The Institute is an 8-semester program designed to recruit and form top students. These students will be equipped to pursue personal and professional excellence with the end of discovering a fulfilling vocation, grad school and/or career. The highly experiential and immersive program is driven by the Institute’s Members and built around uncredited learning modules. The Institute is more than just a program, though, it is above all a cohesive network of exceptional executives, leaders, businesses, faculty, partnering universities, educational providers, and students. Using Ave Maria University as a crossroads for renewal, these stakeholders will shape a next-generation graduate tailored for our times and primed for success.

Recruiting and forming excellence. World-class D1 athletes are recruited and surrounded with the people and resources necessary to help them achieve at the highest level. We’re doing the same thing with the Institute’s Scholars—except we’re not preparing them for a game. Our Scholars are the top 7% nationwide in both academic and personal standards. The Institute’s personal and professional development program will be highly experiential, immersive, collaborative, and fun. And we’ll surround the Scholars with the people, ideas, and resources needed to make it all happen.

We live in a time of extreme consequence. AI is an economic and existential game changer, CRISPR can manipulate the human genome, the very definition of the human person is in doubt, and geopolitical and macro-economic shifts are disrupting the status quo of the post-WWII era. At the same time, buttressing institutions from high-ed, to the government, to the family are weakening. The result is a society without mooring. At just such a time, Catholic universities are expressly called to provide an answer. The Academy at AMU coupled with The Institute is our answer. Our students are our answer. They will leave our university formed to direct these seismic societal changes back to the service of flourishing human persons.  We are seeking anyone who sees the need and wants to be a part of forming the answer.

The Institute unites the right people, ideas, and resources within our university to create an interdisciplinary platform for in-demand practical solutions. The Institute was designed to connect these essential ingredients to AMU in a quick, easy, and impactful manner.

The Institute amplifies and integrates the core curriculum and builds upon the majors of Ave Maria University. It equips students from all specializations to excel, develop personally and professionally, and receive a high return on their collegiate investment. The Institute will form graduates who rival and surpass any student from any school, are tailored to the needs of our times, and are grounded in the Catholic faith.

Thomas S.  Monaghan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza, answered the call of Pope John Paul II by founding Ave Maria College in 1999 and thereafter Ave Maria University in 2003. Organizations reflect the charism of their founder. AMU is no different. Tom is a devout Catholic, successful businessman, education visionary, and patron of the arts. AMU is then uniquely positioned to answer John Paul II’s call to provide an education that “combines excellence in humanistic and cultural development with specialized professional training” (Ex Corde Ecclesiae), drawing from the charism of our founder. It’s in our DNA. The Institute is the next chapter in answering John Paul II’s call at Ave Maria University.