Most diocese will send you to “seminary-college” or “minor seminary” to complete your BA so that you can enter into the theology program to get your masters.
You can get a BA in whatever you want. Then you will get your MDiv. But, make sure you have enough undergrad credits of philosophy. I forget what it is now - something silly like 30, plus 12 credit hours of undergrad theology. It almost forces you to major in philosophy, or use all of your electives for philosophy classes.
)Depends upon the seminary program. Some are designed more specifically with the idea of getting you ready for the priesthood. There wouldn’t be the opportunity to study of get a degree in something like graphic design. Other college seminaries collaborate with major universities and you can basically get your degree in whatever you like as long as you also finish all of the philosophy/theology requirements that they set out for you.
There’s one serving the dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre, although it also trains men for other “client” dioceses:
What if you got a BA from another accredited Bible College, Christian, but not Catholic? Does that count? And do all priests have a Masters?You can get a BA in whatever you want. Then you will get your MDiv. But, make sure you have enough undergrad credits of philosophy. I forget what it is now - something silly like 30, plus 12 credit hours of undergrad theology. It almost forces you to major in philosophy, or use all of your electives for philosophy classes.
But, if the diocese sends you to college, it might be hard to schedule that course load (graphic design) because they will have you at Mass every morning, praying the divine office, and a host of other things. From what I understand, minor seminary is focused around finished your studies so you can get to the real thing, but they still put you in the envionment to foster your vocation. (And the question may come up more than once - Why graphic design? For your parish webpage?
Best thing to do is ask your vocation director. Then take a trip to the college they would send you to, go to the seminarian’s house and ask around. See what the schedule is like, etc.
You can even get a BA from a secular college. But you have to have 30 hours philosophy and 12 hours of theology before you can begin your first year of theology in seminary. So, even if you have a BA, you may have to spend a year in “pre-theology” if you do not meet those requirements.What if you got a BA from another accredited Bible College, Christian, but not Catholic? Does that count? And do all priests have a Masters?
Well, minor seminary is just another term for your undergrad, so of course you get a degree.
Well, not quite. “Minor seminary” refers to any program which is at a level that is not a formal part of a “major seminary”. But a “major seminary” program can be any number of things. At one time, they regularly included both philosophical and theological studies. Some still do. Others are now primarily theologates, with perhaps programs for lay people, deacons, and “pre-seminarians”. So some philosophical programs at seminaries have courses which may or may not lead to a form of bachelors degree from the seminary college and may or may not have transferable credits if you drop out and then begin to attend another university. In years past (and still, really, does) the term “minor seminary” was applied to (and more frequently refered to) a high school level program. Though in contemporary times, yes, “minor seminary” now more often refers to a college level seminary program.