International Study
Catholic Studies students are encouraged to cultivate their global knowledge, increase
their cultural awareness and deepen their faith by participating in our faculty-led
study abroad courses and our exchange program with the University of Münster.
Read more about the Department of Catholic Studies' foreign study programs below and
plan to travel the world!
Exchange Program
Our exchange program offers students an exceptional opportunity to spend time at the University of Münster campuses in Germany or Italy for one or two semesters and become immersed in German or Italian and culture. Learn more »
Study Abroad Program
The Department of Catholic Studies supports faculty-led study abroad academic programs every year. Courses in this program are three credits each and include trips to El Salvador, England, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Spain and World Youth Days.
Course Descriptions
Be sure to always apply early as courses fill quickly, and if you need financial assistance
for any of the courses listed below, visit the Catholic Studies' scholarship page
to learn what funding is available.
CAST 3027 (CORE 3981/JCST 6026) The Catholic Church & the Jews in Poland
An analytical survey of Catholic-Jewish coexistence throughout Polish history. Through
the reading of primary texts referring to the settling of Jewish community in Poland,
the conditions of flourishing of Jewish culture, evolving Catholic attitudes towards
the Jewish minority, complex Church-Jewish relations during the Holocaust, and unprecedented
renewal of Jewish culture in postwar Poland, as well as the rebuilding of Catholic-Jewish
relations in recent decades, the course will provide an advanced introduction to Catholic-Jewish
history in Poland. The study abroad trip to Poland, through visiting important Catholic
shrines and famous sites of Jewish culture, will provide students with tangible examples
of Catholic-Jewish coexistence in Poland, the destruction of Jewish community by the
Nazis, as well as with more recent memorialization of the Jewish culture in Poland.
3 credits
CAST 3293 Catholic Faith & the Resurrection of Poland 1795-1990
Few countries exhibit as strong a connection of its history, culture and identity
with the Catholic Faith as does Poland, a factor which proved decisive in its return
to freedom. The course examines how the Polish people and Church endured through the
periods of partition and Nazi/Soviet tyranny until their resurgence in the epochal
pontificate of Pope John Paul II and the collapse of Communism.
3 credits
CAST 3994 (CORE 3748) Foundations of Christian Culture
Drawing from a variety of sources -- historical, literary, philosophical and theological
-- this course examines the origins and nature of Christian culture, exploring in
particular the value of culture itself as an aspect of revelation and incarnation.
The course offers some answers from the contemporary tradition to the ancient questions:
How am I meant to understand the world? How am I meant to understand myself?
3 credits
CAST 3998 (CORE 3762) Italy in the Footsteps of the Saints
Italy enjoys a pre-eminence as a spiritual center for the Christian world alongside
its importance in the development of Western civilization's art, music, architecture
and political thought. The course will examine the interplay between Italy's profound
spiritual heritage and cultural achievements, focusing on the contributions of such
key figures as the Apostles Peter and Paul, Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, Saint
Catherine of Siena and Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
3 credits
CAST 3999 Emergence of Christianity in Rome
The Church in Rome has manifested the greatest durability, adaptability and influence
of all the early Christian communities mentioned in the New Testament. The course
begins with the Roman Church's Jewish roots, the Apostles Peter and Paul and the age
of persecutions and continues through its increasingly central role in shaping Western
Christianity from the time of Constantine to the early Middle Ages. Special focus
is given to the developing office of the papacy and the self-expression of this vibrant
community through its art and architecture.
3 credits