My occupation right now is I'm an admissions adviser, of course, for Divine Mercy University.
But prior to myself, I prior to this, I was, an oilfield engineer with Schlumberger for several years.
I was on rigs for several years, seven years, and then I was a religious for a few years after that.
I worked in ministry at my home parish for another six years, and now I'm at Divine Mercy.
And I love psychology because I wanted to better my my ministry to the families and the children that I worked with.
I was a sacraments coordinator at my parish and coming from religious life all the way into, you know, an a cloistered religious life all the way into an extroverted ministry work.
It was really quite a jump for me, and I just really wanted more communication skills, more psychology, knowledge to back up my ministry.
So this is my background.
Again, I was in engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, which is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then, I got my master's in psychology through Divine Mercy University.
Michelle, do you mind, introducing yourself briefly?
Sure.
I'm Michelle Robbins.
I am one of the admissions advisers for the masters of psychology program, and I'm here to offer my assistance to you if you have questions or you need anything.
I think we included our contact information in there.
So it's nice to meet everybody.
Awesome.
Thank you so much, Michelle.
So this is, the master's in psychology webinar, which is 100% online, no GRE required.
A little bit of background about Divine Mercy University.
We began as the Institute for the Psychological Sciences.
We're dedicated to the scientific study of psychology and counseling, 1999.
2014, we launched the master's in psychology program, and then the following year, we expanded with the addition of school of counseling.
So that means two different schools.
We, we were upgraded to university status as Divine Mercy University.
K?
And then we, of course, Divine Mercy University is accredited through SACSCOC, which is a southern southern association of colleges and schools, which is really more it's the regional regional agency through the Department of Education, for example.
Other colleges that are part of SACSCOC are tech University of Texas Austin, all the way to Auburn, University of Georgia.
So this particular association covers the entire South Region.
K?
Father Ortega, are you ready to give a little introduction about yourself?
Yes.
I am.
I'm sorry for being late.
But, you know, I had the math at 6PM on New York time.
And I say, oh, it's gonna be short, and it'll be with you on time.
But then this is the day this is the day that all things happen, you know, and then the one that he's thinking seems more, the gospel is longer, so I'm so sorry.
But I'm I'm here.
I'm so happy to be with all of you here.
Yes.
I'm alumni of the the master in psychology, at DMIU.
Very happy to be with you here.
I'm a pastor in two parishes here in the Bronx, New York, and I'm happy to answer later on and tell me a little about my story and all the questions that you have that I can help you, I'll be happy to answer.
K.
Wonderful.
Can you tell me a little bit about how you found Divine Mercy University?
How did you find out about this program?
Okay.
Good.
So there were two things.
Well, number one, at that time, I was part of the University of Christ.
So I knew the university because you know?
But that that's what's one side.
The second, it was I was looking for I was looking for myself, you know, to what is gonna be next in in my ministry, to help me to have more tools.
And then I thought, you know, the psychology is something that, was always intriguing to me and interesting to me.
And so that's why, you know, I said, okay.
If I do it where and they said, okay.
This is the right fit because of the and that's why that was the reason.
K.
Perfect.
Thank you so much, father.
K.
A little bit about more about why our master's in psychology is unique.
It is 100% online.
Classes are mainly on your schedule, and that's really great for those who are working, who, you know, cannot attend in person that often.
Majority of the time, the class will be on your schedule.
It's very asynchronous.
And, of course, we are built on an integrative approach to psychology.
There's a great textbook that everyone uses at DMU called the Catholic Christian Metal Model of the Person.
Morning in progress.
That's me.
Sorry.
I'm connecting for my office.
Okay.
Sorry.
No worries.
We're go so there again, there's the textbook that we use called the Catholic Christian Metal Mall.
The person is, like, this thick, but and you can get it on Amazon.
It's very approachable.
It's wonderful.
So the reason why we're very unique is because we approach psychology through three, three windows, which is we tend we want to view each person philosophically philosophically, theologically, and psychologically.
