MidAmerica Nazarene University

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From the College

MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) is a comprehensive liberal arts university of approximately 1,700 students. MNU provides a nurturing environment where students gain broad-based knowledge and skills that can serve them professionally and personally throughout their lives.

Learning to live one’s faith is an integral part of the MNU experience. Revitalizing one’s spirit, awakening one’s concern for others, and helping build deep and lasting relationships are some of the most important objectives at MNU.

The University offers undergraduate academic majors in forty areas, a degree-completion program in management and human relations, a baccalaureate degree affiliation with European Nazarene College in Germany, and graduate-level programs in education, business administration, and counseling.

Sponsored by the North Central Region of the International Church of the Nazarene, the University is committed to serving the church and its global mission. MNU is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Residence halls at MNU are meant to provide more than a place for sleep and studies–they also provide an environment for personal growth. MNU believes that the learning that takes place outside the classroom is of equal value to that within the classroom. Each residence hall has a lobby or shared lobby where students can meet to study, watch television, or just hang out with friends. Each room is equipped for phone, cable television, and Internet service. Coin-operated laundry facilities are available in each residence hall.

Students enjoy a fun and active life through dozens of campuswide events. Special events include Spirit Week, Homecoming, Nerd Day, Beach Bash, Faculty Follies, Mr. MNU contest, Gotcha Week, Colony West Fest, TWIRP weekend, Mock Rock, and Late Night Skates. With more than a dozen clubs and ministries, twelve varsity sports teams, intramurals, music groups, and more, there is always something to do on campus.

MNU is a member of the NAIA and the NCCAA. Scholarships are available in men’s baseball and football, women’s softball and volleyball, and men’s and women’s basketball, cheerleading, cross-country running, soccer, and track and field. Intramural sports include basketball, bowling, football, golf, soccer, softball, table tennis, tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, and volleyball.

MidAmerica is in Olathe, Kansas, a residential community of approximately 120,000 located 20 minutes from the heart of Kansas City, with all the cultural advantages of a major metropolitan area. Olathe is the second largest among the twenty-one communities in prosperous Johnson County and the fifth-largest city in the state. Olathe offers a lifestyle of exceptional quality. A drive through Olathe’s attractive, gently rolling neighborhoods shows a well-planned, pleasing community. The city’s school system is one of the best in the nation. Outdoor recreation offers a variety of activities, including running, jogging, bicycling, fishing, boating, team sports, and just relaxing. The Olathe area is popular for hot-air ballooning and sailboarding. Olathe has two public lakes–Olathe Lake, with 172 acres of water surface, and Cedar Lake, with 45 acres. The city’s recreation division maintains year-round activities, including music and dance, sports, and health and fitness programs for all ages. Baseball diamonds, tennis courts, and fitness trails are available throughout the city.

Students can earn an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree in general business, liberal arts, or music ministry.

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree is available in accounting, athletic training, the Bible and theology, biology, biology education, business administration, business education, business psychology, chemistry, communication/business, computer science, criminal justice, elementary education, English, English language arts education, graphic design, history, history and government education, international business, marketing, mass communication, mathematics, mathematics education, ministry, missions, music (applied pedagogy, music ministry, and music performance), music ministry, organizational leadership, physical education, psychology, secondary education, sociology, Spanish, Spanish education, speech/theater education, sports management, and youth and family ministry.

MNU also offers the Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.Ed.) degree and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) degree.

The educational experience at MidAmerica Nazarene University is based on certain desired outcomes and consists of several components, including the Freshman Seminar, a program of general education, a comprehensive field of in-depth study, and an optional minor. By these means, the University seeks to achieve its educational mission of developing mature, educated individuals who possess a commitment to service in a Christian lifestyle.

The freshman seminar is a required one-semester, 1-hour course that provides students with an introduction to the traditions of MNU and helps them adjust to the challenges of the higher educational experience. The general education program at MidAmerica Nazarene University exposes students to certain facts, ideas, and values in an attempt to awaken them to their potential and to assist them in developing ways of recognizing and expressing truth through the academic disciplines. A major provides a program of study that enables students to investigate a subject area in considerable depth. The University encourages students to select related minors or secondary interest areas as a part of their comprehensive study plan.

Because MNU is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), a national association of more than 100 Christian colleges and universities of the liberal arts and sciences, a number of off-campus learning opportunities are available. Domestic programs are available in Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Students can also study abroad in China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

The new 40,000-square-foot Bell Cultural Events Center features state-of-the-art practice, recital, and performance facilities for the fine arts division, as well as a black-box theater and performance hall for music and drama productions. Osborne Hall houses the Division of Science and Mathematics, while Lunn Hall houses administrative offices. Dobson Hall contains an art studio and a graphic-design computer lab. The largest facility on campus, the Cook Center, houses a basketball/volleyball arena, two practice gyms, the Division of Nursing, the Departments of Athletics and Athletic Training, and several classrooms. Metz Hall houses the Divisions of Behavioral Sciences, Business Administration, and Education; Graduate Studies in Counseling; Graduate Studies in Education; and the Department of Computer Science. A computer lab is an integral part of the facility.

Mabee Library and Learning Resource Center contains more than 481,000 volumes–360,000 in microforms and the balance in bound volumes. Mabee Library also houses a microcomputer laboratory for general use, the Ministry Resource Center, the Kresge Center, a multimedia room, the Teacher Education Resource Center, and the Marge Smith Archives. General science, educational media, business, computer science, reading and learning, and computation laboratories complement the class sessions and provide modern equipment.

For 2008–09, a typical student paid $21,798. Tuition was $17,216 (for 24 to 34 credit hours). Fees, which include mandatory student insurance and activity and technology fees, are $1000. The residential charge is $6480 (twenty meals per week) or $6180 (fourteen meals per week).

About 90 percent of students receive some form of financial aid. MNU scholarships are available and range between $1000 and full tuition per year. For all full-time matriculated undergraduates who enrolled in 2006–07, the average financial aid package totaled $13,000. Information and applications may be obtained from Student Financial Services at 913-971-3298.

MNU students receive personal attention from their instructors. It is not uncommon to find faculty members in residence hall rooms talking with students or even inviting students into their homes for Thanksgiving dinner. MNU has 173 faculty members, 41 percent of whom are full-time, and a student-faculty ratio of 18:1.

Associated Student Government exists to discover God’s agenda as students serve God and the campus community. The government offers plenty of opportunities for students to get involved.

Prospective students should have graduated from an accredited high school and completed at least 15 units of study. While the University does not require specific subjects for entrance, it does recommend that students complete 3 units of math, 4 units of English, 3 units of science, 3 units of social studies, and 1 unit of foreign language. Students over 18 who have not graduated from high school can submit GED scores.

Students must submit the completed application, the $25 nonrefundable application fee, official high school transcripts, ACT or SAT scores, a personal reference, and the housing, parent waiver, and health history forms provided by Admissions. International students must also submit TOEFL scores. The deadline for the fall semester is August 1; the spring semester deadline is December 15.

For more information, prospective students should contact: