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Faith in the Academy

We are not only teaching subject matter—poetry, physics, marketing—but also moral expectation and how to live a meaningful life, what the poet William Butler Yeats called “moral radiance.” At Notre Dame, numerous initiatives exist in the academy to help guide both students and faculty as they explore the wonders of a complex world, along with our place in—and obligations to—that world.

Organizations

Campus Ministry

• Campus Ministry fosters spiritual growth of students through worship and prayer, reflection and service, and education and faith formation.
• Sponsored activities include hall Masses, Eucharistic adoration, theological discussion groups, student retreats, music ministry, sacramental preparation, and cross-cultural fellowship.

Center for Social Concerns (CSC)

• The CSC facilitates community-based learning, research, and service rooted in Catholic social tradition.
• Approximately 2,000 undergraduate students engage in CSC programs and opportunities annually.
• Students are placed in communities worldwide alongside members of religious orders, including the Congregation of Holy Cross, Sisters of Charity, and Maryknoll.
• Collaborates with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and numerous dioceses and parishes.

Institute for Church Life (ICL)

With approximately 1,800 annual participants, the ICL links the resources of the University to the life of churchgoers and Church leaders, and supports worship life through the following programs:

• Center for Catechetical Initiatives (CCI)
  • Established in 2003, CCI offers new and creative approaches for preparing more qualified people to serve as catechetical leaders.
  • CCI’s inaugural program, Echo, is a two-year service program in which participants serve as apprentice catechetical leaders in partner dioceses while pursuing the master of arts degree in theology from the University.
• Notre Dame Center for Liturgy (NDCL)
  • Supports the liturgical life of the Church through scholarly research and pastoral education.
  • SummerSong is a two-week intensive course for liturgical music ministers and a key component of NDCL.
• Notre Dame Vision
  • Engages young people in a dynamic experience of faith development and challenges youth to respond to the “universal call to holiness.”
  • Hosts four conferences each summer where thousands of high school students are joined with Notre Dame undergraduate counselors, nationally renowned speakers, professional musicians, clergy, and lay ecclesial ministers.
• Satellite Theological Education Program (STEP)
  • Founded in 1999, STEP provides quality theological education via the Internet in support of diaconate formation, lay ministry formation, and continuing education for all adult Catholics.

Center for Philosophy of Religion

• Promotes work on topics in the philosophy of religion and philosophical theology.
• Encourages the development and exploration of specifically Christian and theistic philosophy.
• Fosters dialogue between the disciplines of philosophy and theology on topics of mutual interest.

Center for the Study of Religion

• Dedicated to advancing social scientific understanding of religion in society through scholarly research, training, and publications.
• Current research includes the process of faith formation and the building of Catholic identity in individuals and families, as well as religion in civic life.

Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism

• Founded in 1974, the center focuses on the historical study of Roman Catholicism in the United States, providing resources and critical commentary for media coverage of US Catholicism.
• Collaborates with Church leaders and pastoral workers to enhance the vitality of Catholic life in the United States.

Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

• Founded in 1986, the institute specializes in religion, conflict, and peacebuilding, including Catholic–Muslim engagement on issues of terrorism and conflict transformation.
• Coordinates the Catholic Peacebuilding Network (CPN), a voluntary network that seeks to enhance the study and practice of Catholic peacebuilding.
• A new Ph.D. program shapes the field by producing scholars and educators trained in peace research and practice.
• A global network of alumni works at all levels of society to build a more just and peaceful world.

Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies

• Situated on the main road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the institute serves as a welcoming place in the Holy Land for visitors from all over the world.
• Tantur offers programs of continuing education and spiritual renewal for clergy and members of religious communities and laity seeking enrichment in the land where Jesus lived and taught.

Academic Programs & Departments

Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE)

• Offers formation programs that lead to master’s degrees in education
• Provides professional services and other forms of engagement and partnership to sustain, strengthen, and transform Catholic K-12 schools.
• ACE Service through Teaching annually sends nearly 200 teachers to under-resourced Catholic schools around the country.
• The Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program prepares educators to be Catholic school principals.
• ACE programs are based on the pillars of service, community, and spirituality.

Department of Theology

• Offers undergraduates a major, supplementary major, and a minor in Theology.
• Administers five premier graduate programs: Ph.D., M.Div., M.T.S., M.S.M., and M.A.

Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies

• Founded in 1982 and built on a core interest in Latin America, the institute promotes international research and values reflected in Catholic social thought.
• Members of the institute have regular interaction with leading Catholic universities and research centers in Latin America, including the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and the Pontificia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro.

Master of Nonprofit Administration (M.N.A.), Mendoza College of Business

• Established by Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., in 1954, the program is designed around the professional needs and financial constraints of the service and religious sectors.
• Average age of participants is 30, with 10 years of work experience.
• Eighty-one students representing 22 states and five countries are currently enrolled. About 96 percent complete the MNA degree while working full-time in the nonprofit sector.

Master of Sacred Music Program

• A multidisciplinary program embracing three particular dimensions: musical, liturgical, and pastoral. The program strives to integrate these three dimensions, grounding the student professionally in liturgical music as a ministry.

Nanovic Institute for European Studies

• Dedicated to enhancing the presence of European studies at Notre Dame, the Nanovic Institute sponsors the annual Terrence R. Keeley Vatican Lecture. This lecture provides students and faculty the opportunity to explore questions involving Notre Dame’s Catholic mission with distinguished representatives from the Holy See.
• The institute maintains close relationships with Catholic universities in Eastern Europe and constantly discusses methods in which to collaborate on the role of education in the Church.

Faith & Service