Bachelor of arts in theology
Degree Completion Program
Program Details

Program Requirements

View course curriculum for BA in Theology

General Education Requirements
In order to qualify for acceptance into the BA degree completion program, students must have completed 88 college credit hours including the 44 core academic requirements listed below. Additional courses that complete the required 88 credit hours are electives. To assist with calculating credits, a student may download the Basic Course Requirement Worksheet. Please keep in mind that these 88 credits are based on semester hours not quarter hours.

CDU allows students to work on their general education credits and theology credits at the same time. Students with 60 general education credits are accepted into the CDU program as provisional students with full acceptance granted when all 88 general requirement credits are earned.

Student ID Cards
Students ID cards will be issued to all students upon acceptance into the BA program. This card is needed for library loans from the Woodstock Theological library and can also be used for general college student discounts. Cards are mailed four to six weeks after acceptance into a program.

Transfer Credit and Work Experience
CDU will accept a maximum of six undergraduate credits in transfer providing these credits meet the requirements of the program (Catholic theology from a Catholic institution). Credits must have been earned no more than five years prior to transfer. If they are accepted, these six credits may apply to the 38 credits required for the major in theology. An official transcript is required. CDU does not grant undergraduate credit for work experience. All credit transfers need to have prior approval by the academic dean.

Earning and Transferring Academic Credit
If you plan to transfer course credits from CDU to an undergraduate degree-granting institution, CDU strongly encourages checking with the receiving institution prior to enrolling in your course. Please keep in mind that each receiving institution, including CDU, reserves the right to evaluate the transcript for course transfer.

Program Time Limits
Students accepted into the BA program have six years to complete the degree requirements. This applies to both full and provisional acceptance.

Proctored Examinations
Final examinations must be proctored. Each student provides undergraduate registrar with the name, address, telephone number, and email address of one appropriate person in his or her community who could serve as a proctor, such as a librarian, a teacher, a priest, or sister. Students are notified when examinations are sent to the proctor. Proctors certify that examinations have been administered according to accepted procedures, and return all examinations to CDU for grading. Proctors are requested to verify student identification before the student is given the final exam. The time and place for administering the exam will be arranged between the proctor and student. Details can be found in the Proctored Exam Form.

Academic Probation
Undergraduate students are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. An undergraduate student whose cumulative GPA falls below 2.0 is automatically placed on academic probation. During probation, a student must attain a semester GPA of at least 2.0; further, the student must raise the cumulative GPA to the 2.0 or higher level in order to be removed from academic probation.

The undergraduate dean will on an individual basis, review incidents of academic probation. A student remains on academic probation until his grade point average returns to 2.0 or better. If a course is failed, no retake of the final examination is allowed. At the discretion of the undergraduate dean, and in consultation with the professor, remedial work may be assigned with examinations in order to rectify deficiencies. Exceptions to these regulations will be referred to the undergraduate dean.

Leave of Absence
For serious reasons, a student may apply for a leave of absence (up to 1 year) until he or she is able to resume study. During this leave, elapsed time does not accrue toward the maximum completion time allowed for finishing the degree. A letter requesting leave should be addressed to the undergraduate dean.

Undergraduate Library Resources
Course authors provide bibliographies and supplemental reading lists with course materials. This information is useful for term papers and course work. Borrowing privileges to full-time CDU students have been granted to Woodstock Theological Library, with 195,000 volumes and 700 periodicals. Local students may visit the library in person and distant students may use the inter-library loan system. Full-time program students are welcome to call the librarians for personal assistance. A CDU student ID card is needed for library loans.

The faculty and staff of CDU have prepared an online reference library for CDU students. This library can be found in the CDU Online Campus.

Delta Epsilon Tau: International Honor Society for Distance Learning
CDU, the first distance university in the Church to highlight academic achievement in distance education, holds Virginia’s Alpha Chapter of Delta Epsilon Tau. To be invited for admission into the honor society, graduates must have demonstrated academic excellence by attaining an overall GPA of 3.8 (on a 4.0 scale) during their undergraduate studies.

Each honored graduate who accepts the invitation to join the Delta Epsilon Tau Honor Society will receive an official Certificate of Membership, a Delta Epsilon Tau gold key lapel pin, a congratulatory letter, and a narrative of the Honor Society, as well as reference letters (upon request).

Withdrawing From a Course or a Program
A student may terminate enrollment in the BA program or an individual course at any time by notifying the university; however, a student is advised to do so in writing for his or her own protection. Refunds will be granted on request, according to the program satisfactory policy. Written withdrawal request should be sent to: Graduate Register, The Catholic Distance University, 120 East Colonial Highway, Hamilton, VA 20158. To view CDU satisfaction and refund policy