National Framework Qualification 9

Available on three levels
Master of Arts
Graduate Diploma
Graduate Certificate

All Hallows College is a college of Dublin City University.
All degrees are validated and accredited by DCU.

* From September 2012, this programme is now available either full- or part-time. Applications are now being accepted.
(Application procedure listed below) 

The Programme
Applied Christian Spirituality brings the resources of spirituality to bear on issues about the meaning of life that come up in work settings, therapeutic settings,family settings, relationships or in the context of social issues regarding just and sustainable living. The MA in Applied Christian Spirituality is a one-year full-time MA programme awarded by Dublin City University (DCU).  Depending on the level of interest the programme may also be offered as a three-year part-time programme. 
The 2011 -12 programmewill begin with a week-long summer school in August  (Monday 15th - Friday 19th). During the semester, classes are held on Wednesdays (full day). There will also be classes on three Saturdays during 2011-12: 24th September, 10th December and 25th February.
As well as this, there will be a week-long research training week from 9th - 13th January.

Programme Aims  

•    To evoke the prior learning of participants and to assist them in making relevant connections to lived spirituality
•    To facilitate insight into the nature of lived spirituality
•    To develop participants'capacity to journal about the transformation involved in the spiritual quest
•    To promote new ways of reading material to get deeper meaning from texts
•    To establish connections between the experience of spirituality in each participant’s life and a sound theoretical base
•    To develop knowledge of key areas in the study of Spirituality in its traditional and contemporary expressions
•    To provide grounding in the theoretical foundations of Christian Spirituality
•    To train participants in awareness and attentitiveness skills and in spiritual accompaniment
•    To provide knowledge and experience of sound spiritual practices
•    To develop the language and confidence to be a spiritual practitioner
•    To provide training in the skills necessary to transfer these practices to daily life situations
•    To promote development into a self-aware and reflective practitioner in diverse life situations arising from attunement with the candidate’s spiritual journey
•    To provide the experience of an integrative research project in Spirituality
•    To promote development into a reflexive and ethical researcher of spirituality issues


Programme Modules
Transformative Spirituality: Reflective Practices
Spiritual Direction Process & Journals
Integration Process & Journals
Spirituality, Social Concern & Gender
Contemporary Spiritual Writers
Awareness and Attentivesness Skills Training
Spiritual Accompaniment Skills Training
Contemplative Psychology
Spirituality, Authenticity, Method
Research Training Week
Research Project – 15,000 words


Mode of Delivery
Candidates will be enabled to achieve the learning outcomes through the following teaching and learning methodologies: lectures, guided reading, book reviews, research papers, reflective practices, integration journal, integration triads, spiritual direction journal, conferences, small and large group discussion, and a research project dissertation.

Modes of Assessment
The aim of the assessment procedures is to prepare participants for a life of learning and reflective practice rather than for end of learning examinations. Assessment modes include: book report, essays and  learning journals. A research project dissertation is also carried out under staff supervision.

Programme Entry Requirements
•    Candidates will normally present with an approved Level 8 Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent professional qualification from a recognised higher education and/or accrediting body. Applicants who do not meet this requirement may be admitted if they have other qualifications considered comparable to a Level 8 degree. Prior career-based and experiential learning will be taken into consideration.
•    In order to be conversant with the language of Christian Spirituality, an appropriate amount of spiritual/theological or religious studies is required. Suitable bridging studies may be recommended as an alternative at the discretion of the Programme Admissions Board.
•    Candidates will normally be required to attend an interview with at least two members of the Programme Board before a place will be offered.
•    A standard of English appropriate to participation in class, and to carrying out research and written assignments is required. Candidates for whom English is a second language will be required to provide evidence of their competence in the English language.

Grants and Tax Relief
The programme covered by the Higher Education Grants Scheme for EU citizens.  Information regarding application procedures, eligibility and related matters may be obtained from the applicant's Local Authority. The  programme is also eligible for tax relief under section 473A, Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 by the Department of Education and Science.

Exit Routes
All successful applicants will register for the MA.  However, it will be possible to exit the programme at Graduate Certificate Level (30 credits); Graduate Diploma Level (60 credits); MA Level (90 credits).

Application Procedure
The Application procedure involves completion of the Application Form and the successful outcome of an interview process.
Download Postgraduate Application Form
Download Additional Required Form for MA in ACS

COST OF PROGRAMME – 2011/2012
Masters Full-time programme
Tuition                             € 5,275
Spiritual direction process fee to be negotiated between the spiritual director and the MA candidate
College Fee                     € 615
Selection Fee (once off)    € 100

Programme Director
Dr Michael O’Sullivan has recently been chosen by peers in the international Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality (SSCS) to be a member of the Editorial Board of Spiritus

Spiritusis the leading international journal for the study of Christian spirituality and Michael is the first Irish person to be invited on to the Board.  He had previously been elected to the Governing Board of the SSCS and currently serves on its Promotions Committee.  He is also the only Irish person to have been appointed to the Steering Committee of the Christian Spirituality Study Group of the American Academic of Religion. 

Dr O'Sullivan is the author of How Roman Catholic Theology Can Transform Male Violence Against Women and has contributed chapters to several books. He is also the author of over 80 articles on issues of Christian faith and social and gender justice. He has extensive experience  of living and working among economically disadvantaged people in Ireland, Chile, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. He is a Jesuit priest.

For further information contact:

Dr Michael O’Sullivan, SJ
Programme Director
MA in Applied Christian Spirituality
All Hallows College
Drumcondra
Dublin 9
Ireland

T:  +353 1 852 0717
or:  087 4140694
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.allhallows.ie