit, both within the Trinity and within the mystery of the Church, as expressed in Scripture and Tradition. Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes receive particular attention. The Blessed Virgin Mary, grace, and the universal call to holiness are also studied in relation to the mystery of the Church.

THEO 712: Patristics (Dr. Donald Prudlo)
Tues & Thurs, 8:45 – 11:15 am
A study of the Eastern and Western Fathers of the Church, with emphasis on their contributions to Church doctrine, morals and the spiritual life, including their historical context and the significance of these early Christian writings for the contemporary Church.

THEO 724: Sexual & Biomedical Ethics (Fr. Paul deLadurantaye)
Tues, 6:30 – 9 pm, & Wed, 8:45 – 11:15 am
Moral and canonical issues related to procreation and the care of human life, including fornication, homosexual acts, contraception, sterilization, natural family planning, the prophylactic use of condoms, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, cloning, embryo adoption/rescue, abortion/craniotomy, ectopic pregnancies, organ transplantation, “permanent vegetative states,” end-of-life issues, euthanasia, brain death, and the mission and identity of Catholic health care institutions.

EDUC 603: Catechetical Norms & Methods (Prof. Colette Lienhard)
Fri, 8:45 – 11:15 and 1 – 3:30
A study of Magisterial documents pertaining to religious education and evangelization, and the application of these norms to various parochial and diocesan ministries, including teaching methods for various ages, textbook selection, youth ministry, RCIA, and organization and direction of a parish catechetical program.

THEO 850: Theological Research Seminar (Dr. Donald Prudlo)
Mon, 8:45 – 11:15 am, and Wed, 1 – 3:30
An introduction to advanced research techniques for graduate-level theological study, and guidance in the writing of a significant piece of research in theology or Church history. This class will be a readings-based seminar class on the topic of the theology of sainthood, including a historical look at the importance of holy men and women in the life of the Church, the challenges to these doctrines in the Reformation and Enlightenment periods, and an analysis of official sainthood in the modern Church. Recommended for students who want to improve their research, seminar, and writing skills and their experience with primary sources, this course will be particularly useful for those seeking to go on to further academic study after the Master's degree.

THEO 834: Faith (Fr. Brian Mullady, OP)
4 – 5 pm daily, July 1 – 12. One credit.
A special offering in the Year of Faith, this course will examine the nature and characteristics of Faith, its relation to reason, the science of the Faith (theology) and its methods and sources. One credit.

Vita Consecrata Institute, Session 1, July 1 - 12

CONL 719: Ecclesiology and the Consecrated Life (Fr. Brian Mullady, OP)
8:30 – 10:40 daily
A systematic examination of the ecclesiology found in Lumen Gentium, with special attention to the place of consecrated life in this document and in subsequent Church teaching.

CONL 625: Consecrated Life and Vatican II (Fr. Thomas Nelson, O.Praem.)
10:50 – 11:50 and 4 – 5pm daily
The post-conciliar teaching on consecrated life, especially that of Pope John Paul II, including Redemptionis Donum and Vita Consecrata.

Vita Consecrata Institute, Session 2, July 15 - 26

CONL 720: The Spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux and the Virtue of Faith (Fr. Frederick Miller)
8:30 – 10:40 am daily
St. Therese’s understanding of the spiritual life as the gradual unfolding of the grace of the sacraments of initiation; her mysterious "Trial of Faith" which reveals this perfect development in her life - a mystical grace of communion with Christ in his passion; her "little way of spiritual childhood" which anticipates Vatican II's universal call to holiness; her spiritual teaching that the mystical life is the normal development of the life of sanctifying grace for all Christians.

CONL 721: Vatican II and the Hermeneutic of Continuity (Fr. William Fitzgerald, O.Praem.) 10:50 – 11:50 and 4 – 5pm daily
The historical background to the Second Vatican Council, the conciliar process and the unfolding of the Council, the context and content of the documents of Vatican II, the findings of the Extraordinary Synod of 1985 evaluating the reception and implementation of the Council 20 years after the event, The Ratzinger Report and the "hermeneutic of continuity," the common and widespread distortions of the Council's teaching that emerge from a partial and selective reading of the Second Vatican Council.

