Why This Program?

Discover your purpose & diversify your skill set.

The theology program is the point where faith and reason intersect. This curriculum is designed to inspire soul searching and confronting issues that impact us all, such as poverty, equality, and care for the environment through the lens of our Roman Catholic and Franciscan heritage. Student engage in passionate debates while still respecting all viewpoints.

Make sure your theology degree is tailor-made to fit your needs, by choosing one of these three tracks:

Theology Teaching: Students who wish to teach religion in Christian schools, including Catholic Schools, or to work in parish catechetical programs, may choose this track. Combine theology and education majors, and earn a Religious Teacher certificate from the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City.
Biblical Theology: This track provides students with a firm foundation in understanding the ancient sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity, helping them to develop the interpretive and analytical skills necessary for responsible theological inquiry. Choose this track if you want to concentrate on scriptural studies and the influence of the Bible in culture.
Theological Foundations: This track provides students with a solid grounding in Christian teachings that will inform both their other academic work and their future career choices. If you're thinking about combining your theology degree with another major, this track is offers an ideal path for blending your interests.

Theology is not only a great major, its also a great second major! With 30 credits to pursue the program, many students choose Theology as a second major, to further support their passion and background offerings.

More About the Program

The Theology program at Briar Cliff University is a concrete expression of the University's identity as a Catholic Franciscan institution and an important part of the University's focus on the liberal arts education experience. The department offers students across the campus community an opportunity to engage such centrally important issues of human existence as God, faith, religion, and the moral life in an atmosphere that encourages inquiry and honest conversation. Such inquiry encourages students to think seriously about their own worldview and the role that faith and religion play in their lives and in the lives of others. Such inquiry is at the core of the liberal arts experience.

Courses offered by the department provide students with the philosophical and theological concepts necessary to articulate the teachings of the Christian tradition in ways that are both genuine and meaningful for our times. Students will also develop skills for undertaking respectful dialogue with people of all religious (and even no religious) traditions. While the department highlights the Roman Catholic and Franciscan heritage of the University, students will find course offerings that challenge them to consider the essential questions of life's meaning in light of their own experiences.

In addition to providing a broad range of courses that satisfy the university’s Religious (RE) foundation requirement, the Theo–Phil Department offers both minor and major degree programs in Theology.