The CBU Honors Program is a community of thinkers who actively seek wisdom and virtue together as we research, discuss, and debate the fundamental questions of life. Honors students take advanced, discussion driven seminars, that are designed to be interdisciplinary, and interactive, to allow students to see connections between academic disciplines, and build connections with one another. The Honors Program is a university wide academic program which students take in conjunction with their declared majors and minors. The majority of the seminars taken by honors students also meet university general education requirements.
Mission and Learning Outcomes
The CBU Honors Program exists to pursue wisdom and virtue in community. The goal of this pursuit is to foster and mold thinkers, leaders, and citizens, who will go into the world as agents of healing, who demonstrate the character of Christ, and act to influence, and promote, human and societal flourishing.
To accomplish this mission, the ten courses of CBU’s Honors Program are structured around the following six learning outcomes:
- Wisdom: Honors students will demonstrate social and mental habits indicative of sound judgment.
- Virtue: Honors students will cultivate a virtuous life which embodies Christ’s command to love God and love the neighbor.
- Community: Honors students will appreciate the need for, and be equipped to nurture, healthy communal relationships.
- Human Flourishing: Honors students will act to promote human flourishing on both the individual, and the societal level.
- Theology: Honors students will understand the manner in which a person’s theological foundation establishes the way in which they inhabit the world.
- Change: Honors students will develop strategies to create organizational and cultural change in society.
Benefits of the Honors Program
In addition to taking seminars focused on cultivating an interdisciplinary community of thinkers, Honors students also receive the following benefits:
- Completion of the Honors Program will be noted on their transcript, giving them an
edge entering graduate schools, and/or the workforce
- Completion of all 30 units of the Honors Program also fulfills the requirements for
a minor in philosophy, a major/minor that business and organizations are currently
actively looking for in prospective candidates
- Honors students are able to take upper division courses in their second semester Freshman
year
- Access to Honors events, trips, and talks
- Honors exclusive scholarship opportunities (launching in the near future)
Honors Program Curriculum
The CBU Honors curriculum consists of ten seminars. These courses are interdisciplinary and discussion driven. They build off each other, and intentionally reference each other, to provide a holistic understanding of how academic disciplines connect. These course also, in large part, meet CBU general education requirements, and also may meet requirements for various majors and minors throughout the university. Currently, the Honors Program seminars will meet 27 units of GE requirements.
Honors students will take the following ten seminars:
Lower Division
This course examines what it means to be human. Students will consider the concept of human nature from various traditions and in light of biblical or theological principles, as well as explore the universal experiences that are inherent to humanity. (3 units; Fall)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON101-A Welbaum, Sam D. |
09/02/2025 | TTh | 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM | Health Science Campus |
This course is a discussion-based evaluation of major scientific ideas throughout history and the paradigm shifts that accompanied new data and new interpretations of that data. The course is roughly divided into three sections: Physics, Astronomy, and Biology. In each area, we will read texts written by the scientists who established and revolutionized disciplines and follow the scientific and theological implications of advances in each of these fields. In physics, we will consider shift how science was conducted by evaluating explanations of motion in Aristotle and Galileo. In astronomy, we will assess the reasonableness of Ptolemy's model of the universe and consider the paradigm shifts accompanying the ideas of Copernicus and later the Big Bang. In biology, we will examine the massive paradigm shift largely credited to Darwin and also evaluate the impact of genetics and DNA on our understanding of evolution. Across all of these we will learn about the importance of quality data, the conflicts associated with interpreting data, the complexities of paradigm shifts, and the implications of these on our worldviews. (3 units; Fall)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON190-A Schacht, Patrick C. |
09/02/2025 | M | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM | TBA |
This course examines key passages in Christ's teaching on the formation of Christian character. It traces how these teachings were explicated by later New Testament writers and embodied by the Christian community in the first three centuries of the church. (3 units; Spring)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON251-B Wilhite, Shawn J. |
01/13/2025 | Th | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Mission Hall 125 |
| HON251-A Wilhite, Shawn J. |
01/13/2025 | TTh | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Health Science Campus A013 |
The course examines the functions, responsibilities, and influence of various mass media and emerging forms of niche media in society. Students review the theories, structures, processes, practices, economics, critical analyses, and historical aspects of mass media and its social responsibility. (3 units; Spring)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON260-A Pearson, MaryAnn |
01/13/2025 | M | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Building 36 36A2 |
Upper Division
An expanded study of the biblical doctrines of God, humanity, and sin. (3 units; Fall & Online)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APT371-T2 Gonet, Christina D. |
09/02/2025 | T | 7:00 AM - 10:15 AM | Yeager Center |
| APT371-A Gonet, Christina D. |
09/02/2025 | TTh | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | TBA |
| APT371-B Gill, John J |
09/02/2025 | MWF | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM | TBA |
An expanded study of the biblical doctrines of salvation, the person of Christ, the church, and last things. (3 units; Spring & Online)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APT372-T2 Gonet, Christina D. |
01/13/2025 | T | 7:00 AM - 10:15 AM | Yeager Center B218 |
| APT372-A Co, Adamson |
01/13/2025 | MWF | 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM | Yeager Center B219 |
This course examines the meaning of justice and the state's role in ensuring justice. Through a careful study of ancient and modern thinkers, this course aims to equip students with an understanding of the diverse meanings of justice that have shaped our contemporary political environment. (3 units; Fall)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON310-A Porter, Chase Martin |
09/02/2025 | TTh | 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM | TBA |
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between human flourishing and creative writing practice. The course will explore areas such as Christian traditions of contemplative writing, the Imago Dei and the Christian imagination, and arts-based research. Through various genres (poetry, fiction, nonfiction), students will explore enduring questions of the human experience: What does it mean to live a flourishing, joyful life? How do I engage thoughtfully and compassionately with culture? What are the emotional and intellectual benefits of creative writing? (3 units; Spring)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON320-A Newton, Jennifer |
01/13/2025 | TTh | 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM | James Complex 189 |
This course examines the evolution of the concept of virtue against the historical backdrop of western secularization. It will explore the key historical and cultural events that led to secularization and chart a path toward meaning and hope from a biblical understanding of virtue. (3 units; Spring)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON345-A Welbaum, Sam D. |
01/13/2025 | MWF | 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM | Yeager Center B259 |
This course explores the concept of community through the lens of the behavioral sciences, with a special focus on neurobiology and interpersonal dynamics. This course will also provide an exploration of Biblical views on community and offer approaches, based in Scripture and science, to interact with and improve communities and interpersonal relationships. (3 units; Fall)
| Instructor | Start Date | Days | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON380-A Deulen, Angela A. |
09/02/2025 | MWF | 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM | TBA |
Admission Requirements
Admission to the Honors Program requires a separate application after having been admitted to CBU. Admission to the Honors Program is generally restricted to students with high school GPAs of at least 3.5, but promising students with a GPA of at least 3.0 will be considered as well.
Application Review Schedule
The CBU Honors Program does not having an official application deadline. Instead, applications are considered as they come in, and as space is available. That said, it is in the student’s best interest to submit their application sooner rather than later in order to secure their place in the program. Applications are reviewed at the following intervals during the Spring and Summer for the coming Fall semester.
| Applications Submitted: | Will Be Notified of a Decision By: |
|---|---|
| By December 31 | January 15 |
| January 1 - February 28 | March 15 |
| March 1 - April 30 | May 15 |
| May 1 - June 30 | July 15 |
| After July 1 | Sept 1 |