Bachelor of Science in Psychology

In this course, you will become familiar with the basic contents of each book of the Old Testament and the broad historical framework of Old Testament events. You will pay special attention to key passages and prominent themes of the Old Testament. You will read the Old Testament with a view to using it for spiritual formation and discipleship.

This course is an overview of the books of the New Testament and the historical circumstances surrounding these writings. You will focus on the background, content, message, and personal application of each book in the New Testament. You will also examine the process by which the New Testament canon was formed and the New Testament was transmitted through the history of the Church.

This course will guide you through the hermeneutical principles basic to interpreting Scripture. Many of these principles are common to language and literature, while others apply uniquely to the Bible. All of them are based on the way in which the Bible interprets itself. You will begin to lay a foundation of cognitive understanding, with an emphasis on practice in applying the principles.

Within the framework of an exegetical study, you will focus on the New Testament's most organized, thorough exposition of the Christian faith and its relation to human history and implications for Christian living. Giving special attention to the personal application of the message, you will apply principles of biblical interpretation to the study of this book.

In this course, you will explore God's plan of redemption as it progressively unfolds in the Bible. You will trace the basic historical revelation in the Old and New Testaments to see what God is doing and by what method. You will consider the spoken revelations as you observe the progress of doctrine.

This course provides a study of the theological truths of the Bible, during which you will focus on the basic doctrines necessary for a Christian worldview: Scripture, God, Christ, Holy Spirit, sin and salvation, church, and future events. You will examine the doctrinal teaching of the Bible, supplemented with insights from the theological reflections of the church throughout its history and from contemporary theological discussions.

This course provides you an introduction to reaching well-reasoned conclusions based upon the most credible evidence available, skills fundamental to college writing but also for life as an educated adult. You will develop your abilities with modern academic library resources as evidenced through an annotated working bibliography, among other assignments. You will spend the majority of the course drafting and revising papers which demonstrate the effective use of secondary resources.

This second writing course is designed to foster an appreciation of literature, use literary texts as a platform for strengthening skills in reading, writing, and analysis, and continue to emphasize foundational skills in library research. Texts and genres (such as short fiction, poetry, and drama) will vary.

In this course, you will explore some of the fundamental issues that must be addressed by anyone attempting to formulate a comprehensive understanding of things (worldview), and will examine primary texts in order to observe some of the very best thinking regarding these fundamental issues.

In this capstone course, you will integrate Scripture, theology, and philosophy as they relate to who we are, what we should do, and living well. You will develop a Christian framework for ethical thinking and decision-making based on the Christian understanding of human nature as bearing the Image of God. Course limited to students classified as seniors.

In this survey of scientific psychology, you will focus on historical roots, human development, and the physiological basis of behavior, learning, motivation, perception, emotions, personality, socialization, and pathology. You will learn how to filter psychological data through biblical principles to help produce a biblically-consistent model of human psychology which can then be used in both Christian and non-Christian environments.

This course gives an overview of the major trends in global history that have created our modern world. The course will explore the major chronology of world history, focusing on the changes, continuities, and connections between major world regions during this period focusing on Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The course will examine the cultural, technological, political, economic, religious and social transformations which shaped the societies. (3)

In this survey from colonial America to the present, you will examine the enduring issues and themes of American history. While the course is structured around historical events, particular effort is made to understand the paradox of American unity through diverse social, economic, political, and cultural factors.

This course provides an elementary overview of probability and statistics that will prepare students to conduct and interpret research in a variety of scientific fields. The content will include descriptive statistics; probability; discrete and continuous random variables; binomial, normal, and student-t distributions; methods for conducting inference, including confidence intervals and hypothesis tests; and linear correlation and regression. (3 semester hours)

This course introduces students to the fine arts in their various media and period styles, with the goal of developing students' understanding and experience of the role of the arts in life. An ongoing focus on the relationship between art and the Bible will encourage students to develop a theology of art.

This course will introduce the student to the place that music traditionally held as one of the seven liberal arts as an apologetic to the study and enjoyment of music. The goal of the class is to enhance critical listening skills and to develop a working vocabulary of music that is meaningful to the non-musician. The course will introduce the basic elements of music and a brief overview of the history of Western classical music, American Jazz, World, and Pop music. (3)

In this course, you will explore the concepts of biology, emphasizing the structure, function, and cellular organization of living organisms. Following an introduction to the general nature of science, the scientific method, and the nature of biology, you will focus on cellular biology, botany, zoology, and human biology.

This course is designed to provide a foundational knowledge about nutrition as health science that discusses the nutrients essential for human life. Students will begin to learn and better understand the biochemical composition, metabolic action, requirements, and food sources of the nutrients studied. Students will also learn scientific basis for promoting health and quality of life. (3)

This course provides an introduction to health science and personal wellness concepts. You will have the opportunity to build a foundation of knowledge that will help you actively pursue a healthy and well lifestyle. An introduction to and application of the foundations of physical, aerobic, and muscular fitness will be included. Strategies to maintain personal health and wellness, including weight control through nutrients and physical activity, will be covered. You will gain an understanding of the impact physical activity has on personal wellness as well as the broad spectrum of health science issues. This course provides information and experiences that will enable you to make informed decisions by incorporating healthy solutions as they relate to quality of life and longevity.

