Ave Maria University Catalogue 2014-2015 5050 Ave Maria Blvd. Ave Maria, Florida 34142 Telephone: (239) 280-2500 www.avemaria.edu July 2014 Ave Maria University All Rights Reserved Volume XII, Number I 2 3 WELCOME TO AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY As the President of Ave Maria University, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to one of America’s youngest and most dynamic institutions of higher education. Launched a decade ago by its founder, Chancellor Thomas S. Monaghan, the institution’s vision is to off er a fi rst-rate liberal arts curriculum within a broader university. Ave Maria University off ers baccalaureate degrees in a broad spectrum of disciplines as well as graduate degrees in theology. In addition to vibrant programs in the humanities, sciences, and music, the University features pre-professional and professional specializations, focuses on teaching and research, and seeks to serve faithfully the Magisterium of the Church. Today, Ave Maria University features small classes, is academically rigorous, and provides students with the tools they need to become critical thinkers, competent writers, and lovers of learning. These initiatives are the responsibility of a well-qualifi ed and dedicated faculty, over ninety percent of whom possess earned doctorates in their chosen academic disciplines. The University currently offers 29 majors, including programs in business administration and psychology, as well as pre-professional programs in medicine and law. The University’s Core Curriculum is one of the strongest in America. Recent graduates have been admitted to major law and medical schools and other graduate programs of distinction. In spite of our young history, an Ave Maria education has been a spring board for many to promising careers and vocations. A number of our graduates have entered the seminary or religious life, while others have been called to married life – often with a fellow Ave classmate! We believe that university life should provide an environment where young men and women can mature into responsible adults who celebrate their faith in Jesus Christ and apply their knowledge to the challenges of the 21st century. While attendance at Mass on Sunday is not mandatory, it is expected, and the moral climate in our dorms allows our students to maintain the values instilled in them by their parents. This will be my fourth year as the President of Ave Maria University. My wife and fi ve children moved with me to beautiful, sunny Southwest Florida to be a part of this University’s future because we believe its mission is vitally important. It is clear to me that what our founder, Tom Monaghan, envisioned is coming to fruition, and that the Lord is honoring His Holy Mother by blessing us with record enrollments during my time here. Put simply, Ave Maria is unique, aff ordable, and authentic. In October 2012, The Most Reverend Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of Venice, formally recognized Ave Maria University as an offi cial Catholic university. I hope you will enjoy reading about Ave Maria University and visiting our website at www.avemaria.edu. If possible, I invite you to visit our beautiful campus, one of America’s newest and most modern, and see for yourself why Ave Maria is attracting some of the country’s fi nest scholars and students. If you are a student using this Catalogue as a tool and guide, I wish you every success and invite you to seek further assistance from our well-qualifi ed and student-oriented staff and faculty. With kindest regards, H. James Towey President 5 Table of Contents Academic Calendar 2014-2015 7 I. INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL INFORMATION 9 Mission Statement, History and Catholic Identity 9 Library & Technological Learning Services 12 II. ADMISSION TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES 14 III. FINANCIAL INFORMATION 22 Student Financial Aid Programs 23 IV. STUDENT LIFE 3 6 V. PHILOSOPHY OF THE CURRICULUM 45 VI. UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS & COURSE DESCRIPTIONS 49 Core Curriculum, Student Learning Goals and Outcomes, and Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements 49 Academic Policies 53 Honors Program 62 Academic Honor Code 64 Undergraduate Majors, Minors, and Course Descriptions 70 VII. GRADUATE PROGRAMS & COURSE DESCRIPTIONS 1 9 7 M.A. in Theology 199 Ph.D. in Theology 202 Institute for Pastoral Theology: Master of Theological Studies 213 VIII. DIRECTORIES 231 IX. INDEX 241 6 7 Academic Calendar 2014-2015 Fall Term 2014 Aug. 28 - 31 Thursday-Sunday New Student Orientation Sept. 1 Monday Academic Year Begins – First Day of Classes Labor Day – Classes in Session Sept. 5 Friday Fall Formal Academic Convocation Sept. 8 Monday Last Day to Add Courses Sept. 10 Wednesday Last Day to Drop Courses Sept. 17 Tuesday Constitution Day Observed – Classes in Session Oct. 13 Monday Provisional Grade Reports Due Oct. 23-26 Thursday-Sunday Fall Term Break – No Classes Nov. 1 Saturday All Saints Day Nov. 5-21 Wednesday-Friday Advising and Registration Period Nov. 17 Monday Last