K.
We are built in the image and likeness of God, but yet we have emotions and rational thought.
And then how does that play into vocations, living a virtuous life?
How does how does flourish?
All that is really, built into our masters in of science in psychology.
It's a wonderful book, and I think, it's very accessible.
For those who are jumping into psychology, who have never done it before, it was a very approachable, book to just start your psych your psychological journey.
It's amazing.
And, again, you can get it on Amazon.
If you actually look on our website for the, Netamal of the Person, you can actually get the first chapter for free.
Oh, father even has the the textbook.
But it's a little bigger it's a little bigger than what you say.
Yeah.
Sorry.
I think I think the scale here is a little bit different.
Sorry.
So, the Catholic Christian meta model of the person.
But even though it's this thick, I mean, it was very it was a it was a very great, wonderful book to read.
What did you think father has Oh, yeah.
You know, to be honest, this at the beginning when we when I started, it was not ready.
So it was printed halfway.
You know?
But, it's one of the books that I have here with me that I love, you know, because it helps me a lot to understand the flourishing of the people that I work with.
And many of the ministries that I'm doing is really based on this, you know, based on the fact that when the people flourish and when they are together, the things start to happen, the traumas, they start to get resolved, etcetera, etcetera.
Right.
Absolutely.
You look at if you go to a lot of secular schools for psychology, they tend to focus more on the body or on the mind, but we also wanna focus on the spiritual side of the person as well.
We want to heal the whole person and not just the body that you're that you're living in.
We're more than just taking medication and, reading self help books.
You know, there's more to that.
So it's a very so that's why our master's psychology is very unique.
There are two ways to complete either the fast track sixteen month in just over a year or the twenty six month option, which is really great for our part time students.
I did the twenty six month track because I was a full time worker as well.
So it was very important for me to just take this as slow as possible.
Individualized feedback from faculty, which is very true.
I'm very surprised about this.
I had comments on every paper I wrote, on every discussion post I had from the professors.
I even had a wonderful academic advisor who happened to also be in Texas, and we were able to really connect with feedback in that way.
Small students to faculty ratio, the most, students I've ever seen in one in one class is around 24, and then the least was a elective because not everyone chose it.
There was, about eight.
So a very small student to faculty ratio.
That way you'll the faculty member, professors will have a lot of time to focus on you and your questions and your growth.
A lot of different ways to learn such as audiobooks, PDFs, videos, and as well as a lot of time to talk to other, to other students in your cohort as well as well as experienced and supportive faculty members.
Can I say something about the Yes, please?
Okay.
And you need to help me with I'm I'm terrible with names.
But, the professor that is in charge of the program, doctor Doctor Crosley?
Yes.
Doctor Crosley.
So she was the teacher as well of the statistics.
Okay?
And, so when we started statistics, I was like, I am not ready for this.
You know?
Why do I need to go through a statistics?
You know?
And I remember one sentence that she told me that she told all of us, you know, in the class.
She told me, no one, will suffer statistics by herself or himself.
I will be there for you.
You know?
So that was like, okay.
Good.
You know?
So, anyway, one day, I did all my assignments.
You know?
I did all the statistics, all these things, but I'm doing it because it's for me, it's like a math thing, but I don't know if I'm doing it right.
You know?
I might have this.
So I emailed her and saying, okay.
I'm doing this, but I don't know if I'm doing it right or not.
And then she said, okay.
We can talk.
You know?
And then we said, can we talk tomorrow at whatever time?
I said, okay.
Good.
You know?
I said no, and then she said, yes.
And so, I have this, you know, video conference with her just realizing that she was, at that time, traveling.
They were she was in Europe.
You know?
And it was, like, midnight for her.
You know?
And she was there for me explain explaining to me the statistics.
And I remember saying, wow.
This this is amazing.
You know?
This is a person that is really committed to the students, to myself, and really not to suffer studies by myself.
So that was for me, you know, a very good example of what it means that they are really for you in in in everything.
