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Programs

The best advice when choosing a major is: “Follow your calling.” By selecting a major that draws you in, you will be more likely to work hard and learn all that you can: that is the best education you could get anywhere. We hope that you will choose to get that education in the Department of Religious Studies at Westmont College.

At Westmont every RS major takes a core of five courses in the department, beyond the introductory courses that all Westmont students are required to take. This core of upper-division courses include RS-142: World Religions, and one course each from among several for Old Testament, New Testament, Theological History, and Systematic Theology. Majors then choose three elective courses as part of their core, one of which may be from another department.

In addition, majors choose an emphasis that comprises five courses. These emphases include:

• Biblical Studies (where you experience the excitement of reading the Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek).
• Theological and Historical Studies (where you learn what followers of Jesus Christ have believed and how they have lived throughout history and today).
• Christian Mission (where you specifically prepare to witness the gospel in a global context).
• Christian Mission w/ Urban Concentration
• World Religions (where you study other religions in the context of our increasingly global culture).

The major is flexible enough to allow study in an off-campus program, such as Jerusalem University College, Oxford University, Daystar University (Kenya) and Westmont’s Urban Program in San Francisco. Some RS majors also add a second major such as philosophy, history, English, biology, chemistry, sociology or mathematics.

Come join us as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Westmont’s on-line catalog has more detailed information on the specific course requirements for the different areas of emphasis within the Religious Studies major. The RS Major Checklist (for students who enrolled during or after Fall 2005) summarizes these requirements.