Day to Withdraw from Courses with a “W” Nov. 27-30 Thursday-Sunday Thanksgiving Break – School Closed Dec. 8 Monday Immaculate Conception Observed Dec. 11 Thursday Last Day of Classes Dec. 12 Friday Examination Reading Day – No Classes Dec. 15-19 Saturday-Friday FINAL EXAMS Dec. 20 Saturday Grade Reports Due Spring Term 2015 Jan. 9-10 Friday-Saturday New Student Orientation Jan. 12 Monday First Day of Classes Jan. 19 Monday Last Day to Add Courses Jan. 21 Wednesday Last Day to Drop Courses Jan. 22 Thursday March for Life – Classes in Session Feb. 23 Monday Provisional Grade Reports Due March 7-15 Saturday-Sunday Spring Break – No Classes March 25 Wednesday Feast of the Annunciation – Classes in Session March 25-April 15 Wednesday-Friday Advising and Registration Period April 2-6 Thursday-Monday Easter Break – No Classes April 6 Monday Classes resume at 5:30pm on Easter Monday April 7 Tuesday Last Day to Withdraw from Courses with a “W” April 29 Wednesday Last Day of Classes April 30 Thursday Examination Reading Day – No Classes May 1-7 Friday-Thursday FINAL EXAMS May 8 Friday Grade Reports Due; Baccalaureate Mass May 9 Saturday Commencement Summer Term 2015 Please see the Ave Maria University website (www.avemaria.edu) for specifi c dates on the summer sessions. 9 I. Introduction and General Information The University is a place of concourse, whither students come from every quarter for every kind of knowledge. ... It is a place where inquiry is pushed forward, and discoveries verifi ed and perfected, and rashness rendered innocuous, and error exposed, by the collision of mind with mind, and knowledge with knowledge. —John Henry Cardinal Newman, The Idea of a University Ave Maria University Mission Statement Founded in fi delity to Christ and His Church in response to the call of Vatican II for greater lay witness in contemporary society, Ave Maria University exists to further teaching, research, and learning at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the abiding tradition of Catholic thought in both national and international settings. The University takes as its mission the sponsorship of a liberal arts education curriculum dedicated, as articulated in the apostolic constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, to the advancement of human culture, the promotion of dialogue between faith and reason, the formation of men and women in the intellectual and moral virtues of the Catholic faith, and to the development of professional and pre-professional programs in response to local and societal needs. As an institution committed to Catholic principles, the University recognizes the importance of creating and maintaining an environment in which faith informs the life of the community and takes expression in all its programs. The University recognizes the central and indispensable role of the Ordinary of the Diocese of Venice in promoting and assisting in the preservation and strengthening of the University’s Catholic identity. Catholic Identity and History Ave Maria University is a Catholic liberal arts-based institution of higher education devoted to the education of the whole person, a dynamic process that engages students in both the pursuit of academic excellence and a deep exploration of Catholic faith and culture. The essential mission of the University is the development of a Christ-centered scholar prepared for lifelong learning, professional career, or pursuit of further graduate education. In 1998, Ave Maria Institute was founded as a two-year institute of Catholic higher education with the encouragement and support of Bishop Carl F. Mengeling of the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan. After it began in September 1998 with 40 students, Ave Maria Institute quickly grew and developed an ambitious and far-reaching plan for development. In 1999, it acquired a branch campus in Nicaragua. In the year 2000, Ave Maria College was pre-accredited by the American Academy for Liberal Arts Education and approved by the State of Michigan as a four-year, degree-granting educational institution off ering the Bachelor of Philosophy degree. The Ave Maria College graduated its fi rst class in Spring 2002. The College received candidacy from the North Central Association in the Spring of 2003. 10 / Introduction & General Information Originally conceived as a Michigan development, the wisdom of establishing a Florida entity as the foundation for the University became increasingly clear. Thus, an interim campus of Ave Maria University was established at the Greenfi eld Commons property, 1025 Commons Circle, in Naples, Florida. This campus was located on seven acres and contained two four-story mid-rise, condominium style residence halls; a two-story men’s residence hall, indoor-outdoor recreational facilities, classrooms, academic laboratories, a multipurpose facility (bookstore, chapel-auditorium, visitors center, library, classrooms, and offi ces), an adoration chapel, a dining facility, offi ces for faculty and administrative personnel, and faculty residences. This campus contained more than 75,000 square feet of space.