We offer a 50% tuition discount to any MARS student who is a full-time employee of the Diocese (e.g., clergy, church or school secretaries, or teachers at Catholic Elementary or Secondary Schools). The discount applies to tuition only; “employee” refers to those individuals whose salary is paid by the Diocese, not volunteers who make a living elsewhere. We will continue to extend the discount to any Diocese in Connecticut, but not to other states.

We also offer a special Accelerated Program to MARS students who have completed the Deaconate Formation Program (DFP) in the Bridgeport Diocese. Since 2007, the MARS program has required the completion of 36 credits: 12 of those are for required courses, 21 for electives, and 3 are for the thesis. Deacons who apply to the MARS program are evaluated by the same criteria as other students. If admitted to the program, Deacons will receive 21 credits of advanced standing for the courses they took in the DFP and need complete (and pay for) only 15 additional credits in order to receive a Master's Degree in Religious Studies. Specifically, Deacons must complete only the 4 required courses plus write a thesis. In effect, this program represents a tuition discount of 58%.

For more information, please contact:

Tara L. Chudy
Associate Director of Graduate Admissions
Tel: 203-365-4735
chudyt@sacredheart.edu