Thomas Aquinas College
Encyclopedia
Thomas Aquinas
College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts
college offering a single integrated academic program. It is located in Santa Paula, California
north of Los Angeles
. It offers a unique education with courses based on the Great Books
and seminar
method. It has school accreditation from the American Academy for Liberal Education
, a national accrediting agency, and Western Association of Schools and Colleges
, a regional accrediting board for California and Guam.
. Hence, all members of each class are expected to contribute. Courses are in seminar
format with professors—called tutors—leading the discussions in subjects ranging from grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy, science, and philosophy. All subjects are connected through the overarching study of Catholic theology.
Currently the school does not accept state or church funding. They offer academic and needs based scholarships funded by private donation.
curriculum made up primarily of the Great Books
of the Western Tradition, with order of learning emphasized in the structure of the curriculum. Studies are divided throughout the 4-year program into the Trivium and the Quadrivium
. The Trivium encompasses the study of Logic, Rhetoric, and Grammar while the Quadrivium encompasses the study of Geometry, Astronomy, Arithmetic, and Music. Natural Science, Philosophy, and Theology are also subjects of study throughout the four-year curriculum.
The college rejects the use of textbooks in favor of reading directly from original sources. Thomas Aquinas College acknowledges that not all texts in their program are of equal weight. They regard some as masterworks and others as sources of opinions that "either lead students to the truth, or make the truth more evident by opposition to it." Students read some texts in their entirety and only excerpts from others.
The school has a club soccer team that plays in a Ventura County league. Additionally, students play soccer, tennis, football, and volleyball on the school's courts.
The St. Genesius players produce one play a year, commonly a selection from Shakespeare. The school also presents a spring musical, often a production of Gilbert and Sullivan
. There is also a choir which sings at Sunday Mass
and special events.
Unmarried students are housed on-campus in six dormitories. Married students may live off-campus. Men's and women's residence halls are off-limits to members of the opposite sex.
The possession or use of alcohol or illegal drugs on campus or in the dormitories is not allowed and may entail expulsion from the program.
, and Spanish Mission
styles. Designed by University of Notre Dame
architect Duncan Stroik, it is cruciform
in shape and features both a 135 feet (41.1 m) bell tower and an 89 feet (27.1 m) dome. Pope John Paul II
blessed the chapel’s plans in 2003, and in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI
blessed its cornerstone . Adoremus Bulletin has called Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel “A Triumph of Sacred Architecture”.
seals, a complete Gutenberg Bible
, and devotional and sacred objects of saints.
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
college offering a single integrated academic program. It is located in Santa Paula, California
Santa Paula, California
Santa Paula is a city within Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 29,321 at the 2010 census, up from 28,598 at the 2000 census...
north of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. It offers a unique education with courses based on the Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
and seminar
Seminar
Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...
method. It has school accreditation from the American Academy for Liberal Education
American Academy for Liberal Education
The American Academy for Liberal Education is a United States educational accreditation organization.- Accreditation :AALE provides two types of accreditation for higher education institutions that offer general education programs in the liberal arts...
, a national accrediting agency, and Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
, a regional accrediting board for California and Guam.
Academics
Thomas Aquinas offers one degree program: Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts. The coursework is the same for all students throughout the program. Classes are small, usually between 13-20 students, and taught by the Socratic methodSocratic method
The Socratic method , named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas...
. Hence, all members of each class are expected to contribute. Courses are in seminar
Seminar
Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...
format with professors—called tutors—leading the discussions in subjects ranging from grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy, science, and philosophy. All subjects are connected through the overarching study of Catholic theology.
Currently the school does not accept state or church funding. They offer academic and needs based scholarships funded by private donation.
Curriculum
Thomas Aquinas is based on an integrated liberal artsLiberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
curriculum made up primarily of the Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
of the Western Tradition, with order of learning emphasized in the structure of the curriculum. Studies are divided throughout the 4-year program into the Trivium and the Quadrivium
Quadrivium
The quadrivium comprised the four subjects, or arts, taught in medieval universities, after teaching the trivium. The word is Latin, meaning "the four ways" , and its use for the 4 subjects has been attributed to Boethius or Cassiodorus in the 6th century...
. The Trivium encompasses the study of Logic, Rhetoric, and Grammar while the Quadrivium encompasses the study of Geometry, Astronomy, Arithmetic, and Music. Natural Science, Philosophy, and Theology are also subjects of study throughout the four-year curriculum.
The college rejects the use of textbooks in favor of reading directly from original sources. Thomas Aquinas College acknowledges that not all texts in their program are of equal weight. They regard some as masterworks and others as sources of opinions that "either lead students to the truth, or make the truth more evident by opposition to it." Students read some texts in their entirety and only excerpts from others.
Student life
Thomas Aquinas College sponsors formal dances and banquets designed to complement the academic program. At the dances, students present musical acts and comedy skits.The school has a club soccer team that plays in a Ventura County league. Additionally, students play soccer, tennis, football, and volleyball on the school's courts.
The St. Genesius players produce one play a year, commonly a selection from Shakespeare. The school also presents a spring musical, often a production of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
. There is also a choir which sings at Sunday Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
and special events.
Unmarried students are housed on-campus in six dormitories. Married students may live off-campus. Men's and women's residence halls are off-limits to members of the opposite sex.
The possession or use of alcohol or illegal drugs on campus or in the dormitories is not allowed and may entail expulsion from the program.
Chapel
As the “crown jewel” of the Thomas Aquinas College campus, Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel was dedicated on March 7, 2009. The design for this 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²), $23 million building employs Early Christian, RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, and Spanish Mission
Spanish Mission
Spanish Mission may mean:*Spanish Colonial Revival architecture*Mission Revival Style architecture*Spanish Missions, institutions established by Catholic religious orders under the auspices of the Spanish crown to convert indigenous peoples of the Americas and Asia and the Philippines, which...
styles. Designed by University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
architect Duncan Stroik, it is cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
in shape and features both a 135 feet (41.1 m) bell tower and an 89 feet (27.1 m) dome. Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
blessed the chapel’s plans in 2003, and in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
blessed its cornerstone . Adoremus Bulletin has called Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel “A Triumph of Sacred Architecture”.
Library
The college's Saint Bernardine of Siena Library has been constructed from recovered wood from a 16th century Spanish monastery. The library has a collection of rarities, including thousands-year old HittiteHittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
seals, a complete Gutenberg Bible
Gutenberg Bible
The Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed with a movable type printing press, and marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of the printed book. Widely praised for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities, the book has an iconic status...
, and devotional and sacred objects of saints.
Notable alumni
- Very Rev. John Berg, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
- Pia de SolenniPia de SolenniPia de Solenni is a Catholic theologian in the United States. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and National Catholic Reporter; she has appeared on CNN, ABC News, and other television programs....
, 1993
See also
- Great BooksGreat BooksGreat Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
- St. John's College
- Shimer CollegeShimer CollegeShimer College is a very small, private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded by Frances Wood Shimer in 1853 in the frontier town of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, it was a women's school for most of its first century. It joined with the University of...