With its foundation in the rich tradition of Catholic Social
Teaching, the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Concentration in
Global Development and Social Justice is designed to prepare its
graduates to assume positions of responsibility in agencies and
organizations that promote integral, sustainable development. This
interdisciplinary concentration combines a rigorous academic
program with attention to concrete issues and priorities for
development in a variety of local settings.
Understand Global Development
Issues
- Articulate key principles and models of development from a
variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives
(including economics, political science)
- Critically examine existing models of development for their
achievements and shortcomings in reducing poverty, hunger and human
inequality, in raising the quality of choices available for human
flourishing and in conserving the environment.
Relate Development to Catholic Social
Teaching
- Demonstrate understanding of the human person and of the common
good that inform Catholic social teaching and its perspectives on
development.
- Analyze critically the usefulness of the principles of Catholic
Social Teaching (the common good, universal human dignity, etc.)
for developing public policies that address economic justice and
globalization.
- Define key principles of Catholic Social Teaching and employ
those principles as analytical tools in analyzing specific issues
and cases.
- Articulate a well-informed and clear empirical understanding of
the concrete issue(s) of development that they plan to analyze
ethically and theologically.
Identify Development Best Practices and
Solutions
- Identify and critically evaluate relevant information resources
for investigating issues in development (including, but not
restricted to migration, employment, education, communication, and
health care)
- Employ the principles and values of Catholic Social Thought to
effectively analyze and assess current efforts (by governments,
nongovernmental organizations)