Christendom College Bulletin

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Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College

• History of NDGS
• Master of Arts Program
• The Apostolic Catechetical Diploma Program
• Summer Program
• Campus Locations
  

The Notre Dame Graduate School (NDGS) is Christendom College's graduate school of theology and catechetics. Its Master-level programs offer a comprehensive grasp of the Catholic Faith, preparing students for advanced graduate studies and for various ministries in the Catholic Church. Its flexible and accommodating program allows students of all ages and from all over the world to attend either art-time or full-time, year-round, summers-only, or winters-only.

An Apostolic Institution

Committed to educating in accord with the Vicar of Christ, the Graduate School enjoys the full support of the Holy See. In light of this special relationship, The Holy See in 1971 authorized the Notre Dame Institute to grant the Apostolic Catechetical Diploma, and Christendom College continues to award this diploma, the highest ecclesial award for catechetics.

History of NDGS

In 1969, the Sisters of Notre Dame in Chardon, Ohio, and Msgr. Eugene Kevane, then Dean of the School of Education at the Catholic University of America, founded the Notre Dame Institute in Middleburg, Virginia. Originally, its purpose was to train religious sisters from various communities to teach Catholic doctrine to other teachers, religious and lay.

In 1971, John Cardinal Wright, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, established the Notre Dame Pontifical Catechetical Institute as an official catechetical institute recognized and authorized by the Holy See.

In order to expand its mission, the Notre Dame Institute began to accept priests and lay men and women into the program. Additionally, the Bishop of Arlington entrusted the Institute with the educational training and pastoral formation of candidates for the permanent diaconate.

In June 1994, the Institute relocated to Alexandria, Virginia, leasing and renovating a former convent on the grounds of Queen of Apostles Parish. This new location allowed the Notre Dame Institute to consolidate its offices, library, and classrooms under one roof.

Upon the recommendation of the Boards of both the Notre Dame Institute and Christendom College, the two institutions merged on February 1, 1997. The Notre Dame Institute became the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College.

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Master of Arts Program

The Notre Dame Graduate School offers the Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree. Students may choose to concentrate their studies in the disciplines of Systematic Theology, Moral Theology, or Catechetics. In general, the student completes a minimum of thirty-six (36) semester hours of courses (including core required courses, special required courses for a particular concentration, and elective courses). The student must then either submit a thesis, for which six credit hours will be received, or elect to take six additional semester hours of courses. In either case, a minimum total of forty-two (42) graduate-level credits must be completed.

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The Apostolic Catechetical Diploma Program

The Notre Dame Graduate School is authorized by the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy to award both the Advanced and the Basic Apostolic Catechetical Diplomas. These catechetical diplomas are distinct from the academic order of the Master of Arts degree in Theological Studies, although the two may be earned simultaneously. The diploma is awarded by the Holy See in recognition of the catechist's competence in the field of catechetics and his or her personal commitment to teach Catholic doctrine in communion with the Holy See. Students must concentrate their studies in catechetics to be eligible for these diplomas.

To receive the Advanced Apostolic Catechetical Diploma, a student must have a Bachelor's Degree and successfully complete forty-two (42) semester hours in required course work, including all course requirements for the Catechetics concentration. The Basic Apostolic Catechetical Diploma may be awarded to those students who do not possess a Bachelor's degree but who fulfill the forty-two semester hours of catechetics course requirements.

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NDGS Summer Program

Christendom College offers a Graduate Summer Program for those students who wish to pursue graduate theological studies during the summer. Both the Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree and the Apostolic Catechetical Diploma may be earned at the Summer Program, over the course of at least four summers. It is a residential program, held at the main Christendom College campus just outside of Front Royal, Virginia, enabling people from all over the United Sates and abroad to attend the Christendom Graduate School. This program is popular with students who are not able to move to the Northern Virginia area for the regular (fall/spring) graduate program, and with teachers and others who have summers off. Of course many of the fall/spring graduate students also attend the summer program, accelerating their studies by going year-round.

The NDGS Summer Program runs for six weeks, ending the last week of July. A full cycle of courses is offered each summer, along with several elective courses. Special guest professors often supplement the Christendom faculty for the Summer Program. The beautiful riverside campus with its full range of recreational possibilities provides a perfect milieu for the study, prayer, and good times that make up Christian academic community life.

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Campus Locations

The Notre Dame Graduate School is located in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., in the eastern, "Alexandria" section of Fairfax County. The campus is on Queen of Apostles Parish grounds, in a quiet, residential neighborhood, at 4407 Sano Street, Alexandria, Virginia, within convenient access to Interstates 66, 395, and 495, and other major roads. The campus facilities include offices, classrooms, library, computer lab, study and recreational areas, and a beautiful enclosed garden. Classes are held at this Alexandria campus primarily during the fall and spring semesters (with a limited number of summer courses), and most are scheduled during the evenings and on Saturdays. The Alexandria campus does not include residence facilities, but students from out of town are usually able to find affordable housing in the vicinity, and the Graduate School facilitates this search by maintaining a current list of people wishing to rent to NDGS students.

The Summer Program of the Graduate School is located at the main campus of Christendom College where residence and dining halls make it possible for students from all over the world to attend. The Admissions Office for the Graduate School is also located at this campus.

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