Celebrating Our Graduate Program Alums!

St. Catherine University has been sending graduate degree alums into the world for over twenty-five years. We want to honor these programs and the accomplishments of their alums. Though the core program of St. Catherine's has been and will continue to be the women's liberal arts college, our graduate programs by law and by choice have all been co-educational. We welcome the strength of this diversity in our alum community.

Master of Arts in Theology (MAT), since 1983.

The MAT program was originally initiated to answer the needs of St. Catherine students who wanted to further their studies in theology and the Catholic Church’s ardent call for more qualified lay people for ministry and scholarship. From these roots grew the MAT and three certificate programs: Pastoral Ministry, Spiritual Direction, and Catechetical Ministry. Our alums have been out in the world in various forms of official and alternative ministry and engaging in rigorous theological study, writing, and teaching.

For more on alums of this graduate program...

For more on the MAT program....

Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (MAOL), since 1985.

As more and more St. Catherine graduates were moving into MBA programs, St. Kate’s inaugurated a radical new concept in business-oriented graduate programs -- a multi-disciplinary, multi-profession leadership degree earned mostly on weekends. This revolutionary Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership (MAOL) has sent into the world twenty years of dynamic, fresh-thinking, ethical leaders, changing their businesses, organizations, and communities. As the first interdisciplinary master’s level leadership program in the country, St. Catherine University MAOL program has built a stellar reputation by responding to the changing needs of our alums and the places they work.

For profiles of alumnae and alumni of this graduate program...

For more on the MAOL program...

The Master of Arts in Nursing (MANu), since 1990 [resolve corrections from Ruth/date difference from program director and dean's list].

Our graduate nursing alums stand upon over a century of dedication to health care and education. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJs) sponsored the first health care education in Minnesota when they founded St. Mary’s School of Nursing in 1887 on what is now St. Catherine University Minneapolis Campus. Seven years later, they opened a second nurse training school in St. Paul in their St. Joseph's Hospital. By 1931, the CSJs introduced a new liberal arts based nursing program at St. Catherine University. These nursing students could fulfill their clinicals at St. Mary's or St. Joseph's Hospitals.

In 1942, St. Catherine's took over St. Mary's School of Nursing, establishing a five-year liberal arts degree in nursing, maintaining the three-year diploma. Fifteen years later, the College and St. Mary's decided to separate to serve their different kinds of students, and all the Katie nurses shifted their clinicals to St. Joseph's Hospital. St. Mary's Nursing School reopened its diploma program, which continued till 1966 when the school became St. Mary's Junior College offering associate nursing degrees.

All three institutions -- St. Catherine's, St. Joseph's, and St. Mary's -- were committed to similar goals and in 1985, St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Hospitals merged into one corporation, and a year later, St. Mary's Campus became the Minneapolis Campus of St. Catherine University. St. Catherine's bachelor's degree students continued to schedule their clinicals at St. Joseph Hospital.

With this depth of expertise and long commitment to quality health care and education, St. Catherine's developed its master's and doctoral degrees in nursing. The MANu, initiated in 1990, is a leadership building program in nursing that allows nurses to expand their expertise, experience and skills to assume advanced, critical roles in providing health care, overseeing facilities and programs, and educating others. Alums from the MANu program have been specifically prepared to contribute deeply in one of these four concentrations :

Nurse Educator
Nurse Practitioner: Neonatal
Nurse Practitioner: Pediatric
Nurse Practitioner: Adult Gerontological

For profiles of alums of the MANu program...

For more on the MANu program....

Masters of Arts of Social Work (MASW), since 1990.

The Master of Social Work program has been jointly offered bySt. Catherine University and the University of St. Thomas. The MSW program emphasizes the development of the individual student and a philosophy of social responsibility and a respect for individuals' rights. The CSC/UST School of Social Work recognizes Catholic Social Teaching as a rich resource that provides a framework for strengthening the way in which we educate for justice and prepare students for competent and ethical social work practice dedicated to both service and justice.

For profiles of alums of this graduate program...

For more on the MASW program...

The Master of Arts in Occupational Therapy (MAOT), since 1990.

U.S. News and World Report ranks St. Kate’s Master of Arts in Occupational Therapy (MAOT) program among the top 21 in the country, higher than many more well-known schools and higher than any other graduate occupational therapy (OT) program in Minnesota, Iowa or North and South Dakota. Our alums from the MAOT program provides entry-level and post-professional education based on an occupational science and liberal arts foundation, preparing students to lead and influence occupational therapy practice in existing and emerging professional areas. Twenty-three percent of OTs work in school systems, while others work in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, community centers, rehabilitation centers and homes.

For profiles of alums of this graduate program...

For more on the MAOT...

Masters of Arts of Library Science (MLIS), since 1992.

