Academics

We have five areas of concentration. We have counseling, psychology, sociology, criminal justice, and sports psychology. And you can major in any one of those.

You can actually double major in our area for about the same as, well, a little bit more than a minor. So looking at the development as a freshman, they're going to be taking basically the intro courses. Sophomore, junior-- they're getting more theory. As they move into their senior year, now you're getting into application, applied learning. They're taking the things they're learning in the classroom, actually applying and practicing those things.

When I talk about the School of Behavioral Science, all I can tell you is that if you were here with our students, you would get the sense, very quickly, how much we care about each other and how close all of us are.

What makes us unique is we have a strong theological foundation. So I know a lot of schools would say, well, we believe in biblical integration as well. With us, you can tell there is a foundational element that's very unique. And I think that that's what a lot of prospective students are looking for is I want something where I have that foundation, and then I can build what I would get at any secular university on top of that.

I really didn't know what I was getting into when I came into the program. I didn't know exactly what the field was like and what it would entail. Having the professors, they've really shown a lot of what the real world counseling is like because they have so much experience.

We have professors who have actually been in the field before they came. And it's not just kind of what they learned at school and then came here and taught. It's what they've been doing and they'll continue to do while they're here at Grace.

At behavioral science, you get a lot of in-class activities. And it's very people-oriented. And so group projects come up a lot.

We get to have class, and the classes are really engaging. We always get to talk about a lot of issues and all voice our opinions about it. And we go back to what the word says about these issues.

We go on field trips every week to different places, counseling centers. And they give us applied learning and give us opportunity for internships and future jobs.

These experiences are invaluable to them. They get to be able to watch how many of these services are provided. My preference for being at Grace was in large part due to the fact that I knew I was going to have an opportunity to have a relationship with students. This is an important time frame in their life where they're making decisions about who they want to be.

It's really great here at Grace. We can not just disregard what some secularists think but apply the truth that they have found through a biblical perspective. And it's really fantastic.

We want to see the development of the student so that they, again, have that strong biblical base, and they're able to do the things in the field they need to do to really serve people and to help people. I think that's been our mission all along, and it will continue to be so. And if we grow, wonderful. And if not, we'll continue doing what we're doing.