Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Undergraduate Academic Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Undergraduate Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Off-Campus Study Programs (Semester Abroad)


Northwest University is affiliated with several organizations through which students can spend an extended time – usually a full semester – immersed in concentrated study away from campus. As a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), students are able to participate in the GlobalEd student programs. In addition, Northwest has established relationships with other organizations that afford life-changing learning experiences for our students.

Off-Campus Study Program Options

The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) The CCCU is an association of over 110 members in North America and over 70 affiliated institutions in 24 countries which offers many programs to students of its member institutions. The programs offer a unique opportunity for students to make the world their classroom, going beyond the confines of the traditional classroom. These off-campus, interdisciplinary learning opportunities are available to upper-class students. For further information, contact the Provost’s Office or the CCCU GlobalEd website: www.cccuglobaled.org.

Non-CCCU Study Programs Many students also participate in programs offered by organizations not affiliated with the CCCU. Several of them are listed below. Periodically students request to travel through other study abroad programs and desire to have the learning applied to their academic programs. Because the University must verify the level of quality for all student learning experiences, the approval of a new program requires many months and students must inform their academic department and the Provost well in advance of their intended travel semester if they desire the program to be covered by registration at Northwest.

Students who are interested in a study abroad experience for one semester should review information on the International Education Eagle website. Questions can be directed to the International Education office or Associate Provost.

American Studies Program (CCCU)

The American Studies Program (ASP) in Washington, D.C., is where big ideas and leading institutions meet. A semester with ASP will equip you with the tools and experiences you need to translate your campus education into a Christ-centered career in professional leadership and service. Through intensive internships, fieldwork, and coursework, nurture the leader within during your experience at ASP.

Your academic journey on the American Studies Program begins by looking at how we use our similarities and differences to engage our communities and become leaders. You’ll continue this conversation as you interact with expert scholars and policymakers and embark on internships, professional mentorship, and service opportunities as part of either the public policy or strategic communication track. Additional information may be found at CCCU GlobalEDASP students earn 12-15 semester hours of credit.

Belize: Creation Care Study Program

Located along the Caribbean coast of Central America, Belize is home to a host of Caribbean and Central American cultures and ethnic groups. It is also home to inspiring ecological diversity, including neotropical rainforests, with their assortment of monkeys, jaguars, and toucan, as well the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. Within this context, students are able to examine sustainable development and tropical ecology through a Christian lens of creation care and stewardship by utilizing field studies in Belizean villages, tropical rainforests, mountain streams, and Caribbean atolls. Students also have the opportunity to take part in interest-specific internship and practicum experiences with Belizean organizations seeking regeneration and renewal of the land and communities. Throughout the semester, the schedule also allows for independent exploration of Belize (and neighboring countries), during breaks and free weekends.

Contemporary Music Center (CCCU)

Get real-world music industry experience at The Contemporary Music Center in Nashville, Tennessee. CMC is a semester long, 16-credit hour program that prepares colleges students for careers in the entertainment industry, challenging them to live out their faith as Christ-followers. Thirty students live, work, and create music together in a facility with 24/7 access to world-class gear. Faculty are music industry pros who keep the program relevant and practical.  The “Final Exam” is a week-long Road Tour at the end of the semester. 

The CMC offers three tracks: Artist, Business, and Technical. The Artist Track is tailored to students considering careers as vocalists, musicians, songwriters, recording artists, performers and producers. The Business Track is designed for business, arts management, marketing, communications and related majors interested in possible careers as artist managers, agents, record company executives, music publishers, concert promoters and entertainment industry entrepreneurs. The Technical Track prepares students for careers in live sound, concert lighting and studio recording. Students within each of the tracks receive instruction, experience and a uniquely Christ-centered perspective on creativity and the marketplace, while working together to mount and execute a week-long tour at the end of the semester. Each track includes coursework, labs, directed study and a practicum. Additional information may be found at CCCU GlobalED. CMC students earn 16 semester hours of credit.

Korea: Partner Universities

Northwest University has partnered with several universities in Korea to provide a semester-long study abroad options. Current agreements are in place with Handong Global University (Pohang, Korea), Hansei University (Seoul), Gachon University (Seoul), Ewha Woman’s University (Seoul), and Soongsil University (Seoul).

Middle East Studies Program (CCCU)

Located in Amman, Jordan, the Middle East Studies Program (MESP) immerses students in the daily life, language, food, culture, religion, and politics of one of the oldest cities in the world. With extensive travel throughout the Middle East, you will learn firsthand from locals how to work, play, and serve in the region as you become their neighbor — and soon, their family — while learning adventurously at MESP. You will live, work, eat, play, and travel among Jordanians, becoming a member of their neighborhoods. By the end of the semester, your life will have become entangled with theirs—their cultures, languages, passions, and joys. We are committed to this Christ-centered approach, aiming to serve, process, and evaluate your immersion as you grow in your understanding of what it means to be an incarnational follower of Jesus.

Additional information may be found at CCCU GlobalEDMESP students earn 16-18 semester hours of credit.

New Zealand: Creation Care Study Program

From New Zealand’s snowcapped mountains to its topaz coastline, students explore a wonderland of unique ecosystems. Home to about twelve percent (12%) of all the earth’s endangered species and a world leading innovator in conservation and environmental management, New Zealand is an ideal place for studying care of creation. A rigorous academic semester comprised of ecology, theology, environmental literature, and sustainable community development is enhanced by a community living experience from the first day students move into CCSP’s Old Convent campus, to homestays with locals. The schedule also allows for independent travel during a week-long mid-semester break and during free weekends.

Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford (CCCU)

Live and study in the beautiful and renowned city of Oxford. A semester at Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford (SCIO) utilizes expert tutors, offers endless scholarly resources, grants access to the Bodleian library, and more. 

Designed specifically for students seeking an academically rigorous and robust experience, a semester at SCIO seeks to brighten the brightest of minds. Students at SCIO can spend one or two semesters in Oxford. SCIO and Wycliffe Hall require students to have a GPA of 3.7 or higher. In tutorials, students meet one-on-one with acclaimed Oxford scholars (often including widely-published authors, historians, former international ambassadors, and other celebrated scholars) to go head-to-head on subjects within the disciplines of history, literature, languages, philosophy, musicology, art, science, and more. Tutorials, lectures, and seminars are equivalent to upper-division courses, and students are expected to do advanced-level work. 

Students may attend for one or two semesters, building a coherent but individual program of study. The first semester introduces students to advanced, intense, scholarship; to the tutorial, which is the most distinctive element of Oxford’s teaching; and to Oxford’s libraries. By the second semester, students feel at home—and they can thus focus wholeheartedly on their studies or perhaps join a club or society they didn’t feel they had time for in the first semester. 

There are three ways to put together a programme of study at Oxford so that a coherent and individual programme can be followed by each student. Additional information may be found at CCCU GlobalED. SCIO students earn 17 semester hours of credit for a semester and may complete two semesters of the programme.

Students International

Students International offers two study abroad options (Costa Rica and Guatemala) for the fall or spring semester. Each experience includes ministry involvement, cultural engagement, travel, and a full load of coursework. The Guatemala location is open to students with beginning to advanced Spanish language skills while the Costa Rica location is designed for Spanish majors and higher-level Spanish speakers. Additional information is available at https://stint.com/.