These limitations apply to the minimum 120 hours required for graduation from a baccalaureate program.
Baccalaureate Degree
Preparatory Courses
Preparatory courses are required only for certain students as noted.
Students whose high school GPA is below 2.50, whose Composite ACT score is less than 19, or who are required to do so after examination of academic records by the Admissions Committee must take the following:
| HUM-1013G | Discipleship of the Christian Mind with Laboratory | 3 |
| CSS-1012 | Advanced College Success Strategies | 2 |
Acceptance into and successful completion of the summer bridge program, the Nease Institute, also meets the HUM-1013G requirement for conditionally admitted students.
Mathematics Preparatory Courses
Students whose academic program includes courses with Algebra prerequisites can fulfill those requirements through approved placement or exam scores, or by taking the MVNU courses shown below. Credits from these courses do not count toward graduation credit minimums.
Students with an ACT mathematics subscore of less than 17, an SAT mathematics subscore of less than 480, or an ALEKS PPL score of less than 30 must take the following:
Students with an ACT mathematics subscore of 17 or 18, an SAT mathematics subscore of 480-520, or an ALEKS PPL score of 30-45 must take the following:
General Education Core
Note: All courses taken for general education purposes must have the G suffix designation.
Common Core (17-22)
Gateway (2-3)
Take one of the following:
| HUM-1012G | Discipleship of the Christian Mind | 2 |
| HUM-1013G | Discipleship of the Christian Mind with Laboratory | 3 |
Foundations (9-12)
Take one of the following:
| BIB-1023G | The Narrative of Scripture | 3 |
| - | OR | |
| BIB-1003G | Old Testament History & Literature | 3 |
| - | AND | |
| BIB-1013G | New Testament History & Literature | 3 |
BIB-1003 and BIB-1013: Both courses are required for School of Christian Ministry majors. All students outside of the School of Christian Ministry have the option to take both BIB-1003 and BIB-1013 in place of BIB-1023, but are not required to do so.
Take all of the following:
| HIS-1013G | The Western Tradition in World Context | 3 |
| THE-3003G | Christian Beliefs and Convictions | 3 |
Vocation and Service (4)
Take all of the following:
| COR-2003G | Exploring Vocation I: Living a Called Life | 3 |
| COR-3001G | Exploring Vocation II: Called to Serve | 1 |
Capstone (3)
Competencies (10-15)
Writing Requirement (3-4)
Take one of the following:
Communication Arts (3-4)
Take one of the following:
HON-1013G: Honors students only
NUR-2035G: Nursing majors only
Quantitative Reasoning (3-4)
Take one of the following:
Health and Wellness (1-3)
Take one of the following:
The following courses are for intercollegiate team members only: PED-2011, PED-2021, PED-2031, PED-2041, PED-2051, PED-2061, PED-2081, PED-2091, PED-2101, PED-2111, PED-2121, PED-2131, PED-2141.
Students who can document the completion of military basic training may contact the registrar to receive credit for this category.
Explorations (11-17)
Crossing Cultures^ (0-4)
Complete the requirements for one of the following avenues.
Avenue 1 - Travel to a cross-cultural site and complete reflection.
Option 1A (0-4)
Participation in any travel course approved to meet this requirement by the General Education Committee. Courses approved by the General Education Committee will need to provide pre-trip cross-cultural orientation, end-of-course reflection, and an implementation plan consistent with cross-cultural and cultural intelligence principles.
Take one of the following:
Option 1B (0-1)
Completion of ITD-1009G Crossing Cultures Training and Experience as a corequisite with any one-to-three week spring break or summer crossing cultures trip sponsored by Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
| ITD-1009G | Crossing Cultures Training & Experience | 0-1 |
Avenue 2 - Study of a non-western civilization in an approved course (3)
Take one of the following:
EDU-3063G: Education majors only
IBS-3003G: Business majors only
SWK-2003G: Social Work majors only
^Students meeting any of the following criteria may apply to the General Education Committee for exemption from the Crossing Cultures requirement:
- Students who have lived for one year in a country other than their home culture after the age of seven;
- Student who have two years of active duty military service overseas; or
- International Students
Natural Science (4)
Take one of the following:
| BIO-1014G | Principles of Biology with Laboratory | 4 |
| BIO-1054G | General Zoology with Laboratory | 4 |
| BIO-1074G | General Botany with Laboratory | 4 |
| BIO-1094G | Environmental Conservation and Sustainability | 4 |
| CHE-1034G | General Chemistry I with Laboratory | 4 |
| CHE-1064G | Principles of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry with Laboratory | 4 |
| ESS-1034G | Earth Science with Laboratory | 4 |
| ESS-1044G | Astronomy with Laboratory | 4 |
| ESS-1054G | Meteorology With Laboratory | 4 |
| PHY-2014G | General Physics I with Laboratory | 4 |
| PHY-2055G | University Physics I with Laboratory | 5 |
Social Science (3)
Take one of the following:
EDU-2023: Education majors only
MAN-3083: Business majors only
The Arts (1-3)
Take one of the following:
ART-2013: This course may be used to fulfill either the Explorations in the Arts or the Exploration in Crossing Cultures, but not both categories.
Literature (3)
Take one of the following:
HON-1003: Honors Students Only