Domuni University
Domuni[1] University (Domuni Universitas), known as Domuni, is a private institution of higher education, entirely based on distance learning. Founded and administered by the Order of Preachers, Domuni works with an international network of teachers and students. It offers courses that fall into three faculties: Philosophy, Theology, and Social Sciences.
The university's headquarters are in Toulouse.
History[edit]
Domuni University was founded in 1999 by the Dominicans of the Provinces of Toulouse and France. Dominican friar Michel Van Aerde launched the project following an experience of 5 years as the director of the Bartolomé de Las Casas Center in Peru. His interest in the internet and in the impact it can have on the most isolated communities led him to believe that there was an opportunity there to transmit the wealth of the Dominican intellectual heritage to all parts of the world. As a result, Domuni was founded as the first entirely online Dominican university. Brother Michel Van Aerde currently acts as General Director of Domuni-Universitas.
In 1999, Domuni was established as an association under law 1901 by the Dominican provinces of Toulouse and France. Marie Monnet joined the university in 2006 and became Domuni's Director of Studies in 2008. Domuni is today registered as a Private Higher Education Institution at the Rectorate of Toulouse. Domuni University became able to confer canonical degrees in Religious Sciences following a partnership agreement signed in December 2010 with the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (Angelicum). This was followed by another agreement signed with the University of Lorraine on April 25, 2013, and another with the Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain), on June 1, 2017. These agreements made it possible for Domuni to offer state bachelor's and master's degrees in theology, in accordance with the European standards of the Bologna Agreement (LMD).
In 2012, the university opened its doors to a larger international audience with the inauguration of a Spanish-speaking section. An English-speaking section was established on October 15, 2013, and an Italian-speaking section followed in 2017.
Organization of Studies[edit]
The Moodle Platform[edit]
Domuni University operates entirely online through an online education platform called Moodle. Moodle enables the university to reach a very large audience, including students located in isolated geographic areas far away from colleges and universities (150 students of African origin registered in 2014).
Courses are available in the form of:
- self-study content (downloadable courses in PDF format)
- live content (online seminars, exchanges with teachers, student forums)
Each semester concludes with a supervised exam, organized at one of the university’s approved Dominican examination centers. These centers are located within the geographical area of each student.
In addition to the university's online resources, students have access to Dominican libraries worldwide. Despite Domuni being an entirely online university, several opportunities are given for teachers and students to interact with one another and to meet in person. This can be achieved during one of the university's study days, known as "Journées d'études participatives " (many have been organized in Paris, Brussels, Geneva, and Lausanne), or one of the "summer universities" which Domuni has been organizing since 2009 (Angers, Paris, Brittany). Students and Faculty can also meet at one of Domuni's cultural sessions (French Biblical and Archaeological School, Jerusalem 2017), or during a university's colloquium (Salamanca in 2014, Paris La Sorbonne in 2016 and 2017).
Admissions and Study Programs[edit]
It is the student's responsibility to work in a disciplined manner and to organize his or her studies to the best of his or her abilities. Students can enroll at any time of the year and can study at their own pace. A student can study in any one of the four languages in which courses are taught (French, English, Spanish, Italian), even if it is not his or her mother tongue.
Teaching and Research[edit]
Training[edit]
Domuni University offers degrees (state diplomas, etc.) in Theology, Philosophy and Social Sciences. It also offers an array of “à la carte” courses resulting in a catalog of 800 courses downloadable in PDF format.
Publishing House[edit]
In 2012, the university launched its academic publishing house, Domuni-Press. Domuni-Press publishes the work of its researchers under five categories (Bible, Theology, History, Spirituality, and Society). On October 25, 2013, Domuni-Press signed a co-publishing agreement with the University Press of the Catholic Institute of Toulouse for the two to collaborate on publishing some selected works of Domuni-Press.
Journal[edit]
Telos is a journal that results from the extensive and elaborate research that takes place at the university. It is published twice a year and is available in digital and paper formats, as well as in three of the university's languages (French, English, and Spanish).
Partnerships[edit]
Domuni relies on its partnerships and has established relationships with numerous research centers. It is part of a large international network which includes the Catholic Institute of Toulouse, the St. Thomas University (Bogota), and Lumen Vitae (Brussels). To this day, the university maintains a special relationship with PUST (Angelicum) in Rome, the University of Lorraine in France, and the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. These partnership agreements have allowed for the establishment of a mutual recognition of credits and diplomas. Domuni Universitas is also presented on the Dominican universities site of studium.op
Notes and references[edit]
- ↑ "Domuni - Theology courses and online training, bachelor's and master's". www.domuni.eu. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
External links[edit]
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