You know?
So I was to yes.
That good example that I received.
Yes.
Absolutely.
The faculty members are really, really great at supporting every student.
And I can email any one of them, and then I can come back and I would be able to get a response right away.
It really didn't take it long.
And then as you said, doctor Clousey often travels.
We actually have some international faculty as well.
So they're not always at The US time zone, but they are always available to meet you and and discuss with you if you had any questions or problems.
A lot of benefits in the master's in psychology program really to gain a better deeper understanding of yourself in order to help others succeed.
So because if you're if you know how to flourish personally and professionally by yourself, you can also encourage others to flourish as well.
You can understand a lot of psychological explanations of behaviors and as well as improving your communication skills, learning how to interact with the world, how to create resilient and welcoming environments, as well as and I know father mentioned statistics, but you can also master your ability to evaluate effectiveness of programs.
Father, how was this program the most benefit to you in your ministry?
Yeah.
So good question.
Thank you.
So and as I mentioned, when I was going to to this, I was looking for to have more tools in my ministry.
My ministry as a pastor, and especially in the place that I am here in The Bronx with a lot of immigrants, there's a lot of trauma in the people.
You know?
And so the idea was how can I have more tools?
Not changing vocation because I I'm a priest, and I wanna continue to be a priest.
But try trying to help the people to discover the things that they are carrying and try to help them to, to to understand that that there is a path for healing for them.
You know?
So for me, that was the idea.
You know?
And now many things many things that I'm doing here, some ministries that I put in together after this is, like, with this mindset saying they need to flourish.
As they need to flourish, they need to be together, and that is what is gonna be a healing path for them.
Yes.
That's wonderful.
Like, for me, I was in ministry.
I was a sacraments coordinator for youth at my parish.
And because of this program, I completely revamped the first communion program at my parish.
And it's and instead of focusing on just the children for the for first communion, I helped create a parent portion, a parent formation portion of that program.
And, basically, the whole idea was to have the whole family celebrate first communion together and not just the child.
Bring the whole family together, experience the sacrament again.
And it was a wonderful program that my parish still uses today.
It's called the shepherd program.
So there's a lot of ways you can use the psychological knowledge you will gain through this program towards the work that you are currently already doing in whatever field you are at.
K?
And there are a lot of concentrations here at with the master in psychology.
You can look at the them here on the right.
But go ahead and write down which ones you are interested in while I answer Christa's question real quick.
Go ahead and write down which tracks you're interested in.
I'll give you about a minute.
So, Christa, I think you said you are in Calgary.
Correct?
Yes.
So we actually are currently we've already talked to the to the to the governing the governing body for counseling in Alberta.
And I think the I think we can provide, I think, 36 units towards the towards the count the to become a psychotherapist in Calgary.
But I can also contact I can also contact you after this just so we can further discuss because I know we have one student in the program that is that is from, Alberta and is going through the program just so she can meet the requirements.
So I will get back to you on that, Krista.
Go ahead and please send me an email, and I can confer with you.
Marriage and family.
Fantastic.
Marriage and family, pre PhD.
Does do you have a PhD program that this leads into?
Hopefully, in the next year or so, our PhD program, it's actually on the website, but has yet it hasn't launched yet.
We are currently working on our PhD in counseling.
After that, hopefully, the PhD in psychology will be announced.
Marriage and family human services, pre PhD.
Awesome.
Thanks, Krista.
Awesome.
Thank you so much for responding.
And I just kind of love this slide only because I get to point out that I'm right here in the middle.
Everyone did the little thorough cap sign.
So think about that.
So, yes, despite the fact that this program is 100% online, if you graduate, you can definitely come to campus for graduation.
I insisted on coming so I can walk, and this was an amazing time because I just I got to meet so many of my friends that I met during the program, and it was a wonderful time to see, you know, other the the rest of my cohort.
Currently, I have a bachelor's in health student services.
Not sure how it approaches the program.
Thank you.