Since 1917, St. Catherine's has been dedicated to preparing women to be liberally educated and qualified library and information professionals. For decades, the library science major was offered as a baccalaureate degree. Then as the field grew more complex and media information services expanded, so did the knowledge and skills base to the extent that a graduate degree program was preferred for entry-level professionals. In 1992 St. Catherine University and Rosary College (now Dominican University) agreed to collaborate to provide a library science masters degree program accredited by the American Library Association. Graduate students prepared at St. Catherine's but received their degree from Dominican. In 2006 the program at the University was awarded candidacy status by the American Library Association and began the process to obtain accreditation separate from that of Dominican University.

The alums of the St. Catherine MLIS program have excelled in creative leadership locally and nationally in this ever-changing, complex profession in an age when global knowledge is dependent on a variety of information technologies.

For profiles of alums of this graduate program...

For more on the MLIS program...

Masters of Arts in Education (MAEd), since 1993.

Many school boards and principals tell us that they put the resumes of St. Catherine alums at the top of the pile when making hiring decisions. That's because our alumnae/i have been in the world making a real difference as educational leaders. St. Catherine University has been preparing critically thinking and creative teachers since 1913, and the graduate programs are an extension of this heritage. There are MAEd programs:

Initial Teacher Licensure
Curriculum and Instruction (for those already licensed)
Montessori (early childhood or elementary credentials, American Montessori Society (AMS)

Many master's degree alumnae entered the University's education or Montessori program. Yet others brought knowledge and expertise from varied professional experiences and undergraduate schools. All have set forth as master's degree alums trained to lead and influence in a wide range of educational settings and facilities.

For profiles of alums of this graduate program...

For more on the MAEd program for Initial Licensure...
For more on the MAEd program in Curriculum and Instruction
For more on the MAEd program in Montessori....

Masters of Arts of Holistic Health (MAHS), since 2004.

St. Kate’s has been a leading educator in holistic health studies for 25 years. In 2004, the first incoming graduate class entered the Master of Arts in Holistic Health Studies 2004, after 20 years of offerings in holistic therapies certificates. Today, 62 percent of adults in the United States use complementary/alternative modalities, according to the National Institutes of Health. Career opportunities in holistic health are ever increasing as integrative models of health have moved into the mainstream and there is a public demand to have professionals with expertise in this field. In addition to the MAHS, the program offers a graduate level certificate in holistic health studies.

For profiles of alums of this graduate program...

For more on the MAHS program...

Masters of Arts in Holistic Health/Masters of Arts in Social Work Dual Degree, since 2006.

At St. Kate’s, graduate students can earn a master’s degree in holistic health studies and one in social work at the same time. This program was been developed collaboratively between the graduate Holistic Health and Social Work Departments to reinforce and support a professional perspective that serves the multiple and complex needs of clients. Upon completion, alums possess both master’s degrees.

For profiles of alums of this graduate program...

For more on the MAHH/MASW program...

DOCTORAL DEGREES

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), since 2003.

In 1991 St. Catherine's began the Master of Physical Therapy Program to offer cutting edge preparation for its entry level physical therapists to meet the societal needs of addressing health and rehabilitation. As the science, adaptive technologies, and leadership potential of the field of physical therapy progressed, so did the graduate program, becoming a doctoral program in 2003.

Alums of this program come out fully engaged and practiced, ready to play important roles in developing health policy and appropriate standards for the physical therapy practice in a variety of settings, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, public schools, private clinics, rehabilitation centers, community health centers, research centers, industry, home health care, athletic programs and physical therapy educational programs. They are involved in the interpretation of tests and measurements, intervention planning, direct patient care, patient and family education, consultation and supervision of supportive personnel. They also apply critical and creative thinking to more systematic data analysis, solution building, preventative care, and service. (For instance, before graduating students run a monthly foot clinic aimed at helping the disproportionate number of people with diabetes in the local Native American population.) The innovative DPT curriculum breaks away from more traditional curricula by integrating basic and clinical sciences in a way that is relevant and meaningful allowing alumnae and alumni to offer exceptional patient care as well as higher level transformative health care leadership.

For profiles of alums of the DPT program...

For more on the DPT program...

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), since 2008.

Launched in 2008, St. Kate’s DNP program offers an advanced degree for master’s-prepared nurses engaged in advanced nursing practice.

Alums from the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program will be prepared to guide, direct, and inspire nursing practice in the facilities they work. They have been taught to oversee the care for groups of patients, to influence and implement needed systems and policy changes and to help health care providers navigate through challenging and changing times, keeping the dignity of each patient in mind.

Our alums will soon be found as chief nursing officers, chief nursing executives, director of primary care clinics or director of a system-wide quality improvement departments. Graduates also may pursue full- or part-time careers in nursing education. We are awaiting our first alums in this program.

For more on the DNP program...