2007-08 Academic Catalog	home FAQs request

Expanded Academic Opportunities

In addition to the standard curriculum, Concordia has many special programs to fit individual preferences and needs. Many of these may be incorporated into your regular course of study. Some involve travel; others are work experiences. For those programs not located on campus, application and review may be required.

These academic opportunities will add depth to your academic program and enrich your life in many ways. Not only will they open new doors, deepen your understanding, broaden your perspective, and reveal capabilities you did not know you had, but they also will be an important part of a liberal arts education. We encourage you to explore these opportunities.

The Center for Ethical Leadership

The Center for Ethical Leadership was established as an outreach center for the community and a resource center for the college. The purpose of the center is to develop and enhance ethics-centered and value-based leadership for individuals and organizations through information, networks, programs and consultation. Activities for the Center for Ethical Leadership include:

• monthly business ethics luncheons for the business and college community
• a fall leadership workshop dealing with a specific area of leadership
• the Norman M. Lorentzsen Spring Ethics Conference that involves one or more nationally recognized speakers
• seminars and consulting for corporations and organizations relating to ethical behavior and leadership
• ethics programs integrated with the curriculum and campus life at the college

The Center for Ethical Leadership is a division of the department of business, accounting and economics. Dr. Jim Legler is the center director. For more information, call 218.299.3928.

Concordia Language Villages

Since 1961, Concordia Language Villages has been offering internationally recognized language and culture programs for young people ages 7 to 18. More than 6,000 villagers participate in our one-, two- or four-week summer sessions. In addition, we offer language and cultural immersion programs for families, adults, educators and school groups throughout Minnesota and in many locations abroad. Participants learn and speak one of 14 different languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Portuguese will be added in the summer of 2008.

For more information, call the Concordia Language Villages office at 800.222.4750 or 218.299.4544 or stop by the Riverside Center. Our Web site, www.ConcordiaLanguageVillages.org, also has a wealth of information about our programs.

Credo Honors Program

Credo is an academic honors program for high-ability, highly motivated students who accept the challenge of actively exploring the ideas that have significantly changed our world. Eligible students are invited to join the Credo program at admission or during the fall semester of their first year. Credo students participate in stimulating discussions and develop intellectual and social relationships as they challenge themselves and each other in this rigorous interdisciplinary program.

Program participants take four specially designated Credo courses — one each in the natural sciences and mathematics, the social sciences, the humanities, and the fine arts — which are frequently team-taught by outstanding faculty who bring a distinctive approach and perspective to the subject. These courses are open only to Credo students and are topics not usually covered in other courses at Concordia. Examples of current Credo courses are Ancient Greek Philosophy and Religion; Germany, the Third Reich and the Holocaust; Rational and Irrational Belief: Sense, Nonsense, and Science; Life in the Universe; and Arthurian Legends.

For additional information regarding the Credo Honors Program, see Credo in the department pages of the catalog.

Cultural Events    

The mission of Concordia College is to influence the affairs of the world by sending into society thoughtful and informed men and women dedicated to the Christian life. From the founding of the college, cultural events have been a fundamental component in carrying out this mission.

Cultural events programming at Concordia College enriches the intellectual and cultural life of the college by providing models of what the college values, through presenting individuals and groups that stimulate a love of learning, evoke a commitment to excellence, underscore the importance of discipline, provide growth of independent thinking, demonstrate creativity in mastering an art or addressing an issue, broaden aesthetic appreciation of the world, and awaken a personal and social consciousness and vision of the way the world can be.

The Cultural Events Series includes international artistic expression and continues to reflect a focused effort to offer our audiences opportunities to experience exceptional artists from various world cultures and musical traditions. The Cultural Events Series gives direction to visions, reality to dreams, breadth to perspective, stimulation to senses, and meaning and substance to a life of faith and commitment.

Faith, Reason and World Affairs Symposia: Each fall, the college sponsors the Faith, Reason and World Affairs Symposium on a topic of major significance. In the best liberal arts tradition, these symposia bring to campus knowledgeable speakers to represent various positions on the topic. The goal is to challenge participants to make informed judgments through hearing and discussing divergent points of view. In the past, topics have included medical ethics, the global economy, the environment and the quest for spirituality.