Do you have a program for teaching at a junior college level for teaching?
Well, let me get back to you a little bit, Alberto.
So this program, oops.
Sorry.
So these are the core courses for this program.
There are eight.
So the first class is, in the helping people flourish, the Catholic Christian approach to psychology, which is really set the first intro to psychology class.
Then you have developmental psychology, psychopathology where you talk about, you know, behavioral disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse.
Cognition, emotion, motivation, I call this the brain class.
You really, go through how the brain works, how it modes, how, what motivates people.
The one theology required theology course, which is on vocations and virtues because at the end of the day, we want everyone to find their vocation and live virtuous lives.
The one statistics course that father Ortega talked about, it really wasn't that.
It's okay if you haven't done math in a long time.
It's totally fine.
Everyone can make it.
Social psychology as well as research methodology and design.
So, father, which class, stood out to you the most?
You know, for me, it was the human growth and development across the lifespan.
I agree.
That was for me.
In fact, it's one of the books that I have here as well with me because I constantly you know, it was to understand life in this beautiful way, to understand how important is each one of the artist of life, and then how to help people in those moments, you know, in these crucial moments in their life.
That was beautiful, really, and and very informative and something that I can continue to use as well in my ministry.
Absolutely.
So you have eight week courses.
And every week in the developmental psychology class, you went through an age group from infancy all the way to elderhood, and you went through what they were going through cognitively, spiritually, emotionally, physically.
It was an eye opening course.
So for me, the development of psychology, I agree, was very impactful to me.
And just to bounce off of your statistics, story earlier, Fangyan, I said I was an engineer.
So when I did statistics, I didn't really have a problem, but I was the one that ended up tutoring my my cohort in statistics in math.
But it really was it was it was perfectly fun because for me, I had a little less I had a little more trouble doing theology.
And we had sisters and priests in the course that helped me understand the theology courses, and it was everyone was very kind.
I find psycho psycho psychology students to be very kind and just wants to help everyone out, and I love that co cohesive cohort.
You know, everyone just wants to help each other out.
So, don't worry about this course.
About about that as well.
It was really beautiful, you know, the cohort, how we can, you know when we started, you know, we started a a WhatsApp group, you know, for ourselves, you know, helping each other.
And and we're still today being connected, you know, after we graduated at three five years ago, almost four years ago.
And we're still connected.
And from time to time, we check on ourselves and the others.
You know?
It's really, really nice how we that help help us to be really interconnected and to help each other.
Yeah.
Yes.
Absolutely.
I also still have my WhatsApp, group, and we still talk.
And the beauty of this program, because it is 100 online, we don't just have students in The US.
We have students in Europe, in Africa, in Asia, all over the world.
So, I mean, coming up with a Zoom time to meet everyone was kinda tricky, but it was great to have that diversity of responses, of backgrounds, of knowledge.
It was actually just a beautiful cohort every year.
Awesome.
So this is the marriage and family track.
It prepares students to encourage couples and families towards flourishing.
So these are after the eight core courses, you have three electives, and these are the three electives for this particular track.
Catholic and Christian marriage and human sexuality, which is a theology course, and then these two courses are, psychology.
I don't remember which one it is, but one of them, teach, teach, certifies you to become a FOCUS, f o c c U S, a FOCUS marriage prep, facilitator.
So I don't remember which one it is.
But anyway, these are some of the career opportunities for this track.
You can become the director of marriage and family office, coordinator family life.
You You can again do marriage prep and do formation programs, early childhood education programs.
So many opportunities for you in this particular track.
This is the human services track.
A couple of these electives are focused more on counseling skills.
This concentration is intended for students who want to work on meeting human needs and promoting flourishing.
So for example, I did relationship intervention skills theory application as well as group counseling.
And for the relationship intervention skills class, you really had to practice with other people, and you had to record yourself practicing communication skills.
And, that was so hard.
Did you take that one, father?
Yes.
I did.
It was fun.
But it really challenge it really challenged me as someone who, I know.
