Ready to inspire the next generation of artists? Calvin University's PreK-12 Art Education Major prepares you to teach your passion to students of all ages by offering a rigorous curriculum and extensive, scaffolded field experiences that begin in your freshman year. You’ll learn from experienced faculty who will not only equip you with effective teaching and leadership skills but also challenge you to incorporate faith into your practice—championing every student as an image-bearer of God. Graduate ready to enter the classroom with the confidence to make a lasting, transformative difference in young lives across both public and private school settings.

This program is part of the School of Education's Pre-K to 12th grade education program. For full details on this program, including a course list and other information, visit the main program page.

Education (Pre-K to 12th Grade) Major

Science education combines research in cognition, the natural sciences, and social science with the goal of enhancing teaching and learning. Whether you want to be a teacher or simply improve your communication skills in STEM, science education is the starting point. Join us, as we integrate our Christian faith and science to advance a servant-minded approach to education.

Visit the secondary education page for a complete overview of secondary education program options at Calvin.

Secondary Education at Calvin

Science education combines research in cognition, the natural sciences, and social science with the goal of enhancing teaching and learning. Whether you want to be a teacher or simply improve your communication skills in STEM, science education is the starting point. Join us, as we integrate our Christian faith and science to advance a servant-minded approach to education.

Visit the secondary education page for a complete overview of secondary education program options at Calvin.

Secondary Education at Calvin

Learning in real life. At Calvin, that's how we approach every aspect of a secondary education major.

You will start with a strong foundation in educational theory. Then, in no time, you can enter classrooms of all kinds—large, small, urban, rural, private, public. This real-world experience will prepare you to be a confident, creative educator who engages your students wholeheartedly.

The secondary education program offers two grade-band options: 5th–9th grade and 7th–12th grade.  You can earn either band independently to specialize in middle or high school, or combine them to cover the full range of secondary years.

Students pursuing a secondary education major may choose to specialize in English, Math, Science, or Social Studies. Subject areas can also be combined, giving you flexibility to teach the content areas and age groups that best match your interests.

At Calvin, you will learn from a team of professors with vast expertise and experience in the field of teaching. With their help, you will learn to think creatively, communicate effectively and solve problems independently.

Calvin partners with local schools to provide you numerous field experiences, allowing you to put theories into practice and feel confident as you embark on your journey of inspiring young minds. As a Calvin graduate, you will be equipped with the tools and knowledge to transform lives in and out of the classroom.

If you’re going to shape the world with your art, you need a university where you'll hone your creative voice and master your craft.

That university is Calvin.

Calvin's BFA program will stretch you in ways you never expected, and prepare you for careers you never imagined. In a supportive, tight-knit community, you'll build a portfolio that highlights your work. You'll forge relationships with experienced Christian faculty who want you to succeed. You'll take advanced art courses and get personal guidance from your professors.

You'll cap all this with an exhibition that showcases your best work. You'll step into the world with a career-making portfolio and confidence in your creative skills.

What You'll Learn

Explore Your Leadership in the Church

The Ministry Leadership cohort is a learning and discerning community, helping first- and second-year students to understand their leadership in the Church. Walk alongside peers asking the same questions, guided by student mentors through small groups and by faculty through classes.

Program Values

• Build community: as unique members of the one body of Jesus Christ. 
• Practice leadership: using the particular gifts and in the particular ways God has given to you. 
• Love the Church: as it is in Grand Rapids, this nation, and spread throughout the world. 

As a member of the Ministry Leadership Cohort you will:

• Form strong connections with your peers by taking classes together, engaging in weekly small groups, visiting churches, and going on pilgrimage.
• Learn with and from professors and students whose worship, experience, and witness of God will challenge and develop your own.
• Travel to a major American city and learn what God is doing in the radically diverse churches of a specific urban area, stretching your understanding of the work of Christ through the Church.
• Discern how God is and will continue to use you in his Church through engagement with peers, professors teaching classes on worship and the Church, and leaders in ministry.

Who Qualifies?

• Students who will start at Calvin in Fall of 2026
• Students from any major who are passionate about ministry and the life of the Church.
• Anyone eager to serve in faith-based leadership roles.

If you are interested in starting at Calvin after 2026, please send us your information (see form below) and we'll let you know once your Cohorts application is open. Email cohorts@calvin.edu with questions.

Important Dates

Application opens on August 1. The deadline to apply is January 15. Find all dates and deadlines below!

Learn more about Cohorts at Calvin