Alexandria Campus, June 24 – August 2

THEO 602: Christology (Dr. R.J. Matava)
Tues & Thurs, 6:30 – 9 pm
The Person and natures of Jesus Christ and the mystery of the Incarnation, including the historicity of the Gospels, Jesus’ earthly life, His teaching, miracles, three-fold office, and redemptive mission; Christological controversies, councils and magisterial documents concerning Jesus Christ.

THEO 606: Apologetics(Arias, Ciresi, Matava, and Weidenkopf)
Selected Mondays & Wednesdays 6:30 – 8:30 pm, some Saturday mornings
The reasonable explanation and defense of the Catholic Faith utilizing Scripture, theology, Church history, and philosophy to explain Catholic beliefs and practices, such as Tradition, the Papacy, justification, the Real Presence, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Communion of Saints.

ONLINE COURSES

THEO 720 ONLINE: Theological Anthropology (deLadurantaye)
An examination of the biblical roots and theological tradition of the study of the human person and the morality of human action, including the origins of mankind and the nature of the human person as a free and acting subject, Jesus Christ as the archetype and perfection of humanity, man and woman as image of God, unity in sexual difference and the nuptial meaning of the body.

HIST 610 ONLINE: Church History I (Prudlo)
A survey of the history of the Church from its Apostolic origins through the Middle Ages, with special emphasis on the contributions of the Church to culture and civilization. Includes the development of the early Church, major councils of the Church, the Monastic tradition, the Eastern Schism, and the Crusades.

THEO 601 ONLINE: God the Father (Prudlo)
An examination of the first article of the Creed, both the intra-Trinitarian life (divine nature, Persons, relations, attributes) and divine relations with creation (the material universe, the creation of man in the divine image, the fall, and the promise of redemption). Other related questions may include the creation of the angels, the meaning of original sin, and theories of evolution.

THEO 606 ONLINE: Apologetics (Matava)
This course explores controversial points of Catholic doctrine and their rationale in order to provide a reasonable explanation and defense of the Catholic faith. This course approaches the subject through a set of readings, reflective writing assignments focused on those readings, and exercises in comparative analysis rather than through video-taped lectures.

THEO 590 ONLINE: Introduction to Theology (Arias)
An introduction to the graduate-level study of theology. It treats comprehensively the meaning of theology, its various disciplines, major methods and basic terminology. Areas of focus are Divine Revelation and the characteristics of the human response, clarifying distinctions between faith and reason and between Scripture and Tradition, doctrine and its development, liturgy, ecclesiology, and the Magisterium. Prerequisite for all M.A. and Diploma students unless exempt because of prior theological study.

PHIL 602 ONLINE: Philosophy of God and Man (Burns)
a study of Thomas Aquinas's metaphysics and philosophy of man, based on the Summa Theologiae, including the proofs of the existence of God; the relations between essence and esse in creatures and in God; the attributes of God; human nature; man's knowledge, emotions and will; the spirituality, subsistence and immortality of the human soul; the union of soul and body, and man as a person.

Summer 2013 Booklist

Click here to download PDF version.

All books, unless otherwise noted, can be purchased at:

Tuition & Fees

Graduate credit tuition: $325/credit - $309/credit for religious
Audit tuition: $115/credit - $80 for religious, seniors, catechists

REGISTRATION FEE:
$50 per student - early registration before June 1: $25

TECHNOLOGY FEE: $100 per online course

ROOM & BOARD:
$1400/six-week session - $500/two-week session
All Room & Board registrations must be received by 6/1/13

VCI TOTAL COST:
$845 per session/audit - $1761 per session/graduate credit

No registrations will be accepted without the appropriate registration fee.
Tuition must be paid in full in order to begin online courses.