RISU Holds Web Conference with First Vice Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University
LVIV – The Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU) is holding a web conference with the first vice rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), Taras Dobko, who has a doctorate in philosophy, "Accreditation of Theology as a Discipline in Ukraine: New Prospects and Challenges." According to him, thanks to the recognition of theology as an academic discipline, now "high standards can be set that will raise the authority of theology in the academic world." At the same time, the scholar told RISU about the limitations envisaged by a recent decision of the Supreme Attestation Committee (SAC) of Ukraine and shared plans of UCU regarding the practical realization of this decision.
"We plan to create at UCU a specialized Academic Council on Theology. We will submit our specialized publication to apply for the status of SAC. Postgraduate studies will definitely be open not only to graduates of the theological program of UCU…we envisage a certain level of theological education as well as other requisites (e.g. knowledge of a classic language)," he said. According to Dobko, UCU is also working on receiving international accreditation of the future postgraduate studies of UCU with the assistance of the Congregation of the Catholic Education in Rome.
Having confirmed the prospects opened up by the decision of SAC for theology in Ukraine, the vice rector of UCU also explained that the decision itself is intrinsically problematic. "In 2005, theology was recognized as a specialty within the branch of philosophy and not a separate branch. In the same way, in 2010, theology has become a specialty within the academic branch of philosophical sciences. One of the 14 specialties within this branch," explained the scholar. The decision of 2005 led to the establishment of a one-year master degree program in theology on the basis of a bachelor's degree in philosophy, where there doesn’t have to be a single specialist subject in theology.
The same is true about the "theological" decision of SAC in 2010: the diploma will read "Candidate of Philosophical Sciences in the Specialty of Theology," and not "Candidate of Theological Sciences."