Having identified a local church during your first semester experience, you will now faithfully attend that church and volunteer at least 20 clock hours of service at that church or within a ministry in the community that is approved by the CSL Director. This service must be documented and approved by the CSL Director and a record submitted to the CSL office. No credit will be given, but completion of the service hours is a graduation requirement. Lack of faithfulness in attending or participating in a local church is an issue related to Christian character; failure to demonstrate faithfulness will be addressed by the Student Life office. (0)

Having identified a local church during your first semester experience, you will now faithfully attend that church and volunteer at least 30 clock hours of service at that church or within a ministry in the community that is approved by the CSL Director. This service must be documented and approved by the CSL Director and a record submitted to the CSL office. No credit will be given, but completion of the service hours is a graduation requirement. Lack of faithfulness in attending or participating in a local church is an issue related to Christian character; failure to demonstrate faithfulness will be addressed by the Student Life office. (0)

Having identified a local church during your first semester experience, you will now faithfully attend that church and volunteer at least 30 clock hours of service at that church or within a ministry in the community that is approved by the CSL Director. This service must be documented and approved by the CSL Director and a record submitted to the CSL office. No credit will be given, but completion of the service hours is a graduation requirement. Lack of faithfulness in attending or participating in a local church is an issue related to Christian character; failure to demonstrate faithfulness will be addressed by the Student Life office. (0)

This course is designed to help you develop world-Christian characteristics. You will explore the Christian's heritage in the history of the church and missions, begin to develop a scriptural perspective on the purpose of the gospel in confronting ideologies, religions and spiritual needs of the world, and discuss current strategies for identifying and reaching the lost.

This course is designed to introduce the student to the foundational principles of spiritual formation for effective life, ministry, and vocation. The process of the student's spiritual formation includes their relationship with God, their biblical self-image, their relationship with the Body of Christ, their personal relationships, and their relationship with the world. Students are invited into a multiple-year journey of encountering spiritual formation in community. The goal of this course is to help students build a foundation for continued spiritual formation at and beyond their time at CIU.

In this course, you will learn about the causes, symptoms, assessment/classification, and prognosis of mental and emotional disorders. You will also focus on treatment and prevention, as well as the influence of personal faith and the local church upon mental health and functioning.

In this lifespan course, you will examine developmental psychology covering the stages of physiological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual growth of the individual from conception to adulthood. You will analyze significant terms, theories, methods of assessment, and the biblical nature of the developing person. Special attention will be given to the cultural diversity of developing persons in varied learning environments.

This course is an intensive look at group and social processes as they affect individual behavior. Human experiences such as individual motivation, group behavior, attitudes, and perception of self and others are studied from the viewpoints of social science and Scripture.

In this course, you will begin to examine the principles, methods, and procedures used in producing and evaluating research designs in psychology. You will learn about experimental, quantitative methodology, as well as other major techniques of research. You will prepare an original empirical study, written in APA format.

This course introduces students to popular approaches to counseling and therapy. The course includes a review of assumptions about personality made by the therapeutic schools and the techniques they typically use to effect change. The course covers a variety of psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive and phenomenological approaches, and addresses the desire for evidence based practice. (3)

In this survey of the leading personality theories including analytic, humanistic, behavioral, and cognitive schools, you will explore how personalities develop, how they are organized, and how they change. You will examine how presuppositions influence personality theories and the clinician's approach to growth and healing.

This course will provide you an overview of Cognitive Neuroscience and will explore our perception of the world around us. Cognitive theory and research will be examined and applied to our everyday experiences and mental processes. Topics include perception, attention, memory/forgetting, thinking, problem solving, intelligence, language development and information processing.

A survey of the current scientific models, concepts and integrative theories that encompass the field of human sensory and perceptual studies, with a special emphasis on the neurological and cognitive features of vision.

This course is designed to introduce you to the biological foundations of perception, thought, emotion, and behavior by in-depth examination of sensation thresholds, optical perceptions and illusions, different brain structures and their functions, and the biological basis of some forms of mental illness. You will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the scientific underpinnings of psychology through taking this course.

This course is designed to give students time to complete a substantive research project and should involve conducting original psychological research. Credit is earned by working with a faculty member in a supervised setting on one or more psychological research projects. This may include laboratory research, data analysis, field experience, and library research. This hands-on experience enhances students' understanding of issues in research design and analysis and prepares them for more advanced research opportunities should they choose to pursue them. Student researchers are expected to spend a minimum of 10 hours per week on their project. Enrollment by permission only. Repeated for credit (1-6).

This is an intensive, on-site experiential learning opportunity, involving approximately 100 hours of direct, on-site service and requiring additional paperwork, feedback, and measurements of outcomes. Usually this practicum is taken during a student's senior year. For this practicum, you are typically placed in a hospital or clinic-based setting where your work is supervised and evaluated by both a licensed site supervisor and a college faculty member.

This course is an overview of some basic approaches to the integration of psychological science and practice with Biblical the theological perspectives. Students will be exposed to a variety of beliefs regarding the relationships between science and Christianity, and they will engage in thoughtful discussion on difficult integrative topics while developing their own perspectives and convictions regarding integration. (3)

This course is a study of the societal patterns of marriage and family life. Biblically and sociologically, you will address issues of courtship, choice of a mate, engagement, the marital adjustment, parenting, divorce, and the development of problem-solving skills. You will use personal application and training from the course to develop the skills to communicate more effectively to others about marriage/family issues.