CHRISTIAN STUDIES Fellows Program
Beatrice Institute's Christian Studies Fellows Program offers undergraduate students of any year, belief, or major the opportunity to study the Christian intellectual, historical, and cultural tradition.
FEATURES
Twice a month dinner and seminar led by faculty focusing on a short excerpt of a classic text
Access to a wide range of cultural excursions diving deeper into arts, ideas, and volunteering in the Pittsburgh community
$250 stipend upon completing the semester's seminars and two excursions
Access to a faculty mentor who can help integrate Christian studies with your academic and professional interests
All students, regardless of year, religious affiliation, or major are encouraged to apply.
Apply now!
FALL 2026 Seminars
Now accepting applications for all four seminars: Body & Soul, Formative Christian Ideas, Happiness and the Good Life, and Created for Community.
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This seminar series investigates Christian understandings of human beings and their place in the world.
Topics include:
Creation and the Fall
Ensoulment and embodiment
The human being as worker and creator
Our relationships to our own bodies and each other's bodies
The body politic and the Mystical Body of Christ
And more . . .
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This seminar series looks at the great clash of ideas in the early Church that led to the doctrinal councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, and Chalcedon.
Topics Include:
The unknowability of God
The paradox of the Trinity
God as Father and Christ as Son
The Holy Spirit
The natures of the God-Man and early Christological conflicts
And more . . .
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This seminar series asks the question: How have Christian traditions understood the principles and conditions for happiness and the good life?
Topics include:
Teleology and the end of human action
Narrative lives and the quest for meaning
Ethics and the good life
What is distinctive about Christian ethics?
Are pagan ethics noble vices?
Reading the Bible ethically
Friendship and happiness
And more . . .
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This seminar series explores the responsibilities of community life, the foundations of Christian political thought, and the social dimensions of Christian anthropology.
Topics include:
Can Christians build Utopia?
Is social media even social?
Is community an imperative for followers of Christ?
Does autonomy exist?
What is the common good?
And more . . .
“From Enuma Elish to Aquinas, the topics we studied were fascinating and gave me a deeper appreciation for the complexity of philosophy. As we read, listened, and discussed each topic, I was filled with a wonder for the mystery of the human being. Body, soul, mind, and conscience are all fascinating concepts that provide a glimpse into the deeper reality beyond the surface or the scientific world.”