Chai Brady
A religion department in Dublin’s Trinity College will no longer be offering an undergraduate degree in Catholic Theological Studies following significant internal changes between departments within the university.
The Loyola Institute, which was established in 2012 following an agreement between Trinity College Dublin and the eight religious congregations associated with the Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy, will not have a new intake of undergraduate students for the degree in the upcoming academic year.
New degree
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Director of the Loyola Institute, Dr Fáinche Ryan, said that there will be a new degree in Religion with an option to pursue Theology, which will have its first intake of students in September 2019. “Confederal School of Religions, Peace Studies and Theology had its five-year review last year.
“As a result of the review, some changes are taking place, namely the change of title, so we will now have the School of Religion, and all of us are going to cooperate in offering one undergraduate degree. The degree will have three different exit routes, one of which will be an exit route in theology,” she said.
Focus
Dr Ryan added that the Loyola Institute will still have some input in the undergraduate degree, but that the main focus of the department will be on postgraduate research.
“The Loyola institute will continue to offer some teaching in the theology area of this undergraduate degree. The Loyola institute will focus henceforth on postgraduate teaching and research.
“So we’re continuing to offer our successful M. Phil in Christian Theology which can be taken full-time or part-time and were developing that. We are continuing to increase our number of doctoral students, our research seminars, and of course, our normal outreach: conferences, lectures, etc.,” she said.