I just don't like to put myself out there, but then you have to record yourself and put yourself in front of it was so it was really fun.
And we did I also did group counseling.
That in that class in particular had a lot more synchronous times to meet because you had to be in a group in order to practice counseling.
It was really fun, and the I remember the professor for that was really great.
So listed below are a lot of career opportunities for this track.
So human service professional, case management, brief loss counselor, many ways you can use this particular, concentration.
Now we will I would love to I love to highlight the leadership track because it trains individuals who are responsible for leading people, programs, and organizations.
This is wonderful for those who want to learn organizational leadership.
These are the three electives for that.
And then, of course, if you were in human resources human resources, we are slowly getting we are certified as a SHRM recertification provider.
So if you have CU units that you need to use for your SHRM certification, we are able to do that through this track, and we are working our way towards a a higher level SHRM certifications.
So if you're an executive in a nonprofit agency, if you're a leader in any ministry setting, any educational setting, this is a wonderful track for you to learn how to not just not just learn how to be a leader, but also create other leaders too.
Understand your leadership type.
How can you how can you encourage others to be leaders in their own world too?
So So it's this is a great track for that.
And if you can't quite pick a particular track and you want to be a little bit more free to choose the electives you'd like, there is the self designed track.
A third of our students actually tend to choose self design because they just wanna choose the minute the electives that work best for them.
And you would just choose one from each column, and you'd see the the three tracks I mentioned earlier in each row.
I did self design.
I did, intervention skills, transformational leadership, and group counseling.
And this can be applicable in so many in so many ways if you're in government, and if you're in ministry, for sure, really tailor the elective the electives based on what your interests are.
Father, what other electives did you end up taking?
Do you remember?
Not all of them, but because, in in my time, there was not so the finances right now.
It was not a lot.
You know?
But I I did as well the the one on group counseling.
You know?
The marriage and family, that that those two and the family systems theory as well.
Remember that one.
Yep.
Yes.
Wonderful.
If for example, three PhD program will be offered, will it be eligible?
Okay.
Yes.
You will, Ervin.
I think 30 units can two minutes for over into the 90 credit level 90 credits for the PhD.
I'll talk about that a little bit because here is the p h pre PhD track.
So I graduated two years ago in 2023, but I'm actually back this year to do my thesis, particularly because I wanted, if you want to go into the PhD level, you will have to do a thesis.
In order to graduate with this master's, you don't need a thesis.
But if you do wanna do a thesis, you're able to.
So this particular track gives you, it culminates in the thesis as well as one free elective.
K?
So you can really choose the interest love concentrate or the interest that you want.
So for example, my particular thesis focuses on college students and a sense of, vocational calling in college students.
And what, character strengths can we focus on to improve a sense of calling in college students?
So I have about 300 responses right now from college students.
I'm halfway through my thesis.
Pray for me.
And it's a really wonderful time to really understand the research field in psychology.
You have you'll be assigned as an advisor that really that's really tailored to your area of interest, and it's actually just a wonderful way to introduce yourself again to the research field.
So let's say if you want to go in the PhD, program after this master's program, the all the credits will transfer over into the PhD program.
And if you've already done a thesis, you don't have to do your thesis your first year of PhD.
So I if you're gonna go PhD, I'd best to just finish the thesis as soon as possible.
But it's been an incredible time to do the thesis, and it's and I've been very I've every student is supported, if you wanna do a thesis.
So great career opportunities here.
You can be a high school psychology teacher.
I actually know someone that became a, adjunct professor at a community college with their master's degree.
You can do a research assistant or even academic advising.
So if you really have time to devote yourself to a thesis, it's a lot of work.
It's a lot of, effort, but it's been a really great time to learn how psychology how psychological knowledge comes to the forefront, what how theories are made, etcetera.
So definitely look into that.
And then, of course, the last track is bioethics.
Our bioethics classes are through the National Catholic Bioethics Center, which is NCBC.
And all of those modules are through NCBC.
