Overview

Known as a leader in Christ-centered higher education, Bethel University infuses faith with top-ranked academics to prepare women and men for excellence in leadership, scholarship and service. We integrate faith and learning in all programs, challenging students to grow academically, socially and spiritually. Through relationships with faculty, experiential learning and a Christ-centered community, Bethel students learn to tackle the world's most challenging problems while continuing to grow in their faith as they prepare for unique callings in the kingdom. Outside the classroom, Bethel offers exciting campus activities, valuable mentorship opportunities, excellent music performance groups, championship varsity and intramural sports and a wide variety of student clubs and organizations. We develop whole leaders who own their faith, step into the world with boldness and confidence, and act with integrity as they answer God’s call to do and be more.

A sense of calling, a commitment to shared values, and a deep desire to fulfill a greater purpose are characteristics of the Bethel community. Bethel challenges students to think critically about their convictions and consider some of life’s most difficult questions from a Christian perspective. And when graduates take their place in the increasingly diverse world, they’ll know what it means to own their faith and live for something more.

Religious affiliation: Evangelical Christian

Student body profile

Imagine studying the apostle Paul's ministry while retracing his footsteps across Turkey and Greece. Visualize a semester in Guatemala or Spain, immersed in the language and serving through the local church. Or place yourself in the Galapagos Islands, the world's most famous evolutionary observatory.

These are just a few of the 30-plus semester, summer and interim study abroad opportunities available to Bethel undergraduates. Most programs cost no more than Bethel tuition for a comparable term, and scholarships are available to support students enrolled in specific programs. No wonder why 50 percent of Bethel students travel abroad by the time they graduate.

Academics

Bethel has one of the largest undergraduate physics and engineering programs in the nation. The program focuses on cutting-edge research, collaboration with distinguished professors, open-ended projects that challenge students to discover new solutions and an active science community within a Christian learning environment. Bethel academics are about taking faith in Christ and integrating it into everything students learn, into everything they do, so they can accomplish incredible things — in their careers, in their communities and in their world.

Learning options

Dual-degree programs
Honors program
Internships
Pre-professional programs
Satellite campuses
Study abroad/away
Teacher licensure programs

Pre-professional programs

Pre-Chiropractic Medicine
Pre-Dentistry
Pre-Medicine and Healthcare
Pre-Nursing
Pre-Occupational Therapy
Pre-Optometry
Pre-Osteopathic Medicine
Pre-Pharmacy
Pre-Physical Therapy
Pre-Physician’s Assistant
Pre-Podiatry
Pre-Seminary

Freshman year was really hard. It challenged me in so many ways, but being at Bethel has encouraged me in my faith because it has pointed me back to the one thing that actually sustains my life. So often, people [at Bethel] choose to walk through that door, enter into your life, and care about you—whether you’re best friends with them or don’t even know them.

Peyton Gallagher '21

Admissions

Bethel has adopted a test-optional policy, meaning that prospective undergraduate students with a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher will no longer be required to submit an ACT or SAT score when they apply. If a student chooses not to submit a test score, Bethel will use GPA to gauge academic achievement and essay questions to determine whether a student is a good fit for Bethel’s faith-centered learning environment. Both are important factors in selecting students who are likely to be successful at Bethel.

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Cost & financial aid

Bethel is dedicated to helping College of Arts and Sciences students make the most out of scholarships, grants and loans — so college expenses don't stand in the way of students earning their degrees. Bethel wants to prepare students for success after graduation. That includes making tuition costs manageable, especially since 100 percent of incoming students receive financial aid.

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Tuition and fees 

First-time, full-time students receiving grants and scholarships
99%

Financial aid application deadline
April 15

FAFSA code
002338

Learn more about financial aid at Bethel.

Student activities

Bethel has everything from sports groups — like climbing club and broomball — to special interest groups — like anime club and model United Nations — to academic clubs to connect students within specific majors or with similar goals, like pre-med club or psychology club. We also offer Mu Kappa, a group for missionary kids, international students and third-culture kids.

Bethel Student Government sponsors student-led athletic, academic and special interest clubs and organizations. Participating students volunteer with local and global organizations, plan events, host speakers, network and experience personal growth and leadership development.

Number of student organizations
40+

Types of student organizations

Academic clubs
Community service
Cultural or ethnic
Honor societies
Political
Pre-professional
Religious
Student interest/hobbies
Student government

Fine art offerings

Every winter, Bethel hosts the Festival of Christmas. Over 300 student musicians practice hours and hours for a long weekend of performances to celebrate the Christmas season. The Bethel Choir, Men’s Choir, Women’s Choir, Wind Symphony, Festival Orchestra and Handbell Ensemble each have their moment to shine, under the direction of world class music faculty and performers. Theatre students read Scripture to pair with the stunning performances, and student dancers accompany a number of pieces as well to honor the physical element of such a holy season.

Instrumental Music

Concert Band
Handbells
Jazz Ensemble
Small Ensembles
Symphony Orchestra

Vocal Music

Jazz
Men's Choir
Mixed Choir
Women's Choir

Theater & Dance

Comedy / Improv
Dance Team / Club
Swing dance
Theater productions

Athletic programs

NCAA Division
Division III

Conference membership
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC)

Men's varsity

Baseball
Basketball
Cross-Country
Football
Golf
Hockey
Soccer
Tennis
Track and field (indoor and outdoor)

Women's varsity

Basketball
Cross-Country
Golf
Hockey
Soccer
Softball
Tennis
Track and Field (indoor and outdoor)
Volleyball

Club sports

Number of club sports
10

Bethel’s newest club sport is for the students who love activity of a button-smashing sort. A Bethel alumnus and current Bethel employee recently created the Esports club to encourage first-year students who love to game out of their rooms to play in community. The club meets either in person or virtually roughly once a week, and they have tournaments every six weeks or so — open to the whole Bethel community. Their first tournament was Rocket League, and 15 teams signed up, while many groups came in and out to watch their friends play and grab a piece of pizza.

Intramural sports

Number of intramural sports
6

One well-loved intramural sport at Bethel is broomball, and while some play to take their mind off the winter months in Minnesota, three Bethel alumni have dedicated their lives to the sport in some part. Shalanah (Backus) Dawson ’06 is a multi-time national champion and an International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA) world finalist. She and her husband, Grant Dawson ’05, technically met because of their love for the sport. Jacob Broten ’01 was named the MVP of the World Championship the year after he graduated Bethel. Intramural sports can have an impact long after students graduate.

After graduation

During their time at Bethel, students will be exposed to hands-on learning experiences that directly tie to what employers are looking for. Among Bethel seniors, 98 percent have participated in at least one high-impact practice like studying abroad, completing an internship, conduction faculty-led research or volunteering through service learning. And 88 percent have participated in two or more hands-on learning activities. Both of these data points are consistently higher than the national average. The Bethel experience will be filled with relevant skill-building opportunities that prepare students for their career of choice and give them an edge in the continuously changing workforce.

Disciplines with largest number of graduates
1. Business, management, marketing and related support services
2. Health professions and related programs
3. Education

Alumni majors
Use LinkedIn’s alumni tool* to explore what Bethel graduates majored in and the types of careers they have and with which companies.

*based only on those who have accounts on LinkedIn

Contact information

Other Student paths

Transfer

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Adult learners

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Graduate

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