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4+1 Program

The Graduate Theology Division of Franciscan University of Steubenville offers a 4+1 Program whereby a student can graduate with a Master’s Degree in Theology and Christian Ministry one year after graduating with the Bachelor’s Degree. The student must be accepted into the 4+1 Program by applying through the Admissions Office. Any Franciscan University undergraduate Theology or Catechetics major qualifies to apply in the semester before he or she will have met the following requirements:

  1. an overall QPA of 3.0 in at least 60 credit hours;
  2. a 3.0 in the Philosophy core and in Theology courses or Theology and Catechetics courses for Catechetics majors;
  3. completion of PHL 113, PHL 211, PHL 212; THE 101, THE 110 and THE 115 with the addition of 6 more credits of theology courses, and if a CAT major, completion of CAT 120, CAT 204, CAT 301 and CAT 302.

Once accepted, the student may take a maximum of four (4) graduate courses in Theology in the on-campus program at a rate of no more than two (2) per semester, according to the following conditions:

  1. Students who have taken the Philosophy and Theology core (PHL 113, PHL 211, PHL 212; THE 101, THE 110, THE 115) and any other 6 credits of theology may take THE 605: Foundations of Moral Theology.
  2. Students who have taken THE 211 and THE 212 in addition to the Philosophy and Theology core (PHL 113, PHL 211, PHL 212; THE 101, THE 110, THE 114) may take THE 601: Biblical Foundations.
  3. Students who have taken the Philosophy and Theology core (PHL 113, PHL 211, PHL 212; THE 101, THE 110, THE 115) and THE 211, THE 212, THE 213, THE 214 and THE 314 may take any graduate Theology foundation course.
  4. Students registered for two graduate courses in a single semester are advised to carry no more than 13 credit hours.

Two of these graduate Theology courses will fulfill general elective requirements and two will count toward the elective course requirements for the undergraduate major in Theology or Catechetics (depending on the courses taken). All four are also counted toward the MA in Theology and Christian Ministry at Franciscan University. If the student completes all four graduate courses with at least a “B” (3.0) in each course and has maintained at least 3.0 QPA overall as well as in Theology courses (and Catechetics courses, if a CAT major) automatic acceptance into the Graduate Theology Program would follow. If the student completes some but not all of the graduate courses, these courses would still count toward the Master’s in Theology and Christian Ministry, but there would be no automatic acceptance. If the student elects to postpone entrance to the MA degree in Theology and Christian Ministry, he or she has up to four years before needing to reapply for admission in the MA Theology Program. Only upon completion of the undergraduate degree is a student allowed to proceed to the graduate Theology courses beyond twelve (12) credits. 4+1 students can finish the Master’s Program by taking 24 credits of graduate courses over the course of Summer, Fall, and Spring terms following undergraduate graduation in May. 4+1 students who which to pursue the Research Intensive Track are encouraged to apply for it in their final undergraduate semester.