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Interdisciplinary Studies in Global Leadership

Bachelor of Arts or Science

Overview

Helping you prepare for missions and ministry around the world, BJU’s interdisciplinary studies in global leadership program is designed to deepen your understanding of the Bible, sharpen your skills in cultural integration and relationship building, and prepare you for the challenges of ministering globally in the 21st century.

And with around a dozen concentrations, the program has flexibility that helps you tailor your studies.

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Program

When you pursue a degree in interdisciplinary studies in global leadership (BA or BS), you’ll hand pick courses from two or more programs of your choice. You’ll still benefit from the liberal arts and Bible courses in the BJU Core, but your program courses will be up to you.

The program includes a diverse curriculum across schools within the university that encourages you to produce innovative ideas and solutions for effective service and ministry in today’s world.

Be prepared to embrace the hard challenges involved in taking the Gospel to unreached peoples and gain the skills that will enable you to be effective in the Lord’s calling.

BJU Core

In addition to the courses in your subject courses, you’ll take the BJU Core, a comprehensive range of liberal arts and Bible courses, including economics, history, philosophy, science and speech. These courses will broaden your horizons, equip you with critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills, and prepare you to be an innovative and adaptable witness for the Gospel wherever God leads you.

Electives

One of the strengths of BJU’s interdisciplinary studies program is the huge selection of electives available. You can use these electives to dive even deeper into your disciplines or take a course just for the fun of it. Popular elective courses include foreign languages, business, communication and philosophy/psychology.

Your Future

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Around the World

Our graduates currently serve around the world, including:

  • Mexico
  • Germany
  • Canada
  • Peru
  • Singapore
  • South Korea
  • Southeast Asia
  • Uruguay

Career Support

At BJU you will have extensive access to missionaries from all over the world. Whether it is Missions Emphasis Week or one of the frequent missionaries who speak in chapel, you will be able to meet and connect with missionaries from all around the globe. The Center for Global Opportunities can assist you in finding positions for Christian service.

In addition, our Career Services Office can help you connect with mission organizations and mission boards.

Learning Experience

Internship

The capstone of the program is the global leadership internship, when you serve with a veteran missionary on a foreign mission field for a minimum of eight weeks. This internship is designed to give you a preview of both the challenges and the blessings of presenting your ministry, raising support and living on the field. More then 80 students have interned in over 37 countries, including Hong Kong, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ecuador, England, Israel, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and more. Whether or not God leads you to return to your place of internship for full-time service, the cultural and spiritual lessons you learn will be invaluable.

Missions Advance

Missions Advance is a student-led group whose purpose is to stimulate missionary zeal and vision on campus. Their goal is to cultivate the student body’s passion for God’s glory, resulting in greater participation in world missions through learning, praying and mobilizing.

  • Learning: by inviting speakers, giving presentations, and providing missionary letters to better inform students’ prayers
  • Praying: by spending a majority of the meetings interceding for God’s work around the world and for God to send laborers into His harvest
  • Mobilizing: by offering avenues through which the student body can be involved in mission work while in school

Missions Emphasis Week

Throughout Missions Emphasis Week, veteran missionaries are invited to speak in chapel. Around 60 mission boards and outreach organizations attend, providing students the opportunity to ask questions, discover ministry possibilities and make contacts for the future.

Mark Vowels
Mark Vowels
Division of Ministries

View Faculty

Faculty members come from diverse ministry backgrounds, including urban church planting in the U.S. and mission board administration.

Guest lecturers, serving on mission fields such as India, Cambodia, Lebanon, and Micronesia, contribute their unique perspectives and wisdom from years of experience.

Courses/Objectives

Sample Course Outline

1st Year

2nd Year

3rd Year

4th Year

  • Ministry Outreach
  • Communication Studies Elective (3 credits)
  • Anthropology/ Discipleship Elective (3 credits)
  • Communication Studies Elective (3 credits)
  • Electives (5 credits)
  • Program
  • BJU Core
  • Elective

    Program Objectives

    Each student will:

    • Cultivate meaningful relationships with people of different cultural backgrounds.
    • Evaluate methodologies and trends in missions.
    • Analyze the role of religion and culture in the formation of worldviews in relation to missionary methodology.
    • Apply knowledge or skills from a related discipline to solve a global leadership problem.

    Sample Course Outline

    1st Year

    2nd Year

    3rd Year

    4th Year

    • Ministry Outreach
    • Chinese Elective (300/400-level) (3 credits)
    • Chinese Elective (300/400-level) (3 credits)
    • Anthropology/ Discipleship Elective (3 credits)
    • Electives (6 credits)
    • Program
    • BJU Core
    • Elective

      Program Objectives

      Each student will:

      • Cultivate meaningful relationships with people of different cultural backgrounds.
      • Evaluate methodologies and trends in missions.
      • Analyze the role of religion and culture in the formation of worldviews in relation to missionary methodology.
      • Apply knowledge or skills from a related discipline to solve a global leadership problem.

      What’s my next step?

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