African Bible University Uganda Curriculum
Curriculum Design
As the nations of Africa rise to a new level of prominence and influence within the global village formed by the nations of the world, the great need for an informed, committed and well-trained leadership becomes more and more apparent. If the full potential of the various African nations is to be realized, the drain of gifted leadership must come to an end. This change in direction can be accomplished only as Africans receive their finest training within the continent itself, retain an unswerving commitment to their homeland, and perceive open doors of opportunity for service within Africa.
While many other institutions continue to offer excellent training in preparation for service, the design of the curriculum of African Bible University of Uganda offers a unique program for raising up servant-leaders for the generations to come. Several factors contribute to the basic elements of this unique curriculum design, including:
(1) A four-year, rather than a three-year, Bachelor of Arts program;
The only way in which this university can achieve its goals, both academically and community-wise, is to require of its student a full curriculum of four years rather than the pattern of three years followed by most universities in Uganda. By this requirement, students can be exposed to a breadth of knowledge and wisdom that can be combined with a concentration of learning in more specific fields.
(2) A broad-based education;
Rather than concentrating efforts on a single field of learning for three years, the design of the curriculum is to direct the student into a broader field of inquiry, so that one discipline becomes the stimulus for research and development in other areas of learning.
(3) A focus on developing the ability of the student to think creatively and innovatively;
If the design of the curriculum is to train students to think laterally and creatively across the various disciplines of learning, they must experience both the breadth and depth of various areas of knowledge. As a servant-leader, the student must cultivate an ability to solve problems of a social and economic nature with innovative ideas, to create new avenues of advancement in the realms of culture and education; in short, to think “outside the box.” This kind of educational development must involve cross-cultural stimulation, intranational and international interchange, knowledge of the past as well as the times in which we live, and the development of an intuitive awareness of future prospects for the nation as well as the continent.
(4) A distinctly theocentric, Christocentric, and biblical perspective;
“Every thought captive to Christ” serves as the theme of the educational design of African Bible University. If God the Creator of all things in heaven and earth is One God in three persons, and the historical person of Jesus is His eternal Son, the only Redeemer of a fallen world, and if the true revelation of God to man has been embodied in the written records of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, then these truths must serve as the foundation and core of our educational curriculum. If the one Creator and Redeemer of this fallen world has as his goal the “restoration of all things,” then all efforts directed toward transformation of individuals and societies must correspond to His ultimate purpose and goal. For this reason, the design of this curriculum must be distinctly theocentric, Christocentric, and centered on the revelation of God in the Holy Scriptures.
In accord with the overall design, African Bible University offers two degrees on the Bachelor of Arts level: the B.A. in Biblical Studies, and the B.A. in Christian Community Leadership. In both of these programs, the goal is to raise up Christian servant-leaders for Africa who will seek to serve Christ and their community rather than to serve only themselves.
Both B.A programs offer the possibility of a specialized concentration in education, in communications or in business. A more detailed listing of the courses involved in these two programs may be noted in section V below. In either case, the goal is the same: to develop servant-leaders for Christ who can think creatively in response to the challenges facing a rapidly emerging African continent.
Core Curriculum
Unique to African Bible University is a program of study that combines the opportunity to pursue Biblical Studies on the University level, while also enabling the student to take a concentration of studies in a second area of interest. Courses in various sections of Scripture, books of the Bible, principles of Biblical interpretation, and the overarching theology of the Bible fully equip the student for a variety of Christian ministries such as pastor, teacher, elder, evangelist, and missionary. At the same time, courses are taken across a broad range of subjects, including world history, church history, English and African literature, composition and grammar, speech and communications, Information Technology, cultural anthropology, Christian ethics, business ethics, and sports.
The election of additional courses in the field of education will provide the student with thorough training for teaching in a variety of educational establishments. As an alternative, a student may choose to concentrate on courses in communication in conjunction with our on-campus FM radio station. A third area of special emphasis offered at African Bible University is business. Students are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary for the corporate and commercial world.
When the prospective student becomes aware of the breadth of instruction in this program, and the potential for a variety of services after graduation, he/she can appreciate the fact that four years of study are required to complete the course. A further advantage of the curriculum design is to open the door for the possibility of further study. Graduates of our universities have been accepted into over twenty graduate schools in Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
University Calendar
African Bible University has two semesters each academic year: September to December, and February to May. Special inter-term courses are regularly held during the months of January and June.
The Degree
African Bible University’s four-year program is designed to award its graduates a Bachelor of Arts degree either in Biblical Studies or in Christian Community Leadership. In addition, students may obtain their B.A either with Education, with Communications, or with Business. African Bible University has been granted a provisional license to operate as a university in Uganda by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).