Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.)

Upon admission to the licentiate program the student must choose his/her area of concentration from any of the following:

a) Biblical Theology
b) Systematic and Sacramental Theology
c) Moral Theology
d) Religious Education
e) Spirituality-Pastoral Psychology
f)  Migration Theology (see program description below)

Academic Prerequisites

To get accepted to this program the applicants must have the ecclesiastical degree Bachelor in Sacred Theology (STB) with at least a general average of 2.0 (B+). Those who finished four years of theology from a seminary that does not offer the STB may also qualify for the STL program provided they have good grades (at least a general average of 2.0 or B+) and they can offer some proof (e.g., a research paper they have written in their seminary course, etc.) of their capacity to write a tesina.

Applicants must pass an Entrance Exam administered by the Ateneo de Manila and an LST English Proficiency Test. They are admitted to the STL program upon the recommendation of the Standards & Degrees Committee and the approval of the Dean.

STL Language Requirements

The STL program requires a working knowledge of one modern language, besides English, in which significant theological writing has been done (e.g., German, French, or Spanish), one Biblical language, and Ecclesiastical Latin. The requirements may be satisfied either by [a] taking language courses of two semesters each language in any university/college, provided that at least a grade of B is attained; or by [b] passing a proficiency test administered by LST in any or all of these languages. The test, lasting for 30 minutes, consists in translation of a page of Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Greek, or Ecclesiastical Latin, or German, or French, or Spanish, with the aid of a dictionary. The language requirements must be fulfilled before writing the tesina.

STL Course Work

The program requires at least three semesters of course work in which the student must successfully complete eleven (11) licentiate or doctoral level courses – a total of 33 credit units.

a) Concentration (21 units): Seven courses or seminars are drawn from the student's field of concentration.

b) Reading Courses: Two of the seven concentration courses must be reading courses specifically geared toward the topic of the student's tesina . At the end of each reading course, the student must submit a written report in the form of a Review of Literature, i.e., a survey and evaluation of books and articles dealing with a specific research topic. The review must cover all the books and articles assigned by the professor as well as other readings that the student may have discovered for himself/herself in the course of the research. The reading course includes pre-arranged meetings with the professor to discuss the reading materials.

Note: Before enrolling in the reading courses, they must first be approved by the Director of Advanced Graduate Students or the Dean. A clear distinction should be made between reading courses and tutorial courses . Reading courses are tailor-made to suit the specific topic of the student's tesina. Tutorial courses may also involve reading assignments on a course bibliography, but the readings may not necessarily deal with the topic of the student's tesina .

c) Electives (12 units): Four courses are electives chosen from outside the field of concentration.

STL Comprehensive Examination

After successfully completing the STL course work the student must pass an oral comprehensive exa­mination. With the help of a professor, the student prepares four (4) to six (6) general thesis statements from courses in his/her field of concentration, each thesis supported by a short, pertinent bibliography. When his/her theses have been judged to be satisfactory by the professor, these are submitted to the Dean for his approval. The thesis statements are then submitted to the examiners, and the student is given at least one month to prepare for the examination. On a date set by the school the student takes the oral examination before a panel of three professors, one of whom is the mentor. Each professor is given 15 minutes to examine the candidate. In case of failure, only one retake is allowed. A second failure automatically disqualifies the student from the program.

STL Tesina

The STL program requires the writing and successfully defending a tesina . Students who are ready to begin work on the tesina must register for Thesis Direction and obtain from the Loyola School of Theology Office a copy of the guidelines for writing a tesina .

a ) Nature of the STL Tesina: The tesina grows out of the work of the seminars and reading courses and presents the principal work of the program. It is not necessary that the tesina make an original contribution to theology. However, on the level of method, it should show a sound grasp of theological method, rigorous application, and precision of expression – in short, an aptitude for scientific theological research. It should have the quality of a research article in a scientific theological publication. The tesina is prepared under the direction of a mentor appointed by the Dean.

b) The STL Tesina and the MA Thesis: The Licentiate tesina can fulfill the requirements of the MA thesis or vice versa . The MA ministry project, as long as it exhibits a grasp theological method, can also fulfill the requirements of the STL tesina .

c) STL Tesina Proposal Defense: Under the guidance of the mentor appointed by the Dean, the student writes a tesina proposal. The proposal, which can serve as the first chapter of the tesina , should present and discuss the following: [1] The Problem of the Tesina ; [2] Scope and Limitations; [3] The Significance of the Problem; [4] Methodology; [5] Definition of Key Terms; and [6] Basic Bibliography.

