At 涩里番 Pacific, we are committed to learning for cultural engagement. We seek to rigorously investigate the critical issues of our time and to offer thoughtful and Christian insight to these issues. We believe these issues can be investigated through a variety of academic disciplines; however, they cannot be fully understood through only one discipline. Therefore we are committed to interdisciplinary learning 鈥� learning that explores these critical issues through several disciplinary lenses in order to come to a clear view of an issue.
We are a learning community, and all that we do is intended to support learning. Therefore our work with student life, residence life, student leadership, university ministries, athletics, lectures, and symposia is all intended to contribute to learning along with the curriculum.
An Integrated Curriculum
As a comprehensive university, we offer learning opportunities in the humanities, arts, sciences, and professions, and all of our programs are grounded in the liberal arts. The liberal arts include particular content areas and also imply a style of education that seeks to develop critical thinking, analytic thinking, and communication skills.
Research indicates that students do not see the connections among general education, majors, and their future. Through a three-part curriculum, we seek to integrate general education with the major in ways that help students make the connections.
We begin with a commitment to a distinctive Christian Common Curriculum. In the first quarter of your freshman year, you are enrolled in University Seminar, an intensive exploration of a special interdisciplinary topic. Your University Seminar professor serves as your first-year academic advisor. The relationship between students and their professors in these classes with 20-25 students are intentional and support our belief that the best learning occurs within a relational context.
In your freshman, sophomore, and junior years at 涩里番 Pacific, you participate in two parallel sequences of required courses. Cumulative and developmental in nature, these classes are designed to support and enhance students鈥� learning in the majors.
The University Core sequence explores key human questions in three classes:
- Arts and Christian Community
- The West and the World
- Belief, Morality, and the Modern Mind
The University Foundations sequence looks at the basics of faith in Christian Formation; Christian Scriptures; and Christian Theology. A senior capstone course in your major adds application and personal calling to the picture.
Learning Outcomes
Our learning outcomes are our educational goals for our students and are directly derived from our University鈥檚 mission statement. Following are the outcomes we seek for our undergraduate students:
Competence
SPU graduates will articulate discipline-specific knowledge and apply essential skills enlivened by the liberal arts. An SPU graduate:
- Demonstrates knowledge of Christian narrative and beliefs.
- Demonstrates knowledge in a disciplinary field.
- Integrates liberal arts and disciplinary knowledge.
- Applies knowledge, inquiry, and critical-thinking skills in problem solving.
- Demonstrates a global perspective.
- Communicates effectively.
Model Grace-filled Community
SPU graduates will cultivate a life of friendship, civility, and community through responsible discourse and respect for one another. An SPU graduate:
- Demonstrates interpersonal skills necessary for effective personal and professional relationships.
- Engages with diverse others.
Character Formation
SPU graduates will embody personal and professional integrity by serving the public good in doing what is right and doing so with an awareness of consequences. An SPU graduate:
- Reflects upon ideas and actions through the lens of Christian faith and ethics.
- Balances interests of self, others, and the community in pursuit of the common good.