Why DSPT

DSPT offers a small school atmosphere with robust resources ordered toward the pursuit of truth.

DSPT offers graduate programs in Philosophy and Theology that equip students for a wide range of careers and vocations. Every program immerses students in the richness of the Dominican tradition, preparing them to engage their world through faith and reason.

Why study philosophy & theology?

It is essential to human nature to seek understanding and wisdom. We have an insatiable desire to know–ourselves, the world, all of reality.

History proposes many impressive traditions of investigation into the mysteries of human experience. By careful reasoning and reflection, people of all eras and cultures have sought this truth and wisdom through philosophy.

The Christian Faith makes the startling claim that God–the source of all reality–has revealed Himself to humanity. Going beyond what the human mind could ever find out for itself, we are invited to contemplate ultimate truths–even Truth Himself. By careful reflection upon what God has revealed, the people of God follows its desire for understanding and wisdom through theology.

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Though I was accepted by numerous Catholic universities on scholarship, I chose DSPT because it is an institution totally devoted to the pursuit of truth and academic excellence.

- Giulia Arcuri, MA Theology ‘20

The faculty of the DSPT were excellent. Father Justin and Dr. Vega were incredible professors.

- Dalton Winfree, MA Philosophy ‘21

The students in my classroom come from various backgrounds, and I consider it a privilege to initiate them into conversations that have been going on for millennia. For me as a Dominican priest, Thomas Aquinas is the guiding light of my thinking. Much is to be gained by bringing him back into a conversation that he himself has been helping shape for many centuries.

- Anselm Ramelow, OP, Professor of Philosophy

Why study at DSPT?

The Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology (DSPT) is a historic Dominican institution in Berkeley, California. We engage in a rare dialogue of ancient, medieval, and modern wisdom, seeking to renew the relationship between philosophy and theology in order to transform the contemporary world.

As Catholics, Dominicans firmly support the validity of both reason and faith. At DSPT, we believe that both philosophy and theology–each a worthwhile discipline in its own right–ultimately lead to a unified symphony of Truth.

Because of this conviction, we invite people of any philosophical or religious stance to study the Classical philosophical and Catholic theological traditions with us. Whether seeking to understand on human reason’s own terms, or to reflect with the light of divine faith, students cooperate in a journey from the heart of human nature: the pursuit of wisdom.

Our History

“The study of philosophy is not that we may know what men have thought, but what the truth of things is.”

— St. Thomas Aquinas, 13th-century Dominican friar

Robust resources

DSPT has a small school atmosphere with the resources of a large institution. In addition to world-class libraries at the Graduate Theological Union and UC Berkeley, DSPT students can also enroll in select classes at the GTU and UC Berkeley to fulfill required coursework and supplement their areas of interest.

GTU/UCB

World-class faculty

Our faculty are united in their commitment to the Thomistic vision of integrating philosophy and theology. They instill in their students an ability to recognize fundamental theological and philosophical principles and guide them into original insights that unite faith and reason.

Meet our faculty

Rigorous academics

The structure of DSPT’s academic programs are systematic and historical, forming students to reason rigorously and think creatively. Students are trained to recognize and integrate fundamental principles in any field of inquiry and synthesize these principles across disciplines.

Academic Programs

At the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area

A world-famous culture, the Bay Area is characterized by its diversity of perspectives, intellectual vibrancy and rich cultural life.

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