The proposal (excluding bibliography) should normally not exceed 10 pages and should follow the LST Style Manual (based on Turabian, 6 th edition). Once approved by the mentor, five (5) copies of the tesina proposal are submitted to the Dean who appoints a panel of two professors plus the mentor to examine the proposal. On a date specified by the school the student defends his proposal orally before the panel.

The defense consists in [1] a clear presentation (for about 15 minutes) of the written proposal by the writer, covering the tesina's basic problem or theme, its scope and limitation, its importance, and the basic sources (bibliography) and methods to be used; [2] each professor reviews the proposal with the writer through questions, suggestions, etc., usually for a period of 10 to 15 minutes, depending upon the particular needs of the proposal. The professors may offer brief written recommendations, analyses, suggestions, etc. to the writer, copies of which are also given to the mentor and the Dean's Office.

d) STL Tesina Writing: After the proposal has been approved by the panel, the student may now proceed to writing the tesina chapter by chapter. All throughout the writing of the thesis the student must seek the guidance of his/her mentor. Each chapter must be approved by the mentor one at a time. The STL tesina should be between 80 to 150 pages in length (excluding Bibliography).

e) STL Tesina Public Defense: After the mentor has formally certified the tesina ready for public defense, a second reader is assigned by the Dean. Ideally, the second reader is chosen from among the panel of the tesina proposal defense.

It is the task of the second reader to ascertain that the tesina is ready for defense. He/she has the right to order any changes in the tesina he/she considers necessary for it to be truly ready for defense. He/she has the right to declare the tesina not ready for defense and send it back to the student and mentor for further work.

No tesina can be submitted to the other examiners and be scheduled for defense before the second reader has approved it. In case of an unsolvable conflict between the second reader and mentor, an independent panel appointed by the Dean will decide the issue.

After the second reader declares the tesina ready for defense and after all his/her suggested corrections or changes have been made, the tesina will be submitted to the other readers that, together with the second reader, shall make up the panel of examiners. A date for the defense is then scheduled.

For a tesina of ordinary length, four weeks must be allowed for the second reader to finish his task of reviewing the tesina . An additional two weeks needs to be allowed for the other reader to prepare for the defense of the tesina . The tesina mentor will be the third member of the panel of examiners. ( Note the cut off date for defense in the academic calendar of the school for each semester)

Final Grade

The final grade for the STL program is computed in the following way: forty percent for course work, thirty percent for the tesina, and thirty percent for the final comprehensive examination.

STL in Migration Theology

Migration is a growing phenomenon in Asia, and all indications suggest that it will remain an important aspect of the region’s landscape. The local churches in countries of origin and destination in Asia are called to promote theological reflection and studies on this phenomenon.

The Instruction Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi states: "Episcopal Conferences will likewise entrust to Catholic university faculties in their territories the task of studying the various aspects of migration more thoroughly for the benefit of concrete pastoral service for migrants. Compulsory courses of theological specialization could also be programmed for this purpose" (EMCC, 71).

To answer this call, Loyola School of Theology, the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples (CBCP-EMCI), and theScalabrini Migration Center (SMC) have established a special program in Migration Theology. The program is tailored to meet the different needs of lay pastoral workers, religious, and ordained persons involved in this ministry. It also aims to train students of theology in addressing this important concern of the Church today.

For admission into the Licentiate in Sacred Theology Program with a field of specialization in Migration Theology, applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology (S.T.B), issued by an ecclesiastical faculty of theology, and they must have at least a general average of 2.0 (B+). Those who have finished four years of theology from a school of theology that does not offer the S.T.B. may still qualify for the S.T.L. program provided they have the same average grade as above and can offer some proof of their capacity to write a tesina (e.g., a research paper they have written in their seminary course).

The program requires at least three semesters of course work in which the student must successfully complete seven courses on migration (21 units), two of which must be reading courses. Four other courses (12 units) on migration are taken by the student from a list of available migration electives to complete his or her studies. With the permission of the Dean, the student may take other courses closely related to the study of migration.