Nobel Peace Prize Forum: Each year for the past 18 years, an annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum has been hosted on a rotating basis by five Evangelical Lutheran Church in America colleges of Scandinavian heritage in the Upper Midwest: Augsburg (Minneapolis), Augustana (Sioux Falls), Concordia (Moorhead), Luther (Decorah) and St. Olaf (Northfield). Held in cooperation with the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, the forum series was created to offer an opportunity for Nobel Peace Prize laureates, diplomats, scholars and the general public to take part in a dialogue on the underlying causes and manifestations of conflict and war in modern society and on the dynamics of peacemaking. Concordia College, Moorhead, will host the 20th annual forum in March 2008.

Departmental Honors Programs

Departmental honors programs are an option for highly motivated students. Several academic departments offer these intensified studies for exceptional students who wish to develop their talents to a greater degree than might otherwise be possible.

Students who successfully complete the departmental honors program graduate “with honors.” A notation to that effect appears on the academic record along with other honors earned at Concordia. The requirements of departmental honors programs vary. For more information, see the department chairs of biology, chemistry, communication studies, education, English, German, history, mathematics, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion and Spanish.

Dovre Center for Faith and Learning

The mission of the Dovre Center for Faith and Learning is expressed through addressing four specific goals:

• to keep the questions and issues of faith and learning alive on campus
• to assist faculty in connecting matters of faith with their work and their contributions to the college’s religious identity
• to assist in developing and sustaining faculty community
• to encourage new initiatives in relating faith and learning to students

While many of the current programs of the Dovre Center are geared toward supporting faculty as they integrate faith and learning in their research and teaching, the center is also exploring programs that involve direct student involvement as well. For information about the Dovre Center, contact Director Ernest Simmons of the religion department at 218.299.3430.

Engineering Preprofessional Programs

Concordia College offers pre-engineering programs in collaboration with the Institute of Technology (IT) at the University of Minnesota and North Dakota State University (NDSU). Students may receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in applied science from Concordia and a Bachelor of Science degree from either IT or NDSU. The professional degrees available through these programs are accredited by the Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology and meet the degree portion of the requirements for registration as a professional engineer.

Concordia-University of Minnesota Program: Engineering students also have the option of participating in a three two-dual degree program with IT at the University of Minnesota. In this five-year program, students spend their first three years at Concordia taking courses in physics, mathematics, chemistry, computer programming, and the liberal arts. They finish the program by spending the next two years at the University of Minnesota taking engineering and applied science courses. All of Concordia’s core requirements must be met in the first three years. (The requirement for a minimum of 10 upper-level course credits does not apply.) Upon successful completion of the program requirements, students receive a B.A. degree from Concordia in applied science and one of 10 undergraduate degrees from IT: aerospace, biomedical, biosystems and agricultural, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, geological, materials science or mechanical engineering.

Concordia-NDSU program (Tri-college University): Majors available through the fully accredited programs at NDSU include agricultural and biosystems, civil, construction management, electrical, industrial, manufacturing and mechanical engineering. Students ordinarily fulfill general liberal arts requirements and basic science requirements in their first two years at Concordia before beginning three years of intensive study in engineering at NDSU. In the first two years, students may register for some courses at NDSU through the Tri-College University exchange program (see “Tri-College University” below for details). Students are encouraged to continue in the Tri-College course exchange program after transferring to NDSU (typically after the sophomore year). To be eligible for financial aid, students must be enrolled full time at one institution. Students who graduate from the engineering program and also complete Concordia requirements may also receive a B.A. from Concordia with a major in applied science. (See the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum pages of the catalog for Core requirements.) The faculty advisers for the pre-engineering programs are Mark W. Gealy, Bryan A. Luther, Heidi L.K. Manning and Paul A. Seifert, all of the physics department. Typical schedules of courses allowing students to meet required core and science courses for either program may be obtained from these advisers.

Music Organizations

Known both nationally and internationally, Concordia’s music organizations are many and varied. The famed Concordia Choir, Concordia College Orchestra and Concordia College Band annually tour various regions of the United States; and all three ensembles have toured in Europe. Other vocal ensembles on campus include The Concordia Chapel Choir, Kantorei, Bel Canto and Vocal Jazz Ensembles. All of the choirs perform in chapel regularly and present local concerts. The Concordia Cobber Band, The Concordia College Jazz Ensembles, the Percussion Ensemble, Marimba Choir, Tintinnabula and Campana are other campus instrumental ensembles that perform in local concerts throughout the year. Membership
in Concordia music ensembles is determined by audition. Students may also audition for the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, a professional ensemble that performs a regular subscription series. In addition, there are numerous brass, woodwind, string and piano ensembles.

