Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies

What is the history of Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies?

The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception is a graduate theological institution at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. The Dominican House of Studies was established in 1905 to educate Dominican friars; the pontifical faculty was established in 1941. That history explains why academic theology and preparation for religious ministry remain closely connected at the institution.

"Pontifical" refers to the faculty's authority to offer certain ecclesiastical degrees under Catholic Church rules. It does not mean that every student is preparing for ordination: applicants should distinguish the faculty's academic degree programs from the religious formation undertaken by Dominican friars.

What are the faculties and departments at Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies?

The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception is a specialized faculty of theology, not a university divided into undergraduate colleges and majors. Its studies center on Catholic theology, including Scripture, philosophy, Church history, moral theology, and systematic theology.

Its degree offerings include graduate credentials such as the Master of Arts in Theology and Master of Divinity, alongside ecclesiastical degrees such as the Bachelor of Sacred Theology, Licentiate in Sacred Theology, and Doctor of Sacred Theology. Despite its name, the Bachelor of Sacred Theology is an ecclesiastical credential within a theological course of study; prospective first-time college students should not assume it functions like a conventional four-year bachelor's major. Degree requirements and eligibility differ substantially, so the current academic catalog matters more than the degree title alone.

What is the location of Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies?

The faculty is based at the Dominican House of Studies, 487 Michigan Avenue NE, in Washington, DC's Brookland neighborhood. It is near the Catholic University of America and other religious and educational institutions, giving theology students access to a broader academic setting without making those institutions part of the faculty.

The Brookland-CUA station on Metro's Red Line provides a public-transit option. Students planning to commute should account for transit time and service schedules; those relocating should compare housing in Brookland with other neighborhoods served by the Red Line.

What is the mission and vision of Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies?

The faculty's stated educational purpose is the advanced study and teaching of Catholic theology in the Dominican intellectual tradition. Its approach gives particular importance to the relationship among faith, reason, scholarly inquiry, and the Church's teaching and ministry.

This is a religiously affiliated institution with a defined theological framework, rather than a general-purpose graduate school of religious studies. Applicants should consider whether that framework fits their academic interests or vocational plans. The institution's stated aims describe what it seeks to do; they are not, by themselves, evidence of any individual student's outcome.