THEO111 Christian Experience I (Personal Relationship)

Recent popes have emphasized the necessity of personal encounter with Jesus Christ. This exhortation raises questions, however, for individual Christian disciples. For JPCatholic students, specifically, this course considers how such an encounter can be fostered within a university community, and how it might be lived in an ongoing way. It therefore doubles as an introduction to university community and to Catholic theological study, and connects faith principles with lived experience so as to bolster faith and spur evangelization.

Watch Christian Experience video

THEO112 Christian Experience II (Catholic Doctrine)

This course introduces students to the diverse world of radio, television, news, cinema, internet, print and advertising. Students will learn how to critically experience such media and analyze its desired results. Students will also explore how media has developed and evolved through history and examine the current influences of media on society from a cultural, artistic and economic perspective. In addition, we will explore what the role of Christians in this new media environment can and should be, and how we can best utilize the opportunities available to us to become who we want to be.

Watch Christian Experience video

THEO112 Christian Experience III (The Sacramental Life)

Our redemption was accomplished by a God who entered history. As a consequence, Catholics understand communion as something that occurs in a context of tradition. Faith is handed down over centuries by the successors of the apostles; we read and interpret Sacred Scripture according to long-established understandings and principles; our prayer to the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit bears a striking resemblance to that of the first Christian communities. This course examines sacramental ritual and considers the perennial necessity of personal prayer, enabling students to better understand the power of this ancient faith. In its essential elements it never changes—which is precisely what allows it to change us.

Watch Christian Experience video

THEO216 Christian Experience IV (Theology of the Body)

It is all too easy to see one’s own desires as what really matters, and to live accordingly. With his Theology of the Body, however, Pope St. John Paul the Great offers a fresh perspective, one that dares to lift us above the confusion and malaise wrought by this era’s remarkable selfishness. This course affords students an opportunity to explore this theological treasure given to the Church by our university’s patron, and to better see how an individual human life can be lived not selfishly, but as a gift received from God and intended for others.

Watch Christian Experience video

THEO205 New Testament

In this course the student explores the Scriptures, particularly the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to understand the person of Jesus Christ. This Scripture course serves as the starting point for JPCatholic University’s religion curriculum. While examining some of the basic literary and historical issues relating to Scripture study, the course also introduces students to the theological principles of Catholic biblical exegesis. The course also explores ways the study of Scripture enhances the life of prayer.

PHIL101 Logic

In this course students learn about the basic structures of sound reasoning, focusing largely on classic Aristotelian logic. The course serves to help students think and argue with clarity as well as to effectively analyze arguments of others. The course includes a careful analysis of the operations of the intellect, i.e., understanding, judgment, and reasoning, focusing on their products, i.e., term, proposition, and syllogism.

PHIL203 Philosophy of Nature

This course is a detailed study in the various understandings of nature, beginning from the mythology of the Enuma Elish as a primitive attempt at grasping the world, to the classical understanding found in Aristotle’s Physics and 141 Parts of Animals and their Medieval development in Thomas Aquinas’s The Principles of Nature, to foundational texts in modern natural sciences such as those of Descartes, Galileo and Newton, to discussions of evolution found in Darwin, and finally to near contemporary physicists such as Heisenberg. The contrast between the classical stress on substantial form and formal causality and the modern method of material causality and mathematical law will be brought to the forefront, as will the emphasis on technology as a mastery of nature in modern science and the question of teleology, whether nature acts for a purpose.

PHIL204 Philosophy of Man

After providing an overview of the basic principles of the Philosophy of Nature, this course examines the nature of the human being, beginning from the Epic of Gilgamesh, continuing through the Classical period by means of Aristotle, the Middle Ages in St. Thomas Aquinas, the Renaissance via Blaise Pascal, and concluding in the modern period in Nietzsche, Freud and T. S. Eliot.

PHIL408 Philosophy of Man

This is a course in the various understandings of metaphysics, or the nature of being as being, beginning from Plato’s Timaeus, continuing through the Classical period by means of Aristotle, and the Middle Ages in St. Thomas Aquinas. The course continues by covering several related questions, beginning with Natural Theology (discussing the traditional proofs for the existence of God, the Divine Attributes that can be understood using reason alone, the analogy of being, and the act of creation), continuing with the “problem of evil” and the question of free will.

HUMA111 Cultural Foundations I (The Classical Period)

As this course engages apparently timeless literary works from the classical tradition, it situates them within specific historical contexts. This approach enables students to better appreciate the enduring power of story even as they recognize the complex relationship art to its surrounding culture. Masterworks of pagan antiquity (Homer and/or Virgil) give way to key texts of early Christendom (Augustine, Beowulf, and others) in order to further illuminate the impact of Christian theology and anthropology on artists and thinkers in myriad disciplines.

HUMA112 Cultural Foundations II (The Middle Ages & the Renaissance)

This course tracks the development in European art and thought during the transition from the High Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Special attention is paid at the outset to the tensions arising from, surrounding, and even bringing about this epochal shift, especially as evidenced in Dante’s Divine Comedy. When the course later shifts its focus to texts produced by Shakespeare and other authors in Renaissance England, students find these tensions now located in increasingly realistic and complex human figures and dramas. Through these explorations students come to see the distinctive groundwork being laid for what will later be recognized as the modern period.

HUMA113 Cultural Foundations III (The Early Modernity)

This third course in our Cultural Foundations series tracks the rise of modernity against the backdrop of various 18th and 