Theology & Religious Studies Certificate in Theological Education (CTE)

The department offers a Certificate in Theological Education (CTE) for students who already are or anticipate that they will be teaching in Catholic secondary-school settings. Students may pursue this Certificate as part of their Master of Arts program or independent of the graduate degree program. The course of studies builds on the U.S. Catholic Bishops high school curriculum framework, allowing students to explore both the content of coursework they might be expected to teach as well as pedagogical strategies and approaches effective with adolescents and young adults. While in itself this certificate does not guarantee Religion Teacher Certification in the Diocese of Cleveland, the program is designed to prepare the student to achieve such certification in Cleveland and other dioceses with similar certification requirements

Program Learning Goals

The successful CTE graduate will achieve the following Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs):

1. Critically analyze the religious dimensions of human experience as expressed in sacred texts, art, ritual practice, ethical commitments, philosophy/theology, and social structures.

2. Appreciate how religious or ethical traditions provide resources for responding to injustice and living ethically.

Achievement of these two TRS learning goals will be measured according to the following performance standards:

1. Student uses pertinent, appropriately documented, primary and secondary sources to demonstrate careful and critical engagement with an artifact of Catholic tradition in its socio-historical context(s). Student explicitly identifies the assumptions that ground the study and the methodology used in this engagement. Student takes into account alternative interpretations or applications, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of those alternatives, and justifies the student’s interpretive construction.

2. Student uses pertinent, appropriately documented, primary and secondary sources to analyze a contemporary ethical question or injustice in light of Catholic Social Teaching. Student explicitly identifies the ethical theory/theories that ground the study and the religious resources used to address the question/injustice. Student evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of those various resources or theories. Student articulates own response and explains the assumptions behind, objections to, and implications of this position.

TRS CTE Application Requirements

Applicants to the CTE Program are required to submit the following:

• Online application form

• Official transcripts of all university-level studies

CTE Program Requirements

To attain the Certificate in Theological Education, a student must complete 15 graduate credits in Theology & Religious Studies. The basic program comprises 5 core courses:

If a student has prior work in one or more of the first four core areas, up to two graduate-level TRS electives may be substituted for those requirements. Alternative coursework will be determined according to the individual student’s needs and interests in consultation with the student’s academic advisor, and with the approval of the department chair. No transfer credits are allowed for this Certificate.