What Distinguishes Aquinas Institute from other Schools of Theology and Ministry? 

Part of the world-wide Order of Preachers, we are a Catholic, Dominican-sponsored graduate school of theology and ministry in St. Louis, Missouri. We are proud that our school bears the name of the great Dominican saint and doctor of the church, St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most influential theologians in Christian history. 

Physically located in the middle of the country, our theological mission finds its home in the middle as well, as we strive to follow in the footsteps of our founder, St. Dominic, who intentionally centered himself in the study of the Word of God and placed himself in the middle of the Church so as to reach out to others in all directions.

Aquinas Institute is a Center of Institutional Studies, designated by the Order of Preachers to form Dominican friars, who are firmly rooted in the rich intelectual tradition of the Order, in order to carry out its preaching mission. We are charged with fulfilling the Order's Ratio Studiorum Generalis, a six-year course of study required for all Dominican friars throughout the world. Student brothers from the Dominican Provinces of St. Albert the Great and St. Martin de Porres, all of whom live nearby at the Dominican House of Studies, attend Aquinas Institute for their theological studies and pastoral training. 

We serve two distinct, complementary constituencies: Dominican student brothers preparing for ordination to the priesthood and pastoral ministry, as well as priests, religious sisters, lay men and women preparing for careers in service to the Christian community or for advanced academic studies. We welcome diversity and those of other faith traditions. 

We offer multiple graduate programs and certificate programs in a variety of formats to accommodate the needs of our students. We are known nationally for two signature programs, a Master of Arts in Practical Theology with a Specialization in Health Care Mission and a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching, the only one of its kind in the country. 

Aquinas is a close-knit community. As members of the Dominican family, we share life together in a variety of ways including liturgy and worship in our beautiful chapel. We enjoy conversation over meals and at social events. We participate in service programs and social outreach to the wider community, and value forums that provide the opportunity for open and respectful dialogue on important issues and topics. 

Situated adjacent to the large and beautiful campus of Saint Louis University, our students have access to all the academic resources of a large Jesuit university. Our students may cross register in many classes, participate in joint degree programs, and enjoy access to the library, student center, computer centers, health center and guidance services and the campus transportation system. 

Our engagement with and access to our Dominican heritage in the 800-year-old rich intellectual tradition of the Order of Preachers and its extraordinary contribution to the intellectual and pastoral life of the Catholic Church. 

At the heart of all our programs is the unique Dominican approach to education that holds as its primary purpose a search for Veritas, the One who is Truth himself, Our Lord Jesus Christ, whom we seek to encounter in all of our programs, coursework and campus life, and whom we seek to share through our mission of evangelization, namely to be useful by preaching and teaching for the salvation of every person. 

Our theological orientation is informed and built upon the scholarship and intellectual legacy of the Dominicans of the River Forest School of Thomism and its interpretation of our great patron, St. Thomas of Aquinas whose study of the Word of God led him to engage the world positively in a pursuit of Truth that was expansive, comprehensive, and all encompassing. 

Aquinas Institute likewise undertakes its intellectual mission in the same spirit of St. Thomas by following his example. We seek the Truth of Christ as it has been revealed to us in the Holy Scripture and Tradition of the Church and we strive to understand it by our engagement with others, with men and women from various cultures, backgrounds, and social strata, which is the contemporary reality of the Church and the world in our own time and place. 

At Aquinas Institute, we place our theological study at the service of what Dominicans call the "Holy Preaching." The Holy Preaching is not a discrete experience confined to a few minutes from the pulpit; rather for Dominicans it is an expression of our shared life, where as a community we seek to make a comprehensive and dynamic response to God's presence in our lives and the world. Building on and from the Dominican preaching charism, we form men and women in a living community where professors and students learn from one another and where those who study with us are well-prepared to go forth into the world, preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ in word and deed.