Accreditation

St. Patrick’s Seminary & University is dedicated to the quality, integrity, and effectiveness of its academic programs. The Seminary is committed to a solid formation program for the preparation of men to serve as Catholic priests. All graduates of St. Patrick’s Seminary & University satisfactorily complete programmatic requirements and fulfill the stated learning outcomes. Upon successful completion of the program, all those who are ordained receive a pastoral assignment.

Master of Divinity/Bachelor of Sacred Theology (MDiv/STB)

Benchmark: 90% of graduates will be ordained by the Roman Catholic Church within one year of graduating.

2024: 9/10 ordained to date (90%)
2023: 6 ordained (100%)
2022: 6 ordained (100%)
2021: 7 ordained (100%)
2020: 6/7 ordained (86%)
2019: 11 ordained (100%)
2018: 7/8 ordained (88%)
2017: 12 ordained (100%)
2016: 13/15 ordained (87%)
2015: 12 ordained (100%)
2014: 11 ordained (100%)

10-year average = 96% (through 2023)
*benchmark changed from 1 to 2 years post graduation in 2025 to better align with the vocational synthesis stage and ordination timeline prescribed in PPF6

Benchmark: 100% perseverance of graduates who were ordained to the priesthood will be active in priestly ministry five years post-graduation.

2025: 100% of 2020 graduates are still active five years post-graduation
2024: 90% of 2019 graduates are still active five years post-graduation
2023: 88% of 2018 graduates are still active five years post-graduation
2022: 91% of 2017 graduates are still active five years post-graduation
2021: 85% of 2016 graduates were still active five years post-graduation
2020: 92% of 2015 graduates were still active five years post-graduation
2019: 100% of 2014 graduates were still active five years post-graduation

Comprehensive Exam Scores: Graduates must past a comprehensive exam process that serves as a core assessment tool designed to measure achievement and proficiency. Average scores are listed below using a 4-point grading scale. Students must earn > 2.5 for an MDiv and > 3.0 for an STB. * Only includes 2020 graduates who took the STB comprehensive exams in February 2021 (4 of 7). MDiv comprehensive exam was waived due to the pandemic. **STB degree no longer offered as of 2024.

2025: 3,21
2024: 3.37**
2023: 3.39
2022: 3.44
2021: 3.39
2020: 3.51*
2019: 3.25
2018: 3.26

Retention and Graduation Rates: The MDiv graduation rate is calculated using the entering Theology I cohort (Table 1). This accounts for those who graduated, discerned out, or transferred to other institutions.

Table 1: Retention rates for seminarians entering the Theologate as a Theology I student.

Benchmark: According to CARA’s Catholic Ministry Formation Enrollment: Statistical Overview (June 2023), the retention rate of seminarians over the last fourteen years fluctuated between 67-86% percent, with an average of 75%. The SPSU average over the last 16 years is 82%.

Time to Completion
• 2019-2020 cohort – 8/11 (73%) seminarians completed the program in an average of 5 years (+/- 0 SD). One seminarian is still in progress.
• 2018-2019 cohort – 7/10 (70%) seminarians completed the program in an average
of 5.1 years (+/- 0.69 SD).
• 2017-2018 cohort – seven out of eleven (64%) seminarians completed the program in an average of 4.67 years (+/- 0.52 SD).
• 2016-2017 cohort – four out of eleven (36%) seminarians completed the program in an average of 4.75 years (+/- 0.50 SD).
• 2015-2016 cohort – three out of four (75%) seminarians completed the program in an average of 5.7 years (+/- 1.15 SD).
• 2014-2015 cohort – seven out of fourteen (50%) seminarians completed the program in an average of 5.0 years (+/- 0 SD).
• 2013-2014 cohort – twelve out of nineteen (63%) seminarians completed the program in an average of 5.1 years (+/- 0.61 SD).
• 2012-2013 cohort – twelve out of twenty-five (48%) seminarians completed the program in an average of 4.8 years (+/- 0.39 SD).

Master of Arts in Theology

Since 2017, 80 seminarians have earned the Master of Divinity degree and of those, 19 (24%) also received the Master of Arts in Theology degree. Ninety-five percent of the seminarians that earned the MA in Theology degree were ordained in the Roman Catholic Priesthood within two years of graduation. Graduates must have a GPA greater than 3.0 and orally defend a thesis paper, if written. Between 2016-2021, 82% of MA graduates chose a coursework option rather than a thesis. In 2021, the coursework option was discontinued, so from 2021 to the present, 100% of MA graduates have successfully orally defended a thesis.

Table 2: MA in Theology graduate statistics last eight years.

*To date:3/5 ordained to the priesthood, 2/5 ordained to the transitional diaconate.

BA in Theology Completion Degree Program

• Since 2016, 7/8 or 88% percent of those that successfully completed the program advanced to Major Seminary.

• Since 2016, 6/8 or 75% percent of BA graduates have been ordained or are continuing their studies towards ordination in the Roman Catholic Priesthood.

• For students starting after 2016, the average time to completion for the BA Degree Completion program has been 1.5 years.