Loyola Institute Trinity College

The Loyola Institute began its mission of teaching and research in Theology in the Catholic tradition at Trinity College with its first intake of students in 2012. Loreto (Irish Province) is one of eight congregations who are Trustees of the Loyola Institute, which is headed up by the Society of Jesus. It was founded to provide education in Catholic theology for lay people and religious, at a time when the Church needs more lay involvement. It is part of a tripartite department which comprises the School of Religions, the School of Ecumenics and the Loyola Institute.

In 2021 the Loyola Trust updated its original agreement with Trinity College, whereby the Loyola Institute works closely with the other two schools, under the title “ School of Religion, Theology and Peace Studies”.

Several programmes in Catholic Theology are offered through the Loyola Institute, as well as supervised PhD research. The MPhil is a taught Masters which requires the completion of six modules and a dissertation within one year (full-time) or two years (part-time).

For those who may not wish to take on this commitment, there are two alternatives, a Certificate and a Diploma. One may start with a Certificate course and continue on to a Diploma, and from Diploma to MPhil. The modules are the same in all three programmes and have the same assessment patterns.

Scholarships are available for all options, including research PhD studies. Loyola also offers other occasional programmes including one for Religion teachers in secondary schools, and regular public lectures delivered by international lecturers on topics of Catholic interest.