One 0.25-course credit per semester is granted to members of all ensembles and musical organizations. Membership is determined by audition. Prospective members of instrumental ensembles should bring their own instruments. A limited number of instruments are available at a nominal rental fee per semester. For information about participation in any of these ensembles, contact the music department.

Choirs:    

• The Concordia Choir (sophomores and above) tours nationally and internationally, performing at major concert venues on a regular basis, in addition to campus concerts and chapel appearances.
• The Concordia Chapel Choir (sophomores and above) also undertakes a regional tour and performs in local and campus concerts, as well as during chapel.
• Bel Canto (women’s choir) performs in chapel regularly in addition to campus concerts and local appearances.
• Kantorei is the mixed chorus serving members in their first year of college and performs primarily campus concerts, including chapel appearances.
• The Vocal Jazz Ensembles specialize in the performance of American classic and contemporary song literature in the jazz idiom.
• The Liturgical Choir is a student-led organization whose primary function is to provide musical leadership for chapel services, including the presentation of anthems appropriate for church choirs. No credit is granted for participation in this choir.

All of the choirs (with the exception of the Vocal Jazz Ensembles and Liturgical Choir) participate in the annual Concordia Christmas Concerts.

Bands:    

• The Concordia College Band, usually consisting of about 70 players, performs a variety of symphonic and popular music at concerts, convocations and other college functions and on its annual tour.
• The Concordia Cobber Band, which also studies a wide range of musical literature, performs at concerts, chapel services and athletic events.

Orchestras:    

• The Concordia College Orchestra performs representative works from the symphonic music literature in a series of concerts on campus and on its annual tours.
• The Concordia College Symphonia plays chamber works in on-campus concerts.

Instrumental  Ensembles:

Smaller ensembles are formed on the basis of student interest and ability. Brass, string, woodwind, percussion, marimba and piano ensembles perform in concerts and at various college functions.

• Tintinnabula, a handbell choir, has 13 ringers who are chosen by audition. They play on five octaves of Malmark bells and appear in campus concerts, chapel services and at various local events. They also play at churches and festivals in the region, and participate in the annual Concordia Christmas Concerts.
• The Concordia College Jazz ensembles consist of approximately 20 musicians each. These groups perform major works representing contemporary jazz literature and styles at numerous concerts and clinics both on and off campus.
• The Percussion ensemble is a chamber music organization consisting of 20 to 25 musicians who perform on the many and varied definite and indefinite pitched instruments of the percussion family. The Percussion Ensemble is open through audition to students of all levels who express an interest in performing on percussion instruments. The group performs a wide variety of literature from the “standard” percussion repertoire, as well as exciting new arrangements of popular, classical and folk music. All students, regardless of their majors, are eligible to audition for the Percussion Ensemble.
• The Marimba Choir is a chamber music organization consisting of eight to 10 marimbists selected from the members of the Percussion Ensemble. They perform literature ranging from transcriptions of works by Bach, Mozart and other great composers, to Latin American, pops favorites, ragtime and contemporary literature for keyboard percussion. The Marimba Choir performs in the Percussion Ensemble concerts, as well as at numerous community and civic events. All students, regardless of their majors, are eligible to audition for the Marimba Choir.

ROTC

The ROTC education program provides professional preparation for future Air Force and Army officers. ROTC develops men and women who can use their education as commissioned officers on active duty (Army ROTC can also lead to duty in the National Guard or Reserves). To receive a commission, ROTC students must complete all requirements for a degree in accordance with university rules and regulations, as well as complete courses specified by the ROTC program. Two-year and three-year scholarships are available on a competitive basis to qualified students. The scholarships pay for tuition, fees, textbooks and supplies. If you are interested in either the Army or Air Force ROTC programs through Concordia, see the Office of the Registrar for information on Tri-College registration. For more information, you may also contact the departments of Aerospace Studies (Air Force ROTC) at ndsu.afrotc@ndsu.nodak.edu or 701.231.7371, or Military Science (Army ROTC) at www.concordiaarmyrotc.com or 701.231.7575, on the North Dakota State University campus in Fargo.

