Degrees Offered at Maranatha Baptist University
Maranatha Baptist University appears in our ranking of the Top 10 Online Universities for Senior Year.
With minors, majors, and concentrations available to students seeking an associate or a bachelor degree, Maranatha Baptist University offers programs that help students study a range of fields. There are seven associate degree programs available on-campus, including criminal justice, Christian ministry, computer network technology, and digital media communications. Communication arts and biology are among the majors available for students seeking a bachelor degree. Other majors include Bible, nursing, early childhood education, special education, sport management, and English.
Online students can choose from four different start dates each semester and take short classes. Christian ministry, business management, educational studies, and digital media are among the associate degree programs available online. Students can major in educational studies, Bible, interdisciplinary studies or business at the bachelor’s level. All three of the university’s graduate programs are available online too. These programs include majors in teaching and learning and organizational leadership. Students can also earn degrees through the Maranatha Baptist Seminary in fields such as Biblical counseling, ministry, Bible and Biblical studies. All of these programs help students earn graduate and doctoral degrees.
The university also offers several bachelor’s to master’s programs. Students earn a Bachelor of Arts and then transition to a Master of Arts program. There is a Bible track available that allows students to study the Bible without taking classes on the languages of the Bible. It requires that students take at least 15 credits of classes through the seminary. Baptist Heritage, Theology I and II and Church Administration and Finance are among the courses that students take in the Biblical Studies track. They will also need to take some Bible language courses.
MBU also has a dual enrollment program for high school students who want to earn some college credits while still in high school. Students can begin taking college courses after their sophomore year of high school.
About Maranatha Baptist University
Maranatha Baptist University is a private university affiliated with the Baptist Church through the Foundations Baptist Fellowship International. Established in 1968 after a member of that organization helped raise money for the university, it received a charter from the state of Wisconsin that same year. The name Maranatha comes from a passage in the Bible. Also known as MBU, it has a campus in the small city of Watertown. Dating back to the 1800s, Old Main is the oldest building on the campus and was part of the old Sacred Heart College that once operated in the city. MBU also has a large dining hall and dorm rooms that students can live in each semester.
Many students who attend MBU participate in some of the charity drives held on the campus every year. They can donate blood and see some of the guest lecturers who speak every month. There are also a number of organizations that include a choir, band and multiple sports. Those teams compete under the Sabercats name and allow both men and women to play. MBU has an enrollment of more than 1,100 students in total, which includes those enrolled in its standard degree programs and the seminary and other programs that are available on the web.
Maranatha Baptist University Accreditation Details
Most students attending college today need to use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) because they need help paying for school. MBU students can use that form because it has regional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). This is also why Maranatha can accept the transfer credits that some students bring with them. The other accreditation that MBU holds applies to its nursing programs.
Maranatha Baptist University Application Requirements
MBU recommends that students talk to an admissions counselor over the phone or that they fill out an information request form before they apply. The university looks for undergrads who faithfully attend a Baptist church and have a close relationship with God. Students can apply with either a high school diploma or a GED, but they will need to submit transcripts that show they have a grade point average of at least 2.0. They will also submit an ACT score to show that they scored at least 16 on that exam. MBU also asks for an essay that allows students to talk about their salvation and what type of relationship they have with Jesus Christ. On the application, students will need to add contact information for references that the university will contact to ask about the student’s character and religious beliefs.
Students applying to any of the university’s graduate programs must meet the admissions of the MBU seminary too. The seminary asks that prospective students complete an application and include information about their past educational experiences. They will also need to add their references’ contact information on the application. There is a separate form that students should fill out if they are married. MBU also has a medical form that students can download from the admissions website and send back. If the university or the seminary needs any other information, it will contact the student after receiving an application and all required forms.
Tuition and Financial Aid
MBU undergrads enrolled full-time in an on-campus program pay $7,740 each year for tuition and $590 in comprehensive fees. They also pay an extra $3,650 per year for room and board. Those who take online classes pay even less. The university charges $430 per credit hour and a set fee of $35 for each class that they take. Though graduate students pay the same fee when they take classes online, they pay $425 per credit hour for their classes. MBU also offers seminary programs that charge between $330 and $380 per credit hour along with a $35 comprehensive fee for each class.
The payment plans offered by the university make it easy for students to pay their costs over the course of the semester rather than at the start of the semester. Before looking at payment plans, students should apply for financial aid. Using the FAFSA gives students an easy way to learn about the employment opportunities for them on the campus and to see if they will get government grants and loans. More than $1.3 million goes to students in the forms of scholarships each year too. The university offers scholarships for the children of alumni and those who work in the ministry, but it has other scholarships that it bases on the student’s grades and test scores. Maranatha Baptist University has scholarships available for students in any of its seminary and other degree programs.
