Augustine institute
Teachers for Christ
"We are witnesses of these things." (Acts 5:32)
"We are witnesses of these things." (Acts 5:32)
Teachers for Christ is a program that forms Catholic teachers of all disciplines so that they are ready to place their knowledge of Catholic liberal education and its best practices at the service of the temporal and eternal good of the whole human person.
With full funding for tuition, room and board, students complete the two-year graduate program with the Master of Arts in Catholic Education from the Augustine Institute, an alternative teaching license from the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education's Catholic Educator Formation and Credential Program, and extensive classroom experience in Catholic schools in Missouri and Illinois, and in ICLE-approved schools across the nation.
Learn more from the directors of this program on this informational session hosted this past fall.
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Teachers for Christ integrates intellectual, spiritual, and moral formation through a sequence of courses and collaborative projects, involving hands-on experiences, reading and discussion, informal talks and formal lectures, and a communal life rooted in prayer and the sacraments. This formation synthesizes the insights of the coursework, ICLE training, and the classroom apprenticeship.
This program seeks Catholic men and women who have completed their undergraduate degree within the past four years, desire to serve as teachers in Catholic schools, and are able to commit to a two-year program of study, formation, and apprenticeship.
It is expected that Teachers for Christ graduates will commit to serving in Catholic schools for a minimum of three years following the program's completion.
Full-tuition scholarships are provided as well as room and board during the 14 months of residence at the Augustine Institute. During the program’s second year, schools hosting Teachers for Christ will provide living arrangements or financial support for room and board.
Upon graduation, Teachers for Christ are offered placement counseling and assistance in the member schools of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education and in diocesan schools across the United States and a year-long post-graduate mentorship experience with ICLE staff and master teachers.
The Teachers for Christ program seeks students who are single (unmarried), lay persons who desire to live in a faithful community of peers. Applicants must possess:
The admission process includes the submission of letters of recommendation and essays, and interviews by videoconference and in person. Although there is no strict requirement of service, it is expected that Teachers for Christ will commit to a minimum of three years of teaching in Catholic schools.
Applications will open on October 1, 2025 and close on January 19, 2026. The program will begin on August 24, 2026 on campus at the Augustine Institute.
Teachers for Christ follow a course of studies that integrates the Augustine Institute’s M.A. in Catholic Education with the Catholic Educator Formation and Credential Program of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education. Students admitted to the Teachers for Christ program begin their studies in the Fall term and complete their degree requirements by the end of the Spring term of their second year.
During the first academic year, students complete eight 3-credit courses and two 1-credit seminars on campus. In the summer following the first year, students take the Foundational Competency Exam and begin coursework offered through the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education (ICLE). In the second year, students are placed in teaching positions at ICLE-approved schools around the country, where their classroom experience complements their ongoing ICLE coursework.
CEDU 501: Catholic Education: Ends, Principles, and Means
CEDU 502: Christian Anthropology
SCRP 501: Salvation History
THEO 505: The Rule of Faith
CEDU 581: The Virtuous Teacher
Classroom observation, and, as needed, volunteer work at select Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis
SCRP 502: Jesus & the Gospels
THEO 506: Light to the Nations
CEDU 582: The Teacher as Witness
Classroom observation, and, as needed, volunteer work at select Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis
CEDU 503: History of Catholic Education
CEDU 504: The Art of Teaching
Workshops and seminars with ICLE
CEDU 601: The Catholic Classroom
Teaching apprenticeship at an ICLE-approved school
CEDU 602: The Liberal Arts in the Catholic Classroom
Teaching apprenticeship at an ICLE-approved school
SCRP 501: Salvation History
THEO 505: The Rule of Faith
CEDU 501: Catholic Education: Ends, Principles, Means
CEDU 503: History of Catholic Education
CEDU 581: The Virtuous Teacher Seminar
SCRP 502: Jesus and the Gospels
CEDU 502: Christian Anthropology
CEDU 601: Trivium
CEDU 602: Quadrivium
CEDU 582: The Teacher as Witness Seminar
THEO 599: Foundational Competency Exam
CEDU 650: The Liberal Arts in the Catholic Classroom I
CEDU 651: The Liberal Arts in the Catholic Classroom II
Begin teaching position at ICLE-approved school
CEDU 652: The Liberal Arts in the Catholic Classroom III
Continue teaching position at ICLE-approved school
CEDU 653: The Liberal Arts in the Catholic Classroom IV