You can see in the down bottom corner here.
So if you're interested in bioethics, you would take, the 24 credits in the MSP program and take the remaining nine through NCBC.
I'm more of a visual learner.
I'm 70 years young.
I have delays in retaining a lot of information that comes at me quickly.
Is it possible to receive the breakdown in different tracks as you just explained it?
Yes.
I can also, I'm sure maybe the toddler can also send or Michelle, can you send, like, the link to the curriculum or the information in the tracks on the website?
For Patricia, thank you so much for raising your hand.
Definitely, all of this information is on the website, and we will provide that for you.
No problem.
So here are some of just the vast places you can go with this degree.
So many different kinds of career opportunities in the social mental health field, industrial organizational positions, government, ministry, or education.
And, of course, if you are a priest, this that this and if you're, interested in coming to a priest, I'm sure father Ortega can explain that.
So many ways you can go with this degree.
And I'm I know father Ortega has has just really has used this degree a lot in your in your priestly ministry.
Is that correct, father Ortega?
Right.
Yes.
Wonderful.
So definitely think about all the ways you can you can apply your this degree to your career.
Think about what do you wanna do five years from now.
Imagine what you wanna do and definitely choose the track that works best for you and move towards that direction.
And I know, Patricia, you talked about, like, having delays in retaining a lot of information.
I know this is just the webinar, but our in our program itself, you really have the ability to work anywhere, anytime.
So every week, there are deadlines, but you can work anytime during that week towards the homework really more freely.
A lot of the big there's a lot of videos, a lot of papers to read.
You can work that into your schedule.
So you don't have to really worry about having a lot of information coming at you at once.
You can take a chapter here and there a couple days, and then as long as you complete your work by the deadline, it's no problem.
And I love the continuous access to to the platform because, actually, we use Canvas at DMU, and I've used Canvas on my phone.
I've used Canvas when I was on a cruise.
And you're just able to have access to it twenty four seven wherever you are.
And I just kind of love that accessibility that even if I'm on vacation, even if I'm traveling somewhere, I I can still learn, and just, again, have that freedom and flexibility to learn.
So, that's generally about our program.
If you have any questions about the program, feel free to add it to the chat, but I want to go ahead and talk about the admissions requirements for this program.
A minimum bachelor's degree from an institution accredited through the US Department of Education or internationally recognized institution.
So minimum required bachelor's degree.
Applicants must have at least a 2.5 GPA to be admitted.
And then two letters of recommendation, we prefer it from an academic or professional source.
But if you, have any questions about getting academic sources, for example, it was at least a decade since I had graduated.
I had no academic recommenders to put to my name, but there are other options that we can, suggest if you need other, other people to recommend you.
A resume, a written statement of intent, essentially a personal statement talking about your goals and what you want to get out of this program.
If you if English is not your, first language or your native language, a TOEFL score would be applicable here, which is a English and sec as a second language test.
And And then, of course, there are manage there is a virtual orientation to get you onboarded into our system.
So is this, program affordable?
Yes.
Because we are accredited, we do qualify for federal aid.
So we I have used you can use FAFSA to qualify for a loan for grad school.
If you have an employer that does tuition reimbursement, definitely look into what benefits you have through your employer.
We have one definitely one financial aid representative that is very seasoned in working with veterans and getting funding for veterans.
So if you have a GI bill, we are an approved yellow ribbon school.
Definitely, we can connect you to that financial aid representative.
A lot of scholarships and grants.
So we still have an opportunity right now for something called the merit scholarship.
You can get up to 50% tuition discount, and all that information is on our scholarship site right here.
Definitely look into the opportunities we have.
I think there's I I I actually forgot the number, but there is a good handful of scholarships ready for you to to look into.
Alternative ways of financing such as private funds, definitely talk to your priest, or your your your churches if they have any support for you.
There's a lot of nonprofit organizations.
Actually, this is something you can definitely into and definitely in your area.
