B.A. Classical Liberal Arts
Overview
The B.A. in Classical Liberal Arts is the first undergraduate program of its kind in the United States. The program is explicitly designed to train students in both the content and pedagogy of the classical liberal arts to prepare them for teaching positions in the rapidly growing Classical Christian Education movement, and to pursue graduate work in the humanities.
- • Spend 6 weeks studying in Florence, Italy with TMU Italy program
- • Complete colloquium mentoring
- • Intern at a local (Santa Clarita Valley) CCE school
- • Attend TMU’s Israel Bible Extension Program (IBEX), a three-month academic semester right outside of Old City Jerusalem
Be trained in the content of the Western Classical heritage beginning with Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Enlightenment — and continuing to the present day in history, literature, art, philosophy, and theology. This curriculum is augmented with continual training in Socratic pedagogy, providing intensive practice in leading rich and invigorating discussions instead of lecturing on an academic topic. Students study the classical languages and master the classical arts of grammar, logic, and rhetoric while pursuing the studia humanitatis (‘study of the human things’).
Sample Courses
View Sample 4-Year PlanSocratic Pedagogy I
CLA301
The course begins with an historical survey of varying theories of teaching throughout history, culminating in the modernist, materialist, naturalist, and behaviorist models of the late 19th and 20th centuries, which began in Prussia and moving across Europe and the United States. This is contrasted with the ancient method of group dialectic as exemplified by Socrates, which is then considered by deploying a theological critique of Plato’s pagan theories of the Eternal Forms, the formation of virtue through knowledge, and the doctrine of recollection in reincarnated souls. The course is built around Paul’s description in Romans: quia, quod noscibile est Dei, manifestum est in illis (‘For that which may be known of God is made manifest clearly in them’). Students begin the regular practice of leading intensive dialogues instead of simply lecturing, and learn to tell the difference between various ways of teaching and when they are most appropriate, from authoritative biblical preaching to learned lecturing to Socratic dialectical conversation.
Art History of the Western World
ART338
Built on the foundation of 14 three-hour-long art slide programs ranging from Neolithic stonework and cave painting to ancient Greek sculpture to the Middle Ages to the masterpieces of the Renaissance to 20th-century art, the course surveys the major periods, media, and styles. Strong emphasis on the Italian Renaissance and somewhat greater emphasis on painting than on architecture and sculpture. Format is viewing, discussion, and writing, with a comprehensive final and several short papers. A major goal is to establish a historical and cultural “canon” in Western art history as seen from a theological aesthetic. Currently only offered through TMU Italy.
Essentials of Philosophy
P311
A survey of the field of philosophy: its vocabulary, aims, and purposes; the great systems of speculative thought; and the leading thinkers.
The best cultural critics should be Christians
Dr. Grant Horner
Study & Serve Abroad - IBEX
Study the Bible for a full semester in the land where the Bible was written.
Next Steps: Applying
Since 1927, the mission of The Master’s University is to empower students for a life of enduring commitment to Christ, biblical fidelity, moral integrity, intellectual growth, and lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God worldwide.
Requirements:
- Required statement of faith and pastoral recommendation
- 3.6 GPA average for new applications
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