Aquinas Institute of Theology

Key Highlights

• Catholic Dominican graduate school founded in 1925
• Accredited in good standing by the Association of Theological Schools
• ATS reported 107 students and eight full-time faculty members for Fall 2025
• Specialized in theology, ministry, pastoral formation, and preaching

Student Life & Environment

Student life reflects Aquinas's identity as a small graduate theological school. The Aquinas Chapel hosts communal worship, while a separate Blessed Sacrament Chapel supports individual prayer and spiritual direction. The official spirituality page states that faculty, staff, and students gather for a weekly Tuesday Eucharist, with additional prayer opportunities available through nearby religious communities. Participation sits within a Catholic Dominican environment that also welcomes lay and religious students. A Student Life Council plans activities spanning liturgy, recreation, academic support, and professional development. Examples published by the school include retreats, seasonal religious observances, study days, sporting outings, and résumé or networking activities. These are graduate-community activities rather than the extensive club, residence-hall, and athletics system of a comprehensive university. Aquinas students can use several resources through its relationship with neighboring Saint Louis University. The institution lists access to library collections, writing support, counseling, health services, recreation facilities, disability-related support, and career assistance. Aquinas also maintains its own chapel, quiet-study library, and commons. It does not offer general on-campus housing. For 2026–2027, a separate Dominican residential initiative, the Praedicare Lay Community, was announced for up to five eligible full-time lay students in the three core master's programs; applicants should treat that as a limited program requiring separate interest and eligibility, not guaranteed student housing.

Location & Surroundings

Aquinas is located at 23 South Spring Avenue in Midtown St. Louis, immediately adjacent to Saint Louis University. The setting places students near a large Jesuit university while Aquinas remains a separate, specialized theological institution. This proximity is practically important because several academic and student services are provided through the relationship with SLU. Midtown is near the Central West End, Grand Center Arts District, and Forest Park. The school's location page identifies nearby food, grocery, entertainment, arts, and cultural destinations. Aquinas itself does not operate intercollegiate athletics, though professional sports and major cultural venues are available elsewhere in the city. Housing requires advance planning. Aquinas states that it does not provide general on-campus housing and directs students toward rental options in nearby walkable neighborhoods. International students are expressly responsible for securing their own housing. A small 2026–2027 residential community for up to five qualifying lay master's students is located roughly a mile and a half from Aquinas, so it should not be interpreted as a conventional residence hall or a broadly available housing guarantee.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For 2026–2027, Aquinas publishes regular tuition of $925 per credit hour and doctoral tuition of $950 per credit hour. The student service fee is $350 per semester, while payment plans carry a $50 semester fee. Other charges can apply for applications, transfer credit, continuation, graduation, late registration, or program-specific requirements. Students must also budget for books, living expenses, transportation, and housing; Aquinas does not publish a single universal living-cost figure on its tuition page. Financial support includes merit- and need-based institutional awards, board grants, and federal aid for eligible students. The Aquinas Scholars Program offers full-tuition scholarships to selected full-time students in the Master of Arts in Theology, Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies, and Master of Divinity programs. Partial merit- and need-based scholarships are also described. The financial-aid page lists January 28 as the Fall priority deadline and August 1 as the Fall final deadline for need-based aid, with October 15 and December 1 serving the corresponding Spring deadlines. Students should confirm award terms, annual availability, and borrowing eligibility directly with the school. Career preparation is oriented toward ministry, theology, education, and service rather than a broad corporate recruiting market. Aquinas identifies alumni work in areas such as chaplaincy, parish and youth ministry, theological education, academic administration, nonprofit leadership, and social-justice organizations. Through Saint Louis University resources, current students can obtain résumé and interviewing assistance for employment, ministry placements, Clinical Pastoral Education, or further study. The available sources do not provide current placement rates, earnings, or employer-level outcomes, so applicants should ask the institution for program-specific graduate results and consider likely compensation alongside total borrowing.