Biola’s Core Bible course requirements (30 credits of Bible/Theology) qualify most Biola undergraduate students for a Biblical & Theological Studies Minor.

There is a residency requirement and an upper-division requirement for the Bible minor. Of the 30 credits of Bible required, 12 credits must be upper level course work (300/400 level), and at least 15 credits must be completed in residency (including at least 6 of the required 12 upper-division credits).

Students who complete all of their Bible courses at Biola are eligible to apply for the minor. Students who transfer in some Bible credit will need to verify that they meet the residency and upper-division requirements. If the requirements are met, students can declare the Biblical & Theological Studies Minor on their graduation petition and it will appear on their transcript.

Students that have a working knowledge of the New Testament and/or Old Testament course content as a result of attending a Christian high school, for example, but were not able to transfer that work to Biola, may test out of these courses. Informal, personal study normally will not prepare one adequately to pass these exams.

These exams may be taken only during the student's first year at Biola. Also, a student who has taken the Old Testament or New Testament class (or even a portion of it) is not eligible to take the challenge exams.

Exams are given in two parts, written and oral. Successful performance must be attained on the written and oral portions in order for the student to receive credit for the challenge exam. Students receiving a passing grade will receive 3 units of credit. No retakes are permitted.

This challenge exam is designed for those who have a firm grasp of elementary Greek grammar (also known as first-year Greek) as a result of prior learning (e.g. taking a rigorous New Testament Greek sequence of courses in high school or in an online program such as those by Zondervan, BibleMesh and others), but were not able to transfer that work to Biola. Informal, personal study normally will not adequately prepare one to pass this exam. There is one exam that covers all of first-year Greek (i.e., BLGR 101 (3 credits) and BLGR 102 (3 credits)). Challenge exams have fees; see the Financial Information section in the Academic Catalog for details.

Successful performance must be attained in order for the student to receive credit for the challenge exam. It is possible for a student to perform well enough to get credit for both BLGR 101 and BLGR 102 (6 credits), but some students will get credit for only BLGR 101 (3 credits) and be required to take BLGR 102 (3 credits). Grades for the challenge exam are recorded on a credit or no credit basis only. Because successful completion of first-year Greek is a prerequisite for second-year Greek, the challenge exam must be taken in the summer before the student wishes to enter the second-year Greek sequence beginning in the fall term. No re-takes are permitted. Contact the department for more information or to request permission to take the challenge exam.

You will be assigned a Christian ministries advisor according to your status -- freshman, sophomore, junior, senior -- in the CM Program. Make your appointments through the Biblical and Theological Studies department. Your advisor will work with you to make sure that you meet all the requirements necessary for graduation. Your advisor will update your curriculum chart, but please keep your own copy updated as well.

It is essential that you see your advisor for pre-registration each semester for class choices and to update your progress toward your degree.

The taking of appropriate courses and the proper sequencing of those courses can help make or break an academic program. Plan to take lower level courses first (such as CEED 150 and the four 200 level courses) since they are prerequisites for 300 and 400 level classes.

As you get closer to your senior year and graduation, keep these things in mind:

1. With your advisor, project when you would like to graduate. Make sure that the required and elective classes will be offered when you need them. Some classes are only offered in the fall — usually ending in an odd number (e.g., CEED 415). Some are offered in the spring semester — usually ending in an even number (e.g., CEED 242). Some are offered every semester—usually ending in a “0” (e.g., CEED 330). There are exceptions to this rule, however, so keep an eye on the schedule and check in with the department if you have questions.
2. You should plan to complete all your final requirements at Biola during your final semester. If you need to transfer a course in during your final semester, there is a strict deadline for this so check with your graduation counselor in advance.
3. Students are required to submit a Graduation Petition approximately one year before graduating or when the student has reached 88 credits. Submitting a petition during the graduating semester can incur a $200 fee. Graduation petitions help ensure that the appropriate courses are taken during the final year so graduation may take place on schedule. You should complete the graduation petition with your advisor and then obtain the department chair’s signature before submitting it to the Registrar’s Office.
4. You must have a minimum of 120 credits to graduate and meet all the requirements specified in the catalog.

Having a great internship experience in your undergraduate program is vital to your preparation for full-time vocational ministry. The theories and principles that you study in your Christian Ministries course work will be incomplete without a place to try them out in a work setting. During your senior year, you will begin an internship comprised of one semesters of service at a church or parachurch site, participating for a minimum of 25+ hours a week in its various programming meetings.

The Christian ministries department major is built upon solid biblical teaching, robust hermeneutical skills, and exceptional ministry skill development. The “tent pole” program that differentiates the Christian ministries major with other similar programs is the newly-revised “Immersive Internship” strategy that seeks to become the “gold standard” of incarnational Christian ministry training by building ministry competency through mentored apprenticeships. The cornerstone of this program is a one semester (9 units) 25-hour/week internship in a “Ministry Training Center ” in the Southern California area.

The most critical single element in this program is an experienced site supervisor who will mentor you throughout the three semesters. You and your supervisor must be committed to the process for you to benefit. Supervisors will attend a department workshop and agree to support the student with regular meetings and in a variety of other ways. Some students already have achieved a placement when they enter the program, and we assist others to find an appropriate match. The best internships are those that are similar to the setting in which the student wants to work after graduation. Inquire in the Christian ministry office for more information.

There are two tracks for the immersive internship program:

GOLD Internship Program

The BIOLA GOLD Internship program combines this immersive internship with courses in specific age-related ministry essentials and cohort support to prepare the Biola student for the off-site immersive internship. The uniqueness of the GOLD Internship is the two-year track approach to ministry preparation. This is accomplished as students engage during their junior year in ministry courses in age specific spiritual formation, teaching ministries and community based ministry programming. Students in the GOLD program are placed in the highest quality ministry training centers, screened and vetted by Biola University, where outstanding ministry practitioners supervise them. The Christian ministries department will assign interns to these sites after interviews with both the student and site supervisor to insure the best philosophical fit and long-term success of the student. Additionally, GOLD students continue the internship a second semester at 10 hours per week to gain a holistic understanding of the ministry throughout an entire school year.

Some of the benefits of participating in an intensive internship are:

• Certificate of Gold-Standard Ministry Training
• Intentional mentoring by CM faculty and gold standard site supervisor
• Receive encouragement and support in the CM cohort fraternity
• Possess a Ministry Portfolio of Best Practices DVD, which will include: speaking, philosophy of ministry formal presentation, curriculum and programming -- retreat, event and calendar -- templates.
• Enhanced professional skills -- interpersonal, interview, resume, financial, teaching, programming, etc.
• Well-rounded experience in a specialized field of ministry
• Network contacts for future ministry opportunities/career
• Better prepared for graduate school studies
• Credentials on file in CM Office
• Guaranteed letter of recommendation for applying to ministry positions and academic programs
• Research shows that similar training from other leading university ministry programs results in substantially higher income levels

Standard Internship Program

Christian ministry students not wishing to participate in the GOLD Internship Program must still complete a one semester immersive internship of 25 hours/week. However, students will not be required to continue the internship for a second semester. Since ministry sites will not be guaranteed, the student will be responsible to find his or her own ministry site. The standard ministry internship offers the following benefits:

• Students will gain a realistic understanding of ministry demands and expectations
• Students will possess a Ministry Portfolio of Best Practices DVD, which will include: speaking, philosophy of ministry formal presentation, curriculum and programming -- retreat, event and calendar -- templates