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Asian Studies Major, Minor

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asian-studies-major
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Asian Studies
Undergraduate
Degree Options
Delivery Mode
Catalog code / API
ASNST.MAJ
ASNST.MIN
Identifier
33dc1ec0-7f25-4103-95dc-b2a61d32f5a0
Distinctives
  • Committed teachers: Your professors weave their Christian faith through every course, event, and activity. They'll work with you to chart out your academic and career goals, and make a plan to achieve them.
  • Study abroad: Off-campus study is an integral part of the Asian studies program. You'll have opportunities to spend an intensive or entire semester in Asia.
  • Complements other degrees: The Asian studies program is designed to fit nicely alongside other majors and minors.
Introduction

Study Asian Language and Culture Through a Christian Lens

Join one of the only Christian universities in the U.S. that offers a comprehensive Asian Studies Program. 

You'll gain a fuller perspective of Asian culture through progressive language instruction in Chinese and Korean. You'll delve deep into the histories, religious traditions, philosophies, economics, politics, and fine arts of Asia. And you'll have the chance to pursue those studies abroad, through one of many off-campus programs.

Fields like international development, business, education, and missions need people who can engage confidently with the diverse peoples and cultures of Asia. With a major or minor in Asian studies, you'll bring depth and opportunity to any career.

Geology Major (BA, BS), Minor

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geology-hikers
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Geology Major (BA)
Undergraduate
Degree Options
Delivery Mode
Catalog code / API
GEOL.MAJ
GEOL.BS.MAJ
GEOL.MIN
Identifier
e9413b4e-9643-4176-a97d-45c7d75e60d6
Introduction

Through Calvin's geology major (BA/BS), you will learn about the formation, history and structure of the Earth, and apply that knowledge to practical problems as committed Christians.

Why Study Geology?

  • Strong demand for new geologists: The current workforce is aging and starting to retire, causing a growing demand in this field. Because of this salaries are generally high, and future job security may also be high.
  • Active, fulfilling lifestyle: Geology gives the opportunity to do much more than sit behind a desk. Many positions include outdoor fieldwork and sampling.
  • Get to know the world: Geology will help you develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the world around you.
  • Provide for society: Our world depends on many natural resources, the locating and extraction of which geologists often play a key role. Progress in these areas is an important duty of the geologist. Geologists also work to protect people from natural disasters and hazards, including the global climate crisis.

Environmental Science and Studies Majors, Minor

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Environmental_Science
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Environmental Science: Naturalist Track
Undergraduate
Degree Options
Delivery Mode
Catalog code / API
ENSC.NRLST.MAJ
ENSC.NLRES.MAJ
ENST.ECON.MAJ
ENST.GEOG.MAJ
ENST.MIN
Identifier
3d5740d1-d43b-4cb6-9189-d75344c06879
Distinctives
  • Professional-grade facilities: You'll have access to a huge collection of minerals, rocks, and fossils, as well as a vast collection of maps, a dedicated geo-spatial analysis lab, drones, an on-campus research sand dune, a seismograph, a weather station, and more.
  • Real-world research opportunities: As a GEO student, you'll have the chance to do research with your professors during the academic year and summer. Calvin GEO students have done research into Lake Michigan coastal dunes, a Pleistocene mastadon, the Plaster Creek watershed, and more.
  • Practical job experience: The GEO department hires more students than any other department. Students are hired yearly for a wide variety of positions, from managing a map library to maintaining the university weather station.
  • Study off-campus: Calvin GEO students study off-campus in places as diverse as Montana, Hawaii, Kenya, Scotland, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, and Yosemite National Park.
Introduction

Gain a deep understanding of environmental issues. Apply your knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems in fields like environmental consulting, conservation science, and land management.

Choose from two tracks that will prepare you for your unique career goals. Interested in an environmental career, tackling issues like soil erosion and water pollution? Consider the Natural Resources track. Drawn to a career as a park ranger or field technician? The Naturalist track will prepare you to thrive as an environmental interpreter.

And your studies won't take place only in the classroom. As an environmental science student, you'll be part of a program where you’ll get outside and put your learning to work. You might work to restore local waterways, study the ecology of the Great Lakes dunes firsthand, or take an intensive course on field techniques in land management.

