Northwest Christian University (NCU) is a private liberal arts college located in Eugene, Oregon. It was founded by Eugene Sanderson as the Eugene Divinity School in 1895. It was strategically located adjacent to the University of Oregon which made it possible for students studying Christian Ministry in NCU to have access to the resources offered by the bigger university. It was renamed the Eugene Bible School in 1908 and eventually the Eugene Bible College which focused on training students for ministry. The year 1934 saw another name change to Northwest Christian College. It achieved university status in 2008. The university is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Christian Churches of Christ.
Northwest Christian University considers it its primary mission to develop competent and ethical leaders for service in the workplace, the community, the church, and the world. Its core values consist of academic excellence, faith commitment, ethical leadership, character development, caring community, and global engagement. It seeks to highlight its Christian identity through unity of Christians all over the world instead of division. It also accepts the Bible as the Holy Scripture, that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, and that the love of God as expressed in Jesus Christ has the power to change lives through faith.
Northwest Christian University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Undergraduate programs in Biology, Communication, English, Exercise Science, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Mathematics, Music Industry, Music Ministry, Pre-Professional Health Science, and Psychology are offered by the School of Arts and Sciences. The School of Business and Management offer programs in Accounting and Business Administration while the School of Education and Counseling offers Teacher Education programs. The School of Christian Ministries offer programs in Bible and Theology as well as Christian Ministry. Offered master’s degree programs include different areas of study including Business Administration, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Education, Education with Licensure, and School Counseling.
Tuition for a traditional undergraduate daytime student is $22,900.00 annually for 12 to 18 credits per semester. Room and board costs approximately $7,100.00. Tuition for graduate degree programs cost $570.00 while Professional Studies Programs cost $410.00 per credit hour. Books and supplies cost for traditional programs is estimated at $900.00 while graduate and professional programs require payment of $55.00 per credit hour and $30.00 per credit hour, respectively for books and supplies.
More than 98% of undergraduate students receive considerable financial aid through grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study. Institutional scholarships include Merit Scholarship, Visit Scholarship, Music Scholarship, Athletic Scholarship, and Endowed Scholarship. NCU Grants include the NCU Church Matching Grant, Heritage Grant, Minister’s Child Grant, Sibling Grant, and various need-grants.
NCU is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic and the Cascade Collegiate Conference. It fields its Beacon teams in men and women’s basketball, men and women’s cross-country distance track, men and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s softball, and women’s volleyball. NCU teams have won eight national championships since 1983.
Northwest Christian University’s total student population is 625. About 59% are women and 41% are men. Comprising the bulk of the student population are Caucasians. Other ethnicity represented includes Black, Hispanic, and Indian. The over-all percentage of graduation is 61% while retention rate is 53%.