St Joseph’s Scholasticate was founded in 1943 in Pietermartizburg, about an hour’s drive away from Durban. It admitted its first female student in 1975. In 1990, St Joseph’s Theological Institute formally separated from the Scholasticate, and is now located around 15km away from the original campus.
SJTI offers degrees in theology, philosophy and development studies. It also publishes an academic journal and a newsletter entitled Grace and Truth. The university events calendar is filled with a combination of prayer services, homilies and lectures by members of the clergy. There is also a detailed environmental-action programme, including outreach activities such as a programme to donate sanitary towels to schools.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, student clubs and societies lean towards the theological. A Charismatic Society is run by the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement. The Oikos Group runs an outreach centre and soup kitchen. There is also a band, a choir and an interfaith dialogue forum.