2024-2025 Catalog 
    
    Nov 21, 2024  
2024-2025 Catalog

Undergraduate Programs


Olivet designs and offers academic programs that support its general objectives and appear to meet the important needs of its students and constituency. Undergraduate degrees available at Olivet include the following:

Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Offered for programs in the humanities, arts, social sciences, and sciences. Curricula leading to the BA typically promote broad preparation within the discipline and among related fields with emphasis on the liberal arts and sciences.

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) - Offered for degree programs in the Art Department that prepare students for professional careers or advanced study.

Bachelor of Music (BMus) - Offered for music programs in which the orientation is toward advanced development of general musicianship allied with competence in an area of specialization. The standards follow those set forth by the National Association of Schools of Music.

Bachelor of Science (BS) - Offered for professional programs in the humanities, arts, social sciences, and sciences. BS programs typically promote focused preparation within a discipline and/or related disciplines. Programs often are designed to accommodate outside accrediting bodies and/or licensure requirements. The Department of Nursing, the Department of Social Work and Criminal Justice, and the Department of Engineering offer variations of this degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), and the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE), respectively.

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Programs

The Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Programs  allow a student enrolled at Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) an opportunity to complete the requirements for both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees at an accelerated pace.

Colleges and Schools

The undergraduate courses of study in the University are grouped into the  College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Professional Studies, and School of Theology and Christian Ministry. See Academic Departments  for an alphabetical list of all of the academic departments. In addition, Graduate programs and courses are described in Graduate and Continuing Studies  and Course Descriptions-Graduate & Online Undergraduate . Graduate programs offered through the School of Theology and Christian Ministry are listed within the Graduate sections of this catalog.

 

College of Arts and Sciences

Kent Olney, Ph.D., Dean

The College of Arts and Sciences represents Olivet Nazarene University’s ongoing commitment to the disciplines of study generally associated with a classic liberal arts approach to learning. The College includes the School of Music  and the Martin D. Walker School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics , containing the Departments of Biological Sciences , Chemistry and Geosciences , Engineering , and Mathematics and Computer Science ; the College also includes the Departments of Art and Digital Media , Behavioral Sciences , Communication , English , History and Political Science , and Modern Languages 

The departments in the College of Arts and Sciences provide the majority of general education course offerings required of all Olivet undergraduate students. All arts and sciences courses in this core are designed to challenge students with a comprehensive education and Christian worldview, as well as to sharpen one’s writing, analytical, and critical thinking skills. 

The College also includes two accredited programs:

  • National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) for the Music Program and
  • The Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, Inc for the Engineering Program

College of Professional Studies

Amber Residori, Ed.D., Dean

The College of Professional Studies represents Olivet Nazarene University’s ongoing commitment to professional programs, scientific study, and educational development. The College includes the Center for Academic Excellence, which houses the Department of General Studies ; the McGraw School of Business ; the School of Education ; the School of Nursing ; and the following departments: Exercise and Sports Science , Family and Consumer Sciences , Military Science , and Social Work & Criminal Justice . The College is focused on the ecological perspective (a holistic way of viewing life, health, and the human experience), which includes biological, physiological, and social areas of study. The College uniquely joins together key areas of discipline in order to create stronger relationships and additional academic opportunities for students. The College also includes several accredited programs:

  • Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for the Nursing Programs and
  • Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) for the Social Work Program
  • Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) for the Dietetics Program

The departments in the College of Professional Studies seek to create stimulating learning environments that shape students into future professionals who live out their faith while also impacting the world through strong academic and professional endeavors.

School of Theology and Christian Ministry

Charles Perabeau, Ph.D., Dean

The mission of the School of Theology and Christian Ministry is to educate for ministry within the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition, preparing clergy and laity for service to church and community, and facilitating their personal spiritual development.

The School offers education at the undergraduate, Theology and Christian Ministry , and graduate levels, Ministry Graduate Programs . Undergraduate students desiring to prepare for professional ministry or graduate studies gain entry-level knowledge and skills in the areas of Biblical studies, theology, philosophy, history of Christianity, and practices, including Christian education and spiritual formation. While students of other ecclesiastical backgrounds are welcomed, Olivet is an educational institution of the Church of the Nazarene, and the School of Theology and Christian Ministry (STCM) intentionally designs programs to meet the ordination requirements of that denomination.

The graduate programs in the STCM equip students who are preparing for professional ministry as well as those who wish to continue to engage in the advanced study of religion and ministry academically.”

The objectives are practical as well as theoretical in scope and relate to the mission of both the School and the University. Students will:

  1. Be able to engage in interpretation and exegesis of the foundational documents of the Christian faith.
  2. Engage in inquiry into the significance of the Christian faith, particularly of the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition, probing the ways Christian doctrines relate to and involve one another and take shape in the life of the Church and of the particular Christian.
  3. Be able to communicate their faith so as to serve both their local church and contemporary society.
  4. Be able to make informed ethical decisions, applying Christian values to contemporary issues.
  5. Gain an informed awareness of the identity and function of religious institutions and movements through the study of the history of Christianity and world religions.
  6. Have opportunity for spiritual growth and be provided with the foundations for continued growth following college.
  7. Be exposed to the major figures and movements of the history of philosophy, the enduring concerns of the discipline of philosophy, and their relationship to Christian thought.