For example, where I am in Texas, we have, nonprofits, especially in our diocese of of Galveston, Houston that will match funds if you're going to a Catholic education.
Definitely research a bit about nonprofits in your area, and there are cash plans.
So this I thought was very was very helpful for me because you can set up monthly payment plans through the school and it'll be interest free.
So, for me, that hit the wall a lot less as a full time worker.
So it was really wonderful to have a cash plan that was available for me as an alternative financing route.
I know someone earlier asked about tuition and fees.
So here is the, the breakdown.
Here's the tuition at $876 per credit.
Thirty three credit hours, that's 11 courses times three credit hours.
So 33 Comes down to 28,000.
There's a tech fee per class, $550, a residency fee that's, that there is a residency in the first class where you meet up with everyone in your cohort and faculty members for two days and that's called a residency.
So that's 250 and then subtotal is 29,700.
But if it's slightly different if you choose the fast track option.
If you choose the fast track option, meaning if you want to complete this program in sixteen months, there is a small discount, 25% off your first four classes.
So it's 27,080 versus the twenty six month track.
Again, if you're a full time worker or if you can only do school part time, about $30,000.
So if are there any other questions on chat?
Because, really, I would love for you to think about these four questions.
Whether or not the master psychology program is the right path for you, what are your goals?
What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
Definitely think about whether or not it'll help you attain those goals.
Is the program scheduling requirements, workable with your schedule?
Do you have do the financial options discussed make the program seem affordable?
And can you commit to the successful completion of this program if accepted?
In the meantime, please really if you have any questions, please ask it on chat.
And, father, do you have any final words to discuss to talk us about the program?
We'd love to hear from you.
You mentioned the the the we did the capstone, you know, the work that we need to do.
Oh, yeah.
I don't know if it was different or not, but I did the capstone.
You know?
And, it was very interesting to build the capstone because myself, I say I mean, I don't know if I can write, you know, dissertation and at the end.
You know?
But it was built like, you are building it from the very beginning.
You know?
That was very interesting.
You know?
From the very first class, you start to work in your capstone.
So throughout the whole program, you are doing it.
And at the end, you don't need to spend these hours and hours on doing it.
You're already done, you know, because it's build upon and across the program the whole time.
So it was very full very good and very well thought.
So for especially for the people that we were, like, part time and, you know, and couldn't afford the time to to dedicate myself, you know, closing the door and just been for weeks, you know, working in something writing, dissertation, kind of a dissertation.
You know?
It was very beautiful and especially as well because I did a caption for example in how to help people with addiction.
You know?
And so that's something that I I deal with every day.
You know?
And so it was something very, very concrete, something that I can apply, and I apply in at your parish as well.
Yes.
Wonderful.
So you're right.
I didn't go over what a capstone was.
So in order to complete to graduate from program, you do have a capstone project, to complete.
You can use your thesis as your capstone, but everyone but majority of the students actually just focus more on a capstone project.
It is really for you to focus on, a psychological solution to either something at work or your family, something you see around you.
So for example, I mentioned earlier that my, my first communion program just really needed to be revamped.
It was really focused on kids.
Kids went to class and left.
Parents left dropped them off and then left.
And I thought to myself, the parents are already here.
Let's see if we can add some some dimension to the first communion program.
And I researched small group learning, parent formation learning, parent vitality, how to improve, you know, the liveliness of your of parishes through small group learning and families.
So I added a parent formation side to the first communion program.
Now the whole family gets to go through first communion together.
The whole family gets to work on the first communion book and practice confession.
Like, it was, it was a real daunting task, but it was a wonderful way to I mean, you don't have to implement your capstone project, but I chose to and it was just a wonderful way to use the psychological knowledge that I've gained through this program and used it in real life applications.
What was your capstone project, Eric, about the founder?
Mine was on how to help people with sex addiction.
Oh, wonderful.
And I know to do a Paris program for that.
Oh, that's wonderful.
I know one where they, someone worked at a nursing home and just really wanted to tackle part of the loneliness problems in elder in his, you know, the elder community that he that he worked in.
