Kateri College will offer a 120-credit undergraduate bachelor’s degree in Liberal and Practical Arts.
The curriculum follows a 60-credit core set of classes in the liberal arts and 60-credit set of classes in the practical arts. A student will declare the practical art he or she desires to pursue as their trade track for their final two years.
Each semester, every student will participate in for-credit community work projects that focus on the trade skills the college offers – for example, under the supervision of qualified supervisors, the college community will build or renovate homes for the needy in Gallup or on one of the surrounding Native American reservations, learning necessary skills of construction, electrical wiring, plumbing, and interior/exterior painting or renovation.
Through prayer and participation, the student discerns which trade he/she has an aptitude and inclination to pursue in years three and four when, while continuing a reduced number of liberal arts courses, the student takes increased and focused courses in the trade he or she desires to master.
Working closely as an apprentice with a master tradesman, the student will acquire the experience and knowledge necessary to continue as a journeyman in that field of work upon graduation.
The Kateri graduate may also choose to pursue other trade and business careers, or to continue into another graduate degree program. Nimble of mind, skilled of hand, and humble of heart, Kateri alumni will enter their community ready to contribute to and evangelize it through their personal witness of the Christian life.
Employers around the country need qualified and reliable workers. Repeatedly, contractors have told us that they need people who come to work sober, are honest, hard-working, respectful, and eager to learn. Because of our academically unique and faith-based education, Kateri College graduates will be highly sought after employees both for small, local businesses as well as national corporations.
Kateri College will instill in its students a strong work ethic. They will be honest, reliable, competent and able to work hard and well. Through their dual training in both the liberal arts and a practical trade skill, Kateri graduates will be better able than their peers who attend strictly a trade school or liberal arts school to analyze problems, think through difficult situations, and implement practical solutions. They will be excellent in interacting with customers and clients through verbal, written and interpersonal skills. Kateri College graduates will be natural leaders in their fields because of their increased abilities to reason, evaluate, and then put into action solutions to problems.
As an employer, does this type of worker interest you? Are you an employer interested in partnering with us for a future source of employees? Contact us!
The College’s program is unique. We will not appeal to all students, and do not intend to cater to all people in all things. We have a clear and distinct Catholic educational mission which will match the desires of many young men and women who are not satisfied with current post-secondary options.
Kateri College will offer a moral and joyful community in which a young person can spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually thrive.
Over the four years at Kateri College, a student will gain the intellectual tools to respond to and engage in the world with intelligence, strength, and courage. Graduates’ training in a practical trade will allow them to have a tangible, marketable skill increasingly in demand and not easily replaced by Artificial Intelligence or outsourcing to foreign nations.
The College’s commitment to graduating students with minimal debt will allow them to enter their adult lives without financial burdens, and thus able to start building not only material wealth, but the more eternal riches of family and children.
Saint John Henry Newman writes a prayer of vocation in which he declares, “God has created me for some particular purpose. I have my mission in life. I may never know it in this life but I will be told it in the next.” The faculty and staff of Kateri College will do everything possible to help each of our students know that they have been created for some definite purpose and to help them realize what is their unique mission in life.
Students will take integrated and equally balanced courses in both liberal and vocational arts. They will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal and Practical Arts and also certified as an entry-level apprentice in carpentry and construction.
Initially, Kateri College will offer vocational training in carpentry and construction but will expand training in other fields. Graduates are prepared to work immediately in their field and continue into the journeyman level of their craft. The Kateri graduate may also choose to pursue other trade and business careers, or to continue into another graduate degree program.
Kateri College as a new institution is not yet accredited by a professional organization. We will be seeking accreditation through different groups given our diverse approach to education. We will pursue general accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and specialized accreditation through the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE). As we expand our vocational trade offerings, we will seek accreditation through the appropriate trade organizations.
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