The bachelor of science in communication promises to prepare theologically trained students for global professional work.
Boyce College today announced a new bachelor of science degree in communication, expanding the professional and ministry preparation available to students of the school. The program will prepare students to be effective communicators in a diverse and complex world, extending the mission of the school to new academic territory, said Matthew J. Hall, dean of Boyce College. Boyce is the undergraduate school of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
“As we explored the next stage of Boyce College’s academic development, the degree program that immediately came to the fore was something in the field of communication,” said Hall, noting that the school extensively researched the program’s viability in both general demand for students with skills related to the field of communication and employment outlook for such graduates.
“The program seemed to be immediately and naturally consistent with our institutional mission and philosophy of education,” Hall noted. “We are hopeful that the major will continue the vision that we’ve had for all of our degree programs — that students would have expanded opportunities to discern their vocation and to be well-equipped for wherever God would send them in the world.”
The program will take an interdisciplinary approach to studying influential communication techniques and concepts. After graduating, students with this degree will be equipped for a number of fields all over the world: Christian ministry, business, public relations, marketing, sales, and government service. The curriculum will include a series of communication courses including mass media, intercultural communication, and communication theory. The program will also include a concentration in “strategic communication,” which focuses on the business side of communications.
“I really cannot think of a degree better suited to meet the needs of the 21st century, to help to give a rising generation of young Christians critical skills in the areas in very important dimensions of communication,” said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Seminary and Boyce College. “In the secular world, in the international arena, in the church, and everywhere you look, skills in communication are becoming more and more necessary. This degree program is going to equip a new generation of Christians to be effective and faithful communicators in a world that desperately needs not only skills in communication, but needs to hear the gospel, biblical truth, communicated.”
The B.S. in communication is a continuation of Boyce’s mission, Hall said. All degree programs at Boyce — including business, education, and the philosophy, politics, and economics programs — offer students an extensive education in biblical and theological studies. With 30 hours of biblical training and 42 hours in their major, graduates of the program will be uniquely equipped for ministry and mission in the world of communication. The program will also provide access to Boyce’s vision for students who previously would not have access to a program that fit them best, Hall said.
“Students who graduate from this program will get a premier classical theological education,” he said. “It’s the same core curriculum that’s in every one of our majors, but they’ll also get with that a cutting edge education in the field of communication studies that will allow them to take timeless truth and apply it to the 21st century wherever God takes them.”
Leading the program will be Jason Leverett, who will be associate professor of communication and the program coordinator for the major. Leverett joins the college after nearly a decade of teaching experience in the field, most recently as assistant professor of strategic communication at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He earned his bachelor of science from Liberty and both his master of arts and doctor of philosophy in communication from Regent College Virginia Beach, Virginia. Leverett is married to Heather, and the two have four boys.
“As we explored what this program should look like and the way it would best serve our mission and our students, it became exceptionally clear early in the process that the Lord was leading us to Jason Leverett,” Hall said. “Dr. Leverett is a proven teacher with ample experience. His research and scholarship in the field is highly respected, and he brings a unique awareness of what this major needs to look like in the 21st century for a school like Boyce College. He’s an innovative thinker, a passionate teacher, and he’s a gracious and kind Christian gentleman with a wonderful family.”
This announcement comes shortly after Boyce’s business program added multiple new emphases: financial and accounting management; non-profit management; and entrepreneurial management. These programs highlight Boyce College’s commitment to both ministry preparation and professional deployment. The communication program will launch in the Fall 2019 term. More information about the program is available at www.boycecollege.com/communication.