Students attend six semesters completed in three years.  All students attend weekly classes on Wednesday evenings. The Institute meets during a regular academic school year with classes beginning in the fall semester.

The two-year core curriculum includes Sacred Scripture, Christology, Ecclesiology, Church History, and the relevance and importance of the Sacraments. Students are also exposed to material that makes up much of the Church’s contemporary debates in social justice and morality.

In addition, students go through a module on discernment that starts at the end of their first year and continues at the beginning of their second year. The students, in consultation with their pastors, determine how they will exercise their leadership in the parish and how they will focus and participate during the years of ministry formation.

The third year includes courses on pastoral ministry to give the students a solid foundation in Catechetics (Children, Youth, and Adult), Liturgy, and Social Justice Ministry.

Students gather once a month on a Saturday for leadership training in communications, conflict management, lay ministry, and cultural diversity. These special sessions are designed specifically to teach the students how to work effectively with others in the spirit of Christ. Other Saturday sessions focus on the spiritual growth of the pastoral person.

At the end of three years, the students are honored at a special Evening Prayer and graduation ceremony presided over by the Bishop, where they receive their certificate of completion.