Saint Johns' Major Seminary and Saint Johns' Seminary College, adjacently located in Camarillo, share a mutual history. This history began with the 1927 establishment of Los Angeles College as the first seminary of the Diocese of Los Angeles. LAC comprised four years of high school and two years of college, under the administration of the Vincentian Fathers. At that time, theological studies were continued under the Sulpician Fathers at the northern California seminary of Saint Patrick s in Menlo Park.
The extensive campus is situated on a majestic hillside overlooking the Pleasant Valley in Ventura County and lies at the foot of the Old Spanish land grant ranchos, El Rio Santa Clara and Calleguas, sixty miles northwest of Los Angeles. The site was the donation of Don Juan Camarillo for the explicit purpose of constructing a major seminary in Southern California.
Following the Program of Priestly Formation established by the United States bishops and approved by Rome, candidates take sufficient courses in philosophy and religious studies to enter the major seminary. Graduates from the college receive the Bachelor of Liberal Arts Degree in one of four, degree programs--English, Philosophy, Spanish, or Religious Studies. Minors are also available in these four areas and in Psychology, History, and Humanities. Ten of the nineteen full-time faculty members have Ph.D.'s. Many adjunct faculty members drawn from local colleges and universities additionally enrich the curriculum. St. John's even has an 'alternative access to college program,' the Transition Program, for students with solid academic ability, but who need special help with language, study skills, or specific course work before entering the regular college program.
The College is located in Camarillo, Ventura County, CA, and has an enrollment of about 70.