Student Research Opportunities

Department Assistantships: Student assistantships are also available in several academic departments. These are positions with special educational and personal qualifications involving close cooperation with supervising faculty members. Application is made in writing and in person to the head of the department before April 1 for assistantships for the following college year. Ordinarily, the candidate has a year of residence at Concordia College before becoming eligible for an assistantship.

Centennial research co-inquirers: Each year, a number of faculty are awarded grants to work with two students on an in-depth project in their discipline, focusing either on a primary research topic or on the best teaching methods in that discipline. The student partners work as true partners with the faculty member, spending two months during the summer developing the project, then working with the faculty member throughout the following year to finalize the presentation of their findings. Students receive 1.0 credit for an Independent Study course in the summer, for which tuition is waived; they also receive stipends of $2,000 each. It is common for these projects to result in published articles or professional presentations, with one or both of the students serving as co-authors or co-presenters.

Student lecture series: Each semester, the Special Awards Committee of the Faculty Senate sponsors a series of two to three lectures given by students on academic topics. Nomination by a faculty member is required for participation in the lecture series. Typically, these presentations begin as research papers or projects within courses that have been completed and received excellent grades. However, with participation in the Student Lecture Series, the student commits to polishing and often enlarging the original assignment under the mentorship of the faculty member, with the result of additional growth through investigative inquiry.

Superior Studies Consortium

Concordia College is a member of the Superior Studies Consortium and offers a variety of courses at the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, Minnesota. Wolf Ridge is an accredited residential environmental school that offers outdoor learning experiences focusing on ecology, science, human culture, team-building and personal growth. For detailed information about the programs, contact the co-chairs of the environmental studies program.

Tri-college University

Fargo-Moorhead is fortunate to have three institutions of higher education within its boundaries. Each of these schools has outstanding departments, and students from all three schools are able to take advantage of each school’s respective strengths under the Tri-College University (TCU) program. TCU is a consortium of Concordia College, Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) and North Dakota State University (NDSU).

TCU also provides several services and programs of interest to Concordia students, including:

• a Master of Science degree in nursing (see the graduate programs section of the catalog for details)
• a preprofessional program in architecture
• courses in East Asian languages (see below)

Students regularly make use of the student exchange for courses in such fields as engineering, ROTC and special education.

Student exchange: Full-time Concordia students may take courses at NDSU and MSUM during fall and spring semester at no additional charge, but are subject to the following limitations:

1) a student may take only one course each term,
2) a student may not take a course also offered at Concordia College, and
3) an overload charge is assessed if total course credits in a student’s load are greater than 4.25.

Grades and credits received for such courses are applied to a student’s Concordia grade point average and graduation requirements. Substitution of TCU courses in a Concordia major must be approved by the appropriate department or program chair. Students should see the Office of the Registrar for information on available courses and further details about TCU registration.

Tri-college minors: The Tri-College institutions recognize minors earned through the TCU course exchange. This means students can receive recognition on their transcripts for minors completed on one of the other TCU campuses, if in compliance with graduation requirements at Concordia. This policy applies only to minors earned in programs not available on a student’s home campus. This option makes it possible to combine majors at Concordia with complementary minors on another campus.

Special programs: TCU offers a number of academic programs conducted jointly by the three institutions, among them a world seminar series and an environmental studies center.

Library services: Library patrons have direct access to the local collections at Minnesota State University Moorhead and North Dakota State University through the Tri-College Library Consortium, providing a library resource of more than 1.25 million books and 5,000 journals with titles representing all academic disciplines. Materials are delivered between libraries daily.

Bus service: Community bus service is provided between campuses on a regular weekday schedule during the academic year.

Parking: Concordia students enrolled in TCU who desire to park at Minnesota State University Moorhead or North Dakota State University must obtain a TCU parking permit, available without charge from the Campus Security Office.

East Asian Languages

Instruction in Chinese is available at Concordia College. More information is available here (globalstudies)

Instruction in Japanese is offered through the Tri-College University Program in East Asian Languages. Courses are taught on the campus of Minnesota State University Moorhead. Course credit varies according to the policies of Minnesota State University Moorhead. For more information contact the Office of the Registrar. Courses taken through the East Asian language program can satisfy the liberal arts Core requirement for proficiency in a world language and can lead to or contribute to degrees granted by Concordia College.

Japanese courses available: Beginning Japanese. 101, 102. E.; Intermediate Japanese. 201, 202. D.