Religious Studies and Philosophy, B.A. Avila University

Program Description

The 120 credit hour Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies & Philosophy has the historic tradition of the liberal arts is designed to enrich humans with a heightened sense of responsibility and autonomy. The integrative major trains students to be critical and independent thinkers who are centered on the larger human purposes for which we work and interact with others. In an age overwhelmingly centered on technological progress, efficient and convenient outcomes, and material satisfaction of desires, focusing on the individual’s intellectual life provides a critical foundation for existence in our global community. While the predominant orientation of this program is towards enriching your sense of purpose and commitment to the values of social justice, care for others, and dignity for all, it is also important that you enter the workplace with skills and practices which facilitate successful career choices. In today’s job market, employers increasingly seek candidates with the following skills: critical thinking; analytic writing; cultural understanding and sensitivity; communicative empathy; and intellectual initiative. Our program focuses on these marketable skills. Finally, our integrated major is just that - a mutually-enriching and critical dialogue between two disciplines that are central to the liberal arts at a Catholic institution. In keeping with the tradition of such institutions, faith and reason are taken as valued standpoints from which to approach academic work and community life. Thus, the ordering signifies neither hierarchy nor dependency of one discipline upon the other. Rather, students will grapple with problems, themes, and questions from shared and distinctive standpoints.

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