COURSE CHARACTERISTICS
 

This is a university extension course conducted in two modalities: online and semi-attendance. The certificate issued is for Theological Initiation at a Distance; it does not correspond to a degree in Theology. The course develops the study program through four blocks, containing nine modules related to the fundamental treatises of faith. 

 

1 - GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Title: Distance Theological Initiation Course at PUC-Rio.
• Character: University extension course.
• Workload: 410 hours
• Duration:
• - On-line: 24 months.
• - Semi-attendance: 30 months.
• Title: certificate of Theological Initiation Course by PUC-Rio for students who obtain a sufficient grade in all the indicated evaluations.
• Prerequisites: High school diploma or equivalent school level; ability to read, understand texts, and availability for personal study.

1.1 - Perspectives and proposals

• Interdisciplinary Perspective: we seek to achieve integration in the totality of biblical-theological-pastoral knowledge, exploring the connections between theology and the other sciences.
• Doctrinal-pastoral perspective: the fundamental themes of the theological disciplines are presented in a critical-systematic manner, as well as the pastoral dimension, pertinent to each of these themes and in the evaluation proposals.
• Theological-spiritual perspective: it is intended to develop theological reflection at the service of spiritual experience, thus responding to the growing demand for deepening in this dimension.
• Flexibility: we seek to guarantee a structural flexibility that allows the students to obtain a common foundation and, at the same time, to explore in depth the different treaties specified in the program, according to their interests and possibilities.

1.2 - Objectives of the course

• Contribute to the biblical-theological pastoral deepening of people engaged in their communities and services - teachers of Religious Education, catechists, pastoral agents and others -, providing them with a greater systematization of the contents of faith at the service of Evangelization.
• To favor a personal deepening in the experience of following Jesus Christ.

1.3 - Methodology

The course is developed by tutoring, that is, by a methodology adequate to attend the population unable to access conventional university academic sites.

The inter-learning process structured in a bidirectional relationship is mediated by the various pedagogical procedures designed to make the educational act possible: self-learning, inter-learning, self-evaluation, and tutor evaluation processes.

 

2 - OPERATIONAL SYSTEM

The Operational Systematics to be adopted in this course, based on the curricular structure and on the EAD/PUC-Rio project, establishes a flow of activities and a dynamic teacher/trainee and tutor/trainee relationship, according to the proposal of the activities of the course itself.

The course presupposes a good capacity for individual study on the part of the student, attendance at the opening and closing seminars in the blocks, when they occur, and permanent dialog with the tutor.

 

2.1 - Professor, Coordinator and Tutor

• Professor: all the teachers of the course are linked to the Department of Theology - PUC-Rio and hold a doctoral degree. They are responsible for the elaboration of their units, thematic nuclei, and it is their responsibility to support the tutors and give final approval to the students.
• Central Coordination: it is the team of professors from the Theology Department PUC-Rio, responsible for the organization and dynamization of the distance learning Theological Initiation course
• Coordinators of the support centers (semi-attendance modality): they are directly responsible in the location, they are the ones who organize, articulate and dynamize the activities of the Distance Theological Initiation Course in the Support Centers. They also establish the link between the Support Center and the Central Coordination.
• Tutor: a person with sufficient biblical-theological preparation to be able to guide the students.

2.2 - Module Studies

The study of thematic nuclei is an activity that aims at the appropriation, by the student, of specific content, through a process of self-learning. To this end, the student has at his disposal the materials indicated by the module and by the appropriate means. The student, during the course, can request and receive orientation from the Professor and the Tutor.

 

3 - CANDIDATE SELECTION AND ENROLLMENT

Those interested should fill out the Interest Form and send it to  teodist@puc-rio.br.