Geography Major, Minor

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Woman controlling a drone
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Geography
Undergraduate
Degree Options
Delivery Mode
Catalog code / API
GEOG.MAJ
GEOG.MIN
Identifier
575c4dbd-3ce3-457b-bebb-47970ad57df4
Distinctives
  • Professional-grade facilities: You'll have access to a huge collection of minerals, rocks, and fossils, as well as a vast collection of maps, a dedicated geo-spatial analysis lab, drones, an on-campus research sand dune, a seismograph, a weather station, and more.
  • Real-world research opportunities: As a GEO student, you'll have the chance to do research with your professors during the academic year and summer. Calvin GEO students have done research into Lake Michigan coastal dunes, a Pleistocene mastadon, the Plaster Creek watershed, and more.
  • Practical job experience: The GEO department hires more students than any other department. Students are hired yearly for a wide variety of positions, from managing a map library to maintaining the university weather station.
  • Study off-campus: Calvin GEO students study off-campus in places as diverse as Montana, Hawaii, Kenya, Scotland, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, and Yosemite National Park.
Introduction

At Calvin, the earth is your classroom. Explore the earth and its people with hands-on learning and field trips. You’ll also have opportunities to travel abroad, research with faculty, and apply for internships. As a geography major, you'll investigate physical and cultural landscapes and understand their interactions in the context of a Christian world view.

You'll learn from faculty who are committed Christians and experts in their fields. They'll work alongside you to support your academic and career goals.

Kinesiology Minor

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Kinesiology
Undergraduate
Degree Options
Delivery Mode
Catalog code / API
KIN.MIN
Identifier
abac9de7-2774-4b5f-a702-3cf646b6bfb2
Distinctives

Faithful learning: You’ll see all aspects of human movement, health, and leisure through a Christian lens. We promote human health and activity not for its own sake but as a way of living intentionally in God’s world.

Career focus: Through small classes taught by expert faculty, you’ll prepare for an active and exciting career in fields like exercise science, sport management, and physical therapy. Your professors will work with you individually to help you reach your career goals.

Real experience: Your learning will take you outside the lecture hall. You’ll get hands-on experience working with clients, doing research with professors, and during internships and off-campus study opportunities.

Introduction

Add the serious study of human motion to any major, and make your education about the whole person. A kinesiology minor gives you practical knowledge and experience that will expand your options in many careers.

Biology Major (BS), Minor

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Calvin biology students at work in the laboratory
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Biology
Undergraduate
Degree Options
Delivery Mode
Catalog code / API
BIOL.BS.MAJ
BIOL.MIN
Area of study
Faculty
Identifier
b4de6145-d39e-4c28-99b0-a9e55e9a6b10
Distinctives
  • Serious about faith: Christianity doesn't limit our view of the natural world, it enhances it. Our program integrates rigorous academics with a Christian purpose. We see biology as a way to improve lives and serve your community.
  • Personal support: Our professors know their fields, and they work to get to know you. They’ll partner with you in research, share a meal, introduce you to opportunities, and help you apply to graduate school.
  • A large medical community: Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile offers extensive internship opportunities and clinical experiences. Calvin’s reputation and your professor’s connections will open the door for you.
Introduction

Let’s say you want to be a doctor—or maybe a scientific researcher. What kinds of experiences do you want to have as an undergrad? How do you imagine those important four years unfolding?

Here’s what your bachelor of science degree will look like at Calvin: standing at a lab table beside experienced PhDs, researching topics like HIV, multiple sclerosis, and rare diseases. Asking those PhDs—your Christian professors and mentors—for guidance on your career path and help navigating the scientific community as a believer.

And that’s just the beginning. Calvin’s connections with the local and global scientific community will open plenty of opportunities for you. Our reputable pre-med program and student supports will help you determine—and then achieve—your career goals. Our grads excel as graduate students, physicians, and epidemiologists, and so will you.

