Calvary Chapel Bible College is a ministry of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. Its main campus is in Murrieta, California, which has an average attendance of approximately 400 full-time students, 50 part-time students, and 150 distance learning students. The mission statement of Calvary Chapel Bible College is "To Know God and Equip His Servants". It operates on a 15-week spring and fall semester schedule. Classes offered include individual books of Bible, topical courses (in Worship, Missions, Apologetics, Christian Leadership, and Biblical Greek and Hebrew), Old and New Testament Surveys, Practical Christian Ministry, Community Worship, and Morning Chapel.
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Founded in 1975, the college was originally a "short, intensive study program" (Calvary Chapel Bible School in Twin Peaks California)[1] with a tape-based curriculum that consisted primarily of sermons by Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith, but it now is a full program leading to two and four-year degrees.[2] Certificates of completion are awarded to students who are either not prepared for college-level work or who have not completed high school. The college is unaccredited and says it wishes to remain that way in order to continue offering affordable tuition and courses. This also allows the college to utilize pastors that may not have a postgraduate degree but who are highly experienced and gifted.[3] There are two Calvary Chapel Bible College Affiliate Campuses that are accredited outside of the United States by agencies not recognized by the United States Department of Education: Calvary Chapel York Bible College (York, England) and Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe (Vajta, Hungary).
An Associate of Theology degree is offered to high school graduates, and Bachelor of Biblical Studies degrees are given to students who have completed an associate's degree or the equivalent from an accredited college.[4]
No matter which degree or certificate is earned, the program of study is the same. Required courses are Genesis, Romans, Acts, Revelation, Apologetics, Biblical Missions, Theology, and one of the four Gospels. The remaining requirements are fifteen units of elective Bible classes, twelve units of listening to Chuck Smith's Through the Bible series, four semesters of practical service, and other electives. The total number of semester units required to graduate with the Associate's degree is 80.[5]