Saint Joseph’s College of Maine’s Online Theology Program has partnered with Pontifex University to provide an automatic exemption from all core coursework (24 credits) of the Th.D. for graduates of the Master of Art in Theology.

Pontifex University, a partner institution of Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, is a Roman Catholic university which is loyal to the Magisterium, and grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition. It offers affordable, high-quality educational programs for credit and for personal enrichment combining online programs with optional in-residence courses, seminars and workshops.

Their Th.D. program is a Theology Doctorate with an emphasis on research, and which has a low coursework requirement and is modelled on the British and European doctorate programs. Furthermore, everything can be done online (even the dissertation defense can be done via a video connection).

Graduates from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine who have completed the Master of Arts in Theology program will automatically be eligible for consideration for the Th.D. program at Pontifex University:

I. All those admitted will be granted full exemption from study for the Master of Theological Studies which is normally a prerequisite, and the core coursework (24 credits) that this would ordinarily entail. They would move straight to the research stage and the production of the thesis proposal followed by the writing of the full Dissertation.

II. Any graduate that has completed TH 600 - Master’s Thesis from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine will also have the requirement for 6 Research credits waived.

Pontifex University also offers a unique Master of Sacred Arts program which is a cultural formation, with a special emphasis on visual art, for Catholics who wish to contribute to the evangelization of the culture. It will be of interest to any devoted to travelling on the via pulchritudinis - the Way of Beauty - but especially those who might contribute as creative artists in any discipline, for those who are patrons of the arts, and for those who teach in Catholic institutions and so inspire others to follow this path.

For more details go to www.Pontifex.University or contact Provost, David Clayton, by email: dclayton@pontifex.university.

Degree Granting Authorization

Pontifex University is recognized as a Catholic University under the supervision of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, authorized to issue degrees in accordance with the Canon Law, under the teaching authority of the Church. Pontifex University is listed in the Official Catholic Directory as a recognized Catholic University and is listed by the State of Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission as a Religious Exempt Degree-Granting Organization.