Why are jesuit colleges highly regarded?

zapfino
Sat, 15 Jul 2017 02:38:47 +0000

As others have indicated, Jesuit colleges have a longstanding reputation for the thoroughness and rigor of their core curricula. A distinctive feature of this was a solid grounding in philosophy and theology. I had a family member who entered Boston College in the mid-1960s. At that time, the core curriculum required five courses in philosophy (Introduction to Philosophy, Philosophical Anthropology, Metaphysics, Ethics, and one elective) and four courses in theology (three core courses and one elective). If I’m not mistaken, this core was required not only for Arts & Sciences majors, but also for Business, Nursing, and Education majors. Since that time, the core requirements have been reduced considerably, just as they have been at most schools. Currently, BC’s A&S students are required to take only 2 semester courses each of philosophy and theology. Although these are selected from specially-designed core courses in these fields, there is a broader range of courses from which to choose, including some courses geared to students who do not subscribe to Catholicism or who do not necessarily identify as religious at all.

Jesuit high schools have a similar reputation for the quality of their education. Back in the day, the Jesuit high school in my city required all students to study Greek, Latin, and French. In contrast, my Dominican high school only required two years of Latin, after which you could continue with two more years of Latin or switch to a modern language.

Often, one would hear prominent figures in the media, e.g., Chris Matthews (Holy cross) or the late Tim Russert (Canisius High School, John Carroll U) fondly recall the lasting influence of their Jesuit educations.

Although I did not attend a Jesuit university, several family members and friends did, and I would agree that there is something distinctive about a Jesuit education. At the same time, as Jesuit universities have become more similar to other universities in many respects, they’ve sometimes had to re-double their efforts to clarify just what it makes them “Jesuit” (and “Catholic”). https://www.bc.edu/offices/mission/exploring/jesuniv.html