I also know one that changed the sec the sex education program at their high school.
Something that's a little bit more applicable and more seeing the person as a whole rather than just focusing on the act itself.
So it was there's so many ways you can apply a capstone project.
And if you see something that you feel like needs to be changed, you can definitely use the capstone project to, to move towards a to a towards a good solution, to that problem.
So are there any other questions in this for this chat?
How does this twenty six month program work?
Okay, Urgent.
So the twenty six month program is one class at a time, eight weeks long.
In terms of the whole school year, you have five, five terms.
So you have two in the spring, one in the summer, two in the fall, and you only take one class at a time.
If you do sixteen months, it's two classes at a time and you'll finish in just over a year.
Twenty six months is just one class at a time and it's on average, each each class can take about, fifteen, fifteen hours of work every week on average.
Ten to fifteen.
It could really just depend.
For me, for example, I wasn't a big writer.
As as I said, I was an engineer.
I had probably one writing class in my entire, undergrad life.
But jumping to this, master's degree where it was mainly writing, I took a little bit more time to improve my writing skills, but there are people who just, can take in the the the coursework a little bit more readily.
So I would say about ten to fifteen hours a week per per course.
So are there any other questions from anyone here?
Any final parting words, father Ortega, about this program?
You know, for me, it was like an eye opening to my ministry.
I can say that it was a before and after many things that I didn't know how to tackle with the people.
After this, I discover what is this, you know, and then I can help them.
I can help myself first, you know, but help them as well to to to I mean, not not to do myself the therapy, but to say, hey.
This is what you need.
This is what, you know, this is happening.
So for me, it really has been like an eye opening in my ministry, and I really recommend, especially, you know, there is a priest here.
It's it's worth the time to invest, and, really, it it is worth to invest in yourself in order to be able to help the others.
Yes.
Wonderful.
Oh, I'm sorry, father.
Vernon, so sorry.
I should have said father from the beginning.
No.
Thank you.
That's it.
Yes.
Okay.
Thank you sir.
Thank you so much, father Jose and father father Irvin.
Thank you so much for chiming in.
So we have a few more weeks till our next start, which is May 21.
So if you are thinking of starting, please, Michelle added the application link on the in the chat.
And because you joined the webinar today, we have added in the code to waive the application fee.
So go ahead and click that link, add in that code, waive the $55 application fee, and we would love to walk you through the admissions process.
We have, our next start after that would be August.
So we have rolling starts every year, and we would love to meet everyone.
This is my phone number and my email address.
I think earlier on, Michelle's address was email address was added to the top as well.
Krista, if you don't mind, emailing me so we can talk about the, qualifications in Alberta, and we can work our way through that.
But if there are no other questions, we'll be here for a few more minutes.
And thank you so much for coming in, and walking through this webinar with me.
Thank you so much, father Jose.
Thank you for just running in after mass.
I really appreciate it.
Sorry.
No worries.
Thank you so much, father.
Have a good day.
Thank you.
God bless.
Thank you, Helen.
Michelle, you have any parting words?
Sorry.
It's it's I was trying to unmute myself.
Nope.
Just if anybody has any questions or you need clarification on, anything that was shared here, that Charice shared, please reach out.
We're here to help.
That's what we do.
It's what we enjoy doing.
Yes.
Absolutely.
This was it's a really wonderful program, and I hopefully that came through.
So so I need my Bishop's permission to be helpful for the scholarship.
Maybe.
If you if you want him to pay something, maybe you need to talk to him before.
Well, so father, you would be eligible for, a priest a priesthood discount, and and that's something you would discuss with financial aid.
Yes.
And they would probably just require at least a letter of good standing.
That's it.
Yeah.
Good standing.
K.
Yes.
Any other questions?
Again, thank you so much Father's Day for chiming in.
Really appreciate it.
Thank you so much for coming in.
Thank you.
Okay.
Bye.
Thank you.