Special Academic Programs

In addition to traditional life and studies on campus, students can take advantage of these special academic programs.

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU)

Contact: Beth Aracena, EMU associate dean for curriculum
www.BestSemester.com

The CCCU, of which EMU is a member, offers study abroad programs for students from member institutions. Students consult with Cross-cultural Programs and work with their advisors in choosing appropriate coursework for a semester. Application materials and information are available on-line. Completed applications must receive approval from EMU Crosscultural Programs, as financial assistance and credit for the programs are received through EMU. CCCU offers the following study abroad semester programs: Australia Studies Centre, China Studies Program, Latin American Studies Program (Costa Rica), Middle East Studies Program (Egypt), Russian Studies Program, The Scholars’ Semester in Oxford (England), and Uganda Studies Program.

The Oregon Extension

Contact: Amy Springer, EMU assistant undergraduate dean
www.oregonextension.org

Students seeking a unique semester of study may choose to participate in The Oregon Extension program in Ashland, Oregon. This semester-long adventure in ideas and community living takes place in a rustic setting. Students join college professors who live at Lincoln, a 1920s logging village on the banks of a millpond in the mountains of southern Oregon where daily learning revolves around the reading of great books, careful note-taking to prepare for small group discussion, lectures, and individual study and writing projects. Visit the website above to learn more about this unique learning experience.

Lark Leadership Scholarship Program

Contact: Loren E. Swartzendruber, EMU president

The Lark program provides financial assistance to African-American Mennonite pastors and lay leaders to advance their college and graduate education. The purpose of the program is to better equip these persons for leadership in African-American churches. There is no particular expectation that students will choose a Mennonite school. Lark is administered jointly by the African-American Mennonite Association, Mennonite Education Agency and EMU.

Ministry Inquiry Program

Contact: Heidi Miller Yoder, assistant professor in EMU’s Bible and Religion department

The Ministry Inquiry Program is an opportunity for students who have completed two or three years of university studies and who are considering pastoral ministry and/or seminary study to have a first hand experience in ministry. This 11-week summer program is a full-time position as intern within a congregation that involves the student in all aspects of pastoral service under the mentoring of the congregation’s leadership. When at all possible, the student is placed in the congregation of his/her choice.

Through a cooperative arrangement with the Mennonite denomination, the area conference, the home congregation of the student, and Eastern Mennonite University, the student receives a scholarship of at least $2,000 applied to university or seminary expenses during the following academic year. In addition, the congregation in which the student serves provides housing and $500 cash. Academic credit can also be earned. Registration and payment at the summer school tuition rate are required for earning academic credit.

To be considered for the Ministry Inquiry Program a student must have completed at least 2 years of undergraduate study with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. An application form and references are required for acceptance.

Orie Miller Global Village Center

Contact: Amy Springer, EMU assistant undergraduate dean

Orie O. Miller, a well-known Mennonite leader, modeled the integration of business, missions, development, education and peace in his generation. Today through the center in his honor, EMU provides a forum for the integration of programs related to development, missions, and peace and justice. The Center promotes increased awareness and interest in these areas by organizing special conferences, providing off-campus resource persons and experiences, and convening faculty and students from the respective programs to engage in discussions to stimulate creativity and mutual understanding.

Global development studies, located in a number of departments at Eastern Mennonite University, go beyond the concept of Western progress and focus on the biblical invitation to the fullness of life. This commitment calls for a lifestyle that values human life, diverse cultures and a sustainable relationship to the environment in the pursuit of a world providing for the basic survival needs of all, dignity derived from respect, and justice that frees us from exploitation, disempowerment, and the inability to engage the aesthetic. However, commitment to a more peaceful, just and sustainable world also requires specific perspectives, knowledge and skills that equip persons to join with others to create ways to meet basic survival needs and open possibilities for meeting needs beyond survival.

A number of majors and programs at EMU join together under this overarching understanding of development to provide specialized preparation in particular areas. Students may select their focus of choice by pursuing the environmental sustainability major in the biology or applied social sciences departments, the community health focus in nursing, the peacebuilding and development major, minors in peacebuilding or development, or the graduate program in conflict transformation. Linked together by a commitment to the fullness of life in a more humane world, these programs prepare people for development work in international settings as well as in North America.