Mar 29, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Lipscomb University


As a liberal arts university building upon a 128-year heritage of academic excellence, Lipscomb University offers an engaging, intellectually challenging environment for graduate education and a commitment to encourage and support spiritual formation in every member of the university community. Lipscomb’s 113-acre campus, located in the Green Hills area of Nashville, Tennessee, provides a beautiful setting which supports a nurturing environment where students can develop professionally and personally. 

The Lipscomb community is diverse, with more than 4,600 members of the undergraduate and graduate student body representing 49 states (including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico) and 51 nations that include numerous ethnic cultures and religious traditions. An average class size of 20 students creates an environment for productive and rich interaction among students from diverse professional and educational backgrounds as well as between students and faculty. Of the full-time faculty, 85% hold a terminal degree in their fields of expertise.

Lipscomb University offers an academically enriching experience that prepares graduates for success in their chosen professions and careers. Classroom facilities provide opportunities for innovative and creative approaches to learning. The Fields Engineering Center, Lipscomb’s newest completed building is bringing new opportunities to engineering education on campus. The Nursing and Health Sciences Center provides education for the next generation of nurses through use of the most current technology and most contemporary best practices available in health care education. The completed addition to the McFarland Science Center provides the most up-to-date laboratory facilities for undergraduate education and research in biology and chemistry. Lipscomb’s Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Building enhances opportunities to faculty for significant scholarly research. Exciting new programs and recent honors have broadened our appeal, enhancing the opportunities for Lipscomb graduates. Lipscomb is now ranked in the National Universities category of the annual U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” rankings among institutions such as Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Duke, and Notre Dame.

One of the most compelling indicators of the value of a Lipscomb education is the ability of our graduates to successfully enter the job market or be accepted into institutions for advanced degrees. Within six months of graduation, over 90% of our graduates are employed in the workforce or accepted into graduate school. Lipscomb’s achievement signifies that the excellent education provided by our program is highly desired by employers and greatly respected by other institutions of higher learning. Examples of this excellence are the College of Education teacher prep program, which for the seventh consecutive year earned top scores from the Tennessee State Board of Education’s report card and placed as the state’s top-scoring traditional university. The College of Business undergraduate program was ranked No. 1 in Tennessee by Bloomberg/Business Week in 2016, No.1 in Tennessee by Poets and Quants in 2017, and the No. 1 private business program in Tennessee by Poets and Quants in 2018. In 2017, the visual arts program in the George Shinn College of Entertainment & the Arts was ranked No. 2 in the nation by Christian University Online; that same year, the School of Music was recognized as one of the country’s top 25 programs by Successful Student, and the undergraduate program in film was ranked No. 26 in the nation by College Choice. The Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering was named the best in Tennessee and No. 6 in the nation by Christian Universities Online in their 2017 rankings. The College of Computing & Technology’s information technology degree was named the best in Tennessee and No. 31 in the nation by College Choice in 2017. Lipscomb was one of 112 institutions in the nation, and only two in Tennessee, named a top university for transfer students in the 2018 Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Honor Roll.

Spiritual life at Lipscomb goes far beyond the required Bible courses and chapel credits. An emphasis is placed on putting one’s faith into action to make a difference in the world. The Serving and Learning Together (SALT) Program allows students to apply their knowledge and skills to specific service projects. Through this service-learning program, students serve the Nashville community and Middle Tennessee region through organizations such as Faith Family Medical Clinic, Morning Star Sanctuary, the Nashville Rescue Mission, and Youth Encouragement Services.  Lipscomb University was listed in the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Lipscomb was included among 361 universities in the nation to achieve the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Community Engagement Classification.

Lipscomb University recognizes the importance and value of understanding the diversity of cultures present both locally and globally.  Lipscomb’s LIGHT: Illuminating Cultural Engagement program offers students curricular and extracurricular experiences that connect them to different cultures enhancing understanding of those cultures and the need to learn to be a neighbor both near and far.  Opportunities for global engagement are available to Lipscomb students through a variety of study abroad programs and mission trips. Lipscomb offers undergraduate study opportunities in Florence, London, Vienna, and Costa Rica, as well as other locations that vary by school year. Each year more than 800 of our students, faculty and staff put their faith into action in a variety of efforts outside of the U.S. Ask anyone who has participated, and you’ll hear amazing stories of learning, faith and service. To learn more, visit www.lipscomb.edu/globallearning.

Beyond the classroom Lipscomb provides an active program of campus activities. The Bison athletics program is a vital part of campus life. Competing in the NCAA Division I as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, Lipscomb University continues to build on its tradition of success in athletics as we grow in competition at the highest level. Players or teams in women’s basketball, men’s baseball, women’s softball, women’s volleyball, men’s golf, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s track and women’s cross country have advanced to the NCAA Division I national tournaments, and in 2016 the Lipscomb women’s volleyball team brought home the ASUN conference championship for the sixth time.  The 2017-2018 men’s basketball team won the ASUN conference championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament.  The same season, the athletics program earned its fourth consecutive ASUN Conference Academic Champion Trophy. In the 2018-19 season, men’s basketball advanced to the championship game in the NIT in Madison Square Garden.

Lipscomb University is providing students with an educational experience that is valued and respected by local, state and national constituencies. In the past ten years, the Lipscomb campus has been transformed by new construction, environmentally friendly renovations and landscaping totaling more than $100 million. Lipscomb led the way for universities in Tennessee through its on-campus sustainable innovations when the Burton Health Sciences Building became the first LEED-registered academic building in the state to earn the gold-level certification. Lipscomb University was also selected as one of the country’s most environmentally-responsible colleges to be included in The 2014 Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges.

Lipscomb University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404.679.4500 for questions about the accreditation of Lipscomb University.

Mission

Lipscomb University is a private educational institution whose principal focus is undergraduate education in the liberal arts and sciences, combined with a number of undergraduate professional and pre-professional fields, master’s, and doctoral degree programs.  Its primary mission is to integrate Christian faith and practice with academic excellence.  This mission is carried out not only in the classroom and online studies, but also by involvement in numerous services to the church and the larger community.

Objectives

Lipscomb University is committed to promoting Christian faith and practice by requiring Bible classes for all students, employing teachers who are firmly committed to the world view and lifestyle of biblical Christianity, and by providing specially designed programs, activities and worship experiences which strengthen the desire to be faithful, knowledgeable and mature Christians.
 
The university is committed to providing excellent educational opportunities through undergraduate and graduate programs.
 
The university is committed to serving the church, the community and the world.