Cooperative Programs

Enrollment in study abroad programs approved for credit may be considered enrollment at EMU for the purpose of applying for federal financial aid. Institutional financial aid is available only when enrollment is for the purpose of meeting the EMU foreign language requirements for certain majors.

BCA Study Abroad
Contact: Intercultural Programs
bcastudyabroad.org

BCA study abroad programs are rooted in the values of peace and justice and provide opportunities for students, especially Spanish majors and minors, to meet EMU requirements.

Students consult the office of intercultural programs for general information and work with their advisors in choosing appropriate coursework for a semester or year. Application materials and information are available online. Completed applications must receive approval from EMU Intercultural Programs, as financial assistance and credit for the programs are received through EMU. BCA offers programs in multiple countries, including Austria, Belgium, Ecuador, England, Northern Ireland, Italy, Morocco, New Zealand, Spain, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Central America Study and Service (CASAS) 
Contact: Intercultural Programs
https://semillagt.org/casas_programs/

CASAS, a 12-week summer program based in Guatemala City, offers students an independent summer immersion experience similar to our spring semester cross-cultural program. Coursework includes Spanish language studies, "Introduction to Central America," and elective courses chosen from history, peace and justice, anthropology, and religion. Students participate in orientation activities, homestays, internships, and numerous field excursions. Application materials and information are available online. Students register through EMU with approval from the office of intercultural programs.

The Oregon Extension
Contact: Provost's Office
www.oregonextension.org

Students seeking a unique semester of study may choose to participate in the Oregon Extension program in Ashland, Oregon. This 17-credit fall semester program of interdisciplinary learning and community living takes place in Lincoln, a 1920s logging village in the mountains of southern Oregon. The semester is divided into four month-long segments of study. Daily learning revolves around the reading of great books, careful note-taking to prepare for small group discussion, lecturers, and individual study and writing projects. Oregon Extension credit is granted by Eastern Mennonite University. 

Ministry Inquiry Program
Contact: Veva Mumaw
www.emu.edu/bible/ministry-inquiry

The Ministry Inquiry Program (MIP) is an opportunity for students who have completed two or three years of university studies and who are considering pastoral ministry and/or seminary study to have a first-hand experience in ministry. This 11-week summer program is a full-time position as intern within a congregation that involves the student in all aspects of pastoral service under the mentoring of the congregation's leadership.

Through a cooperative arrangement with Mennonite Church U.S.A., the sending and receiving conferences and congregations, and EMU, the student receives a scholarship of approximately $2,000 applied to a Mennonite university or seminary during the following academic year. In addition, the congregation in which the student serves provides housing and $500 cash. (For students from other than Mennonite background alternate funding sources are sought.) Academic credit can also be earned for MIP. Registration and payment at the summer school tuition rate are required prior to beginning the MIP experience to earn academic credit.

To be considered for the Ministry Inquiry Program, a student must have completed at least 2 years of undergraduate study with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. An online application form, which includes references, is required for acceptance.

Orie Miller Center
Contacts: Co-Directors Jenni Holsinger and Timothy Seidel

As a well-known Mennonite leader, Orie O. Miller modeled the integration of business, mission, development, education and peace in his generation. Today through the center in his honor, EMU provides a forum for the integration of programs related to development, mission, peace and justice. The center promotes increased awareness and interest in these areas by organizing special conferences, providing off-campus resource persons and experiences, convening faculty and students from the respective programs to engage in discussions to stimulate creativity and mutual understanding, supporting students to attend related conferences for personal and professional development and offering mini-grants for collaborative projects focused on improving EMU in areas related to development, mission, peace and justice.

Global development studies, located in a number of departments at Eastern Mennonite University, go beyond the concept of Western progress and focus on the biblical invitation to the fullness of life. This commitment calls for a lifestyle that values human life, diverse cultures, and a sustainable relationship to the environment. It envisions a world that provides for the basic survival needs of all, dignity derived from respect and justice free from exploitation and disempowerment. However, commitment to a more peaceful, just and sustainable world also requires specific perspectives, knowledge and skills that equip people to join with others to create ways to meet basic survival needs and open possibilities for meeting needs beyond survival.

A number of programs at EMU join together under this overarching understanding of development to provide specialized preparation in particular areas. Students may select their focus of choice by pursuing the community health focus in nursing, the peacebuilding and development majors, the global studies major, the Bible, religion and theology major, minors in peacebuilding and global development, or the graduate programs in conflict transformation and restorative justice. Linked together by a commitment to the fullness of life in a more humane world, these programs prepare people for development work in local, national and international settings.

For details on specific development study options, consult the Center co-directors or the respective programs cited above.

Center for Interfaith Engagement (CIE)
Contacts: Timothy Seidel, Director and Trina Trotter Nussbaum, Associate Director
https://emu.edu/interfaith/

CIE promotes collaboration among scholars and practitioners and partners with community and national organizations to build a more just and peaceful world through interreligious and intercultural understanding.

The center enriches the university with interfaith education, hosting visiting scholars who expose students, faculty and staff to diverse religious traditions. The center serves as a practicum site for undergraduate and graduate students and partners with the Bible, religion, and theology department on an undergraduate interfaith studies minor.

On a local level, CIE resources the larger Harrisonburg area with speakers, a film series, and learning tours to houses of worship. Nationally, it networks with a broad base of peacebuilders to host events such as interreligious trauma healing workshops, as well as resource Mennonite Church USA in interfaith efforts. The center seeks to reduce prejudice by supporting an annual children's Interfaith Peace Camp that takes place at EMU and serve as consultants to other communities who wish to replicate this model. Locally and nationally CIE builds interfaith relationships and networks built on equity and trust, in an effort to challenge white supremacy, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia.

In the global context, CIE has cultivated a rich partnership between EMU and educational institutions in Iran. Scholars teach courses at Iranian universities and CIE personnel regularly lead learning tours to the region.