This program is designed to help students serve in cross-cultural communities as agents of transformation. They will be equipped with the tools to design and implement mission methodologies, holistic models of ministry, effective strategies to communicate gospel truth, and knowledge to grasp and engage difficult global issues.
This program is designed to help students serve in cross-cultural communities as agents of transformation. They will be equipped with the tools to design and implement mission methodologies, holistic models of ministry, effective strategies to communicate gospel truth, and knowledge to grasp and engage difficult global issues. This vocational track allows students to incorporate a minor of their choice with their Global Transformation Track. Popular choices are Spanish, Non-Profits, Counseling, etc.
The program is designed to prepare students who sense a calling to missions and desire to serve overseas, but also desire to be teachers of English language learners in cross-cultural settings. This degree will benefit students who want to work with migrant communities in the USA.
Career Opportunities
- Author
- Chaplaincy
- Community Development
- Crisis Relief
- Domestic/International Nonprofit (NGO’s)
- Foreign Service Diplomat
- Government Work
- Humanitarian Aid
- International Development
- Missionary
- Overseas Business
- Professor
- Refugee Resettlement Work
- Rescue Missions Leader
- Social Media Ministry
- Teacher
- Urban Ministry
What to Expect
Weekend Sunday Shadowing
Weekend Sunday Shadowing, or WSS, is a weekend experience offered one time every semester where faculty and students visit a church, typically within a one-hour drive of Cleveland. The students and faculty visit on Saturday to interact with the church staff, do Q & A sessions, and have lunch. The day typically lasts from 9 a.m. – noon. Then on Sunday, the group returns to the church to “job shadow” respective staff members. Pastoral majors “shadow” the pastor, youth majors “shadow” the youth ministry, and so on, to see how the church functions “behind the scenes” during a service. Both the Saturday morning and Sunday morning components are required to receive credit for that weekend, in addition to a short post-event questionnaire. Students are required to complete four of these events during their four years at Lee.
Travel/Global Trips
- Micro-Internships which are comprised of a 2-to-3-week immersion experience either in the USA or overseas.
- Required 10-week international internship. (This is usually taken in the summer of your junior year.)
- Israel Study Abroad (Optional Trip)
Club/Social
- Theta Alpha Kappa
- Pi Alpha Sigma (Koine Greek)
- TAK - STM Honor Society
- Missions Alive is the Intercultural Studies Ministry club
Awards/Honors
- STM Award – pending faculty vote
- Discipline Award – by nomination of ICSP Discipline Coordinator
- Intercultural Studies does not have a unique honors society; however, students are invited to join the TAK Honors society for STM Majors
- Intercultural Studies Majors compete for the three university awards annually: Charles Paul Conn Award; F. J. Lee Award; Zeno C. Tharp Award.
Service
- Service projects are embedded in several Intercultural Studies courses during the course of a four-year study program. Some of these trips necessitate overnight stays.
- The Contemporary World Religions class requires a mandatory one-day trip to select religious sites in the course each school year.
- Multiple opportunities are provided to engage and serve marginalized communities.
Capstone
The Capstone course is designed to help graduating students integrate their faith with the academic knowledge they have gained throughout their studies. It is regarded as the final reflection of the essential Core Values of Lee University. All STM majors take a capstone class just prior to graduation (RELG 495).
Home/Location
Students spend the majority of their time in the STM Building and STM Commons area.
Internships/Practicum
Intercultural Studies Majors are required to complete a 10-week cross-cultural Internship at the end of the junior year in the summer in a context different from their own. Usually this experience takes place in a foreign country outside of the USA.
Research
Research papers are required in the upper 300 level classes in the major [ICS].