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What subjects did students study in the Jesuit Ratio studiorum?

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Title page of a 1568 Welsh Christian doctrine book by Morys Clynnog, featuring Welsh text and a woodcut illustration of the crucifixion of Jesus at the center. — Counter-Reformation Title page of *Athravaeth Gristnogavl* (1568; “Christian Doctrine”), a Roman Catholic catechism translated into Welsh by Morys Clynnog as part of the church's Counter-Reformation efforts.

The Ratio studiorum, an elaborate plan of studies issued by the Society of Jesus in 1599, established a standardized and authoritarian curriculum for Jesuit colleges. The complete course of study spanned at least 13 years and was divided into three distinct periods of instruction:1

Grammar and Rhetoric: This initial stage comprised six or more years of study.1
Philosophy: This period consisted of three years of instruction. During this time, the curriculum focused on Scholasticism, which was restored in Jesuit-staffed universities.12
Theology: The final stage of the curriculum required four years of study.1

Overall, the curriculum was described as purely Classical in nature. While the Jesuits were highly successful in their educational methods and teacher training, their schools generally avoided incorporating new intellectual directions, focusing instead on these traditional subjects within a rigid, uniform structure.21