Biology Major (BS)—Neuroscience Concentration

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Students studying a model brain
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Neuroscience (Biology)
Undergraduate
Degree Options
Delivery Mode
Catalog code / API
BIOL.NEURO.MAJ
Area of study
Faculty
Identifier
62103ab2-2480-4c97-9a7e-4085d67dccf5
Distinctives
  • An interdisciplinary program: Neuroscience at Calvin is intentionally interdisciplinary. Focus on biology, but also increase your expertise—and marketability—in other areas.
  • Personal support: Our professors know their fields and get to know you personally. They’ll partner with you in research, talk shop over a meal, point you to career-building opportunities, and help you apply to graduate school.
  • A perfectly-sized program: We’re small enough to be a tight-knit community and big enough to receive funding for advanced, specialized equipment. That means you’ll do your research with tools and technology that are usually only available at the graduate level.
Introduction

Stumble into the Calvin Science Building, and you’ll discover two kinds of brains—those actively at work and those under a microscope.

At Calvin, we’re hands-on. Examine the brain inside and out to understand the human experience. Join research projects that explore emotion, humor, neurotransmitters, and much more. Pursue your career options by interning on Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile.

Calvin's neuroscience program is about investigating the brain from all angles. You’ll focus on the biological mechanics of the human mind. But you can also take courses in psychology, philosophy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science to expand your expertise. You’ll pursue the answer to the question, How does our understanding of the physical brain give us insight into God’s creativity and purpose for us?

Human Resource Management Major (BA)

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Calvin's human resources concentration
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Human Resource Management
Undergraduate
Degree Options
Delivery Mode
Catalog code / API
HRM.MAJ
Area of study
Identifier
fb85ee50-c2e8-431f-8543-fae739dde968
Distinctives
  • Dynamic field: Human resource management isn’t the same as it was ten years ago—and our program has more than kept pace. Get the latest skills you’ll need to become an HR professional in today’s market.
  • Practical experience: Internships and consulting experience are built into the human resource management program. Before you graduate, you’ll start building your résumé with real, career-relevant work at one of Grand Rapids’ many businesses.
  • Study abroad: As a human resource management major, you can study abroad and still graduate in four years. Calvin business students can spend an interim or full semester studying business in places like Hungary, India, China, and Germany.
  • Stretch yourself: In student organizations like HR Club, you can network with fellow students and business professionals while you put what you’re learning into practice in real-world situations.
  • Connected faculty: Calvin’s business faculty bring a wealth of business experience to their teaching. You’ll form personal relationships with professors who know the field well and who want you to succeed in it.
Introduction

It’s no secret: we are passionate about business and people. As Christians, we’re dedicated to excellence in human resource management—and to the biblical concepts of truth and grace.

We’re also passionate about your future. That means we give you hands-on projects with real-world clients. And we can set you up with internships and jobs using our vast network of connections.

When you graduate from Calvin University, you’ll be confident in your purpose and your skills.

Electrical & Computer Engineering (BSE)

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electrical_engineering
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Electrical & Computer Engineering Concentration
Undergraduate
Degree Options
Delivery Mode
Catalog code / API
ENGRE.MAJ
Area of study
Identifier
b97d4782-5743-4826-b8d3-666164ccf6df
Distinctives
  • A unique opportunity: It’s rare to find an accredited engineering program at a Christian university. At Calvin, you’ll have all of that and still graduate in four years.
  • Gain marketable experience: Internships are core to our engineering program. Calvin engineering staff and faculty will help you find real-world experiences that are relevant to your career goals.
  • Graduate career-ready: Calvin engineers get jobs. 98% of engineering graduates have a job offer within six months of graduation, and 81% have one before they even graduate.
Introduction

Behind the complex robots that build our vehicles and the tiny chips inside our smartphones are the best and brightest electrical engineers. They’re building the code and the machines that power so many aspects of our modern lives.

You can become that kind of visionary with a degree from Calvin University.

Here, you’ll learn in cutting-edge facilities equipped with everything you need to research, test, build, and refine your ideas. You’ll do all that alongside experienced Christian faculty who know your name and who want to see you succeed. Plus, you’ll get internship and study-abroad experience while still graduating in four years.

When you leave Calvin, you’ll have what you need to not just get a job, but to become a leader in your field. You’ll have the skills and experience employers are looking for and a Christian drive to serve people around you.