Ave Maria University Catalogue 2018-2019 5050 Ave Maria Blvd. Ave Maria, FL 34142 Telephone: (239) 280-2500 www.avemaria.edu July 2018 Ave Maria University All Rights Reserved Volume XVI, Number I 2018-2019 AMU Academic Catalogue / 2 2018-2019 AMU Academic Catalogue / 3 WELCOME TO AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY As President of Ave Maria University, I welcome you to one of America’s youngest and most dynamic and faithful institutions within Catholic higher education. Launched in 2003 by Domino’s Pizza magnate and philanthropist Thomas S. Monaghan, AMU offers a first-rate liberal arts curriculum and over 30 challenging undergraduate majors, 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 in disciplines as diverse as nursing, accounting, and biochemistry. The University’s Core Curriculum numbers among the strongest in America and provides graduates with the tools they need to become critical thinkers, competent writers, and lovers of learning. Beginning in the Fall of 2018, the University also began to offer degrees, including a Master in Business Administration, through online learning. An Ave Maria education has been a spring board for many to promising careers and vocations. Recent alumni pursuing graduate studies have been admitted to prominent law and medical schools and other graduate programs of distinction. Those seeking employment have secured favorable placements in the marketplace. A number of AMU’s graduates have entered the seminary or religious life, while others have been called to married life – often with a fellow Ave classmate! Vocational discernment is at the heart of the Ave Maria educative experience. We believe our campus should provide an environment where young men and women can mature into responsible adults who live their faith in Jesus Christ and apply their knowledge to the challenges of the 21st century. The moral climate in our residence halls allows our students to maintain the values instilled in them by their parents, and promotes growth in the spiritual life. The hallmark of an Ave education is the movement by the student from being self-centered to other-minded. Ave has the only Mother Teresa Project in America and our students not only volunteer in the neighboring farmworker community in mentoring and Catechism programs, but they travel on missions to work with Mother Teresa’s nuns in India, Uganda, Mexico, Haiti and other countries. This academic year will be my eighth as President. It is clear that what Tom Monaghan envisioned is coming to fruition, and that the Lord is honoring His Holy Mother by blessing us with record enrollment, financial stability, and yes, beautiful, sunny Southwest Florida weather! Put simply, Ave Maria is unique, affordable, and authentically Catholic. I hope you enjoy reading about Ave Maria University and visit our website at www.avemaria.edu. Visit our campus and see for yourself why Ave Maria is attracting some of the country’s finest scholars, and students from 45 states and 18 countries. I wish you every success as you review these materials and invite you to seek further assistance from our well-qualified and student-friendly staff and faculty if you have any questions. Thank you for your interest in Ave Maria University. God bless you! With kindest regards, H. James Towey President 2018-2019 AMU Academic Catalogue / 4 2018-2019 AMU Academic Catalogue / 5 Table of Contents Academic Calendar 2018-2019 7 I. INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL INFORMATION 9 Mission Statement, History and Catholic Identity 9 Library and Technological Learning Services 11 II. ADMISSION TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES 14 III. FINANCIAL INFORMATION 21 Student Financial Aid Programs 22 IV. STUDENT AFFAIRS 31 V. PHILOSOPHY OF THE CURRICULUM 42 VI. UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS 45 Core Curriculum, Student Learning Goals and Outcomes, and Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science Degree, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing Requirements 45 Additional Academic Policies 50 Honors Program 63 Academic Honor Code 65 Undergraduate Majors, Minors, and Course Descriptions 71 VII. GRADUATE PROGRAMS AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS 250 M.A. in Theology 252 Ph.D. in Theology 256 M.B.A. in Business Administration 267 VIII. DIRECTORIES 274 2018-2019 AMU Academic Catalogue / 6 Electronic Publication The electronic version of this Catalogue is the official publication. Catalogue Disclaimer Information included in this Catalogue describes as accurately as possible the course offerings, policies, procedures, regulations, and requirements of Ave Maria University. The University reserves the right to alter or change any statement contained herein without prior notice. The provisions of this Catalogue are not to be regarded as an irrevocable contract between the University and the student. Students are expected to know regulations and policies found in the current Academic Catalogue and Student Handbook. It is the student’s responsibility to inform himself or herself of degree requirements, the school calendar, critical deadlines, and the contents of all University communications received electronically, via the U.S. Postal Service, or through one’s own University mailbox. 2018-2019 AMU Academic Catalogue / 7 Academic Calendar 2018-2019 Fall Term 2018 August 23 Thursday New incoming students may check-in after 9:00 a.m. August 25 Saturday Returning students may check-in after 9:00 a.m. August 23-26 Thursday-Sunday New Undergraduate Student Orientation August 27 Monday Academic Year Begins – First Day of Classes August 31 Friday Fall Formal Academic Convocation, 5:00 p.m. September 3 Monday Last Day to Add Courses September 5 Wednesday Last Day to Drop Courses September 17 Monday Constitution Day Observed – Classes in Session October 8 Monday Provisional Grade Reports Due October 18-21 Thursday-Sunday Fall Term Break – No Classes Oct. 31-Nov. 16 Wednesday-Friday Advising and Registration Period November 1 Thursday All Saints Day – Classes in Session November 12 Monday Last Day to Withdraw from Courses with a “W” November 22-25 Thursday-Sunday Thanksgiving Break – School Closed December 6 Thursday Last Day of Classes December 7 Friday Examination Reading Day – No Classes December 8 Saturday Immaculate Conception December 8-14 Saturday-Friday Final Examinations December 15 Saturday Grade Reports Due December 15 Saturday All students must check-out before 12:00 p.m. (noon) Spring Term 2019 January 5 Saturday Students may check-in after 9:00 a.m. January 7 Monday First Day of Classes January 14 Monday Last Day to Add Courses January 16 Wednesday Last Day to Drop Courses January 18 Friday March for Life – Classes in Session February 18 Monday Provisional Grade Reports Due March 2-10 Saturday-Sunday Spring Break – No Classes March 20-April 5 Wednesday-Friday Advising and Registration Period March 25 Monday Feast of the Annunciation – Classes in Session April 18-22 Thursday-Monday Easter Break – No Classes April 22 Monday Classes resume at 5:30 p.m. on Easter Monday April 3 Wednesday Last Day to Withdraw from Courses with a “W” April 24 Wednesday Last Day of Classes April 25 Thursday Examination Reading Day – No Classes Apr 26-May 2 Friday-Thursday Final Examinations May 3 Friday Grade Reports Due; Baccalaureate Mass May 3 Friday All non-graduating students must check-out before 12:00 p.m. (noon) May 4 Saturday Commencement May 5 Sunday Graduating students must check-out by 12:00 p.m. (noon) Summer Session I, 2019 (on campus and online) May 6-7 Monday-Tuesday Introductory Days May 8 Wednesday First Day of Classes May 9 Thursday Last Day to Add Courses May 13 Monday Last Day to Drop Courses June 13 Thursday Last Day to Withdraw from Courses with a “W” June 25 Tuesday Last Day of Classes June 26 Wednesday Reading Day June 27 Thursday Final Examinations June 28 Friday Grade Reports Due Summer Session II, 2019 (online) July 1-2 Monday-Tuesday Introductory Days July 3 Wednesday First Day of Classes July 5 Friday Last Day to Add Courses July 8 Monday Last Day to Drop Courses August 8 Thursday Last Day to Withdraw from Courses with a “W” August 20 Tuesday Last Day of Classes August 21 Wednesday Reading Day August 22 Thursday Final Examinations August 23 Friday Grade Reports Due 2018-2019 AMU Academic Catalogue / 8 2018-2019 AMU Academic Catalogue / 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 verified 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 fidelity 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.