Calumet College of St. Joseph

Calumet College of St. Joseph (CCSJ) is a small, family-oriented, four-year college offering master's, bachelor's, and associate's degrees. Our students, whether traditional or non-traditional, undergraduate, graduate or professional, come to Calumet College of St. Joseph to share our commitment to learning as a lifelong endeavor. They come to join a community whose members — faculty, staff, students, trustees, alumni and friends alike — believe that education must encompass the whole person: spiritual and moral as well as intellectual, the heart as well as the mind. And they come seeking the educational, professional and cultural advantages of a college located in a busy metropolitan area within minutes from the City of Chicago. We, in turn, take seriously our responsibility to foster and support excellence in Catholic higher education, to keep a Calumet College of St. Joseph education accessible to a diverse population of students, and to offer personal attention and care to each member of the Calumet College of St. Joseph family.

Calumet College of St. Joseph is a Catholic institution of higher learning dedicated to the academic, spiritual and ethical development of undergraduate and graduate students. Informed by the values of its founding religious community, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.), the College promotes the inherent dignity of all people, social justice, an ethic of service, student empowerment, opportunity, and lifelong learning.

When you become a student at Calumet College of St. Joseph, you’re not just choosing a college, you’re choosing a way of life. It is a life dedicated to service and rooted in the Catholic tradition of social justice. This life is more than just a concept we talk about, it is a reality we try to live out everyday. At CCSJ you can start making a difference well before you graduate. The impact of CCSJ extends to the global community as well. Every spring a team of faculty, staff and students serve the poor of Guatemala by providing material assistance to some of the world’s most needy. In the past two years, our freshmen have given over 5,000 service-learning hours by volunteering within the community.

CCSJ is a Catholic college sponsored by the Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.). CCSJ offers a quality education in the Catholic tradition: It is open to students of all faiths.

For over 50 years, Calumet College of St. Joseph has offered bachelor's, and associate's degrees as well as certificate programs. We serve a diverse student population that represents the Calumet area (Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois).

In 2002, Calumet College of St. Joseph started its first graduate program, Master of Science in Law Enforcement Administration. Since that time we have added three more graduate programs: Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Science in Management. Subsequently, the Law Enforcement Administration degree was revised and is now the Public Safety Administration. These four masters programs provide students with the skills, knowledge and dispositions to confront the challenges of their perspective careers as well as affect change in their professions.

In 1951 the Missionaries of the Precious Blood established an educational outpost in Northwest Indiana. They served a community like their patron St. Joseph: selfless, hardworking, and devoted to family. In church basements and empty storefronts, they educated the sons and daughters of millworkers and first generation college students. Offering the Calumet Region’s first bachelor degree, the College changed lives. Providing access to education, the College grew. A move to Whiting accommodated expansion. In 1973, Amoco donated the building that currently serves as our 6-story “vertical campus.” During these early years, the College’s visionary mission was defined: to serve the Calumet Region by offering a quality education in the Catholic tradition.

In keeping with the Catholic tradition, we place high value on the dignity of every person. In addition to gaining knowledge and skill, our students learn to respect themselves and others. They learn to serve. Our graduates become alumni who make a daily difference in the community. They positively influence the fields of education, business, law enforcement, and the professions. They serve as artists and social workers, leaders of banking and industry. This dedicated family of alumni is the College’s legacy and future.

With our roots deep in the Calumet Region, the College continues to grow. We carry on the tradition of serving a diverse student population, changing lives through education. Master’s degrees and accelerated programs remove time and space barriers for our adult students. Innovative education programs assist professionals transition to teaching.

An athletic program, established in 1999, swelled the College’s traditionally-aged academic population. Across the curriculum, our social justice emphasis fosters ethical behavior and civic engagement. We actively serve our neighbors with thousands of volunteer hours a year. We share our gifts with the less fortunate, providing books to the school-aged victims of Hurricane Katrina and adopting a Guatemalan village. Through academics and outreach, the College’s mission extends far beyond the classroom.