INSTITUTE OF FORMATION AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Contextual, Integrated, Inclusive, Transformational Education and Formation

The Institute of Formation and Religious Studies (IFRS) began in 1963 as Sister Formation Institute (SFI). It was founded by the Association of Major Religious Superiors of Women in the Philippines (AMWRSP) to provide a program of studies for young sisters in formation. Patterned after the Jesuit curriculum for seminarians, the original program had been enriched through the years to aptly prepare young religious for their ministry, inculcating in them a broader outlook, a spirit of service, a solid foundation for prayer and greater spiritual maturity.

Today, IFRS seeks excellence in providing religious and lay women and men the formation and education they need to meet the challenges of the Gospel in today’s social, political, cultural, and ecological realities.

Since 2008, the IFRS Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies program has been accredited by the Philippine Accrediting Agency for Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU).

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VISION

MISSION

IFRS Vision & Mission

The Institute of Formation and Religious Studies is a leading institute for religious studies and formation preparing graduates committed to a contextual, integrated, inclusive, and transformational ministry and witnessing to the Biblical/Gospel imperatives.

The Institute equips students with theoretical and practical knowledge in Scriptures, Theology, Spirituality, Women and Gender Studies, enabling them to become authentic Christian witnesses. Enriched by a diversity of cultures, the Institute provides venues for inculturation, interculturality, relevant research, prophetic dialogue, and creative ministries.

IFRS Programs

PROGRAMS

ACADEMIC AND CONTINUING FORMATION PROGRAM

IFRS offers the following programs:

1. Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies

2. Master of Arts in Religious Studies, major in Scripture, Theology and Women and Religion

A. Academic Program (Thesis)

B. Professional Program (Non-Thesis)

3. Continuing Formation Program

A. Accompaniment Program for Formators

- Intensive Course

- Basic Course

B. Preparation for Perpetual Vow Program

C. Sabbatical Program

The IFRS Academic Year is divided into two (2) semesters of eighteen (18) weeks each, exclusive of registration and final examination periods. An inter-semester session of six (6) weeks follows the second semester. Class work in the inter-semester session is equivalent to class work in one (1) semester. The first semester begins in August, the second semester in January, and the inter-semester in June.

IFRS Continuing Formation Program

A five-month Accompaniment Program for Formators (APF) which usually starts in July and ends in December.
A forty-day intensive program to prepare young professed sisters for their final profession.
A sixty-day journey for those who need a sabbatical or renewal.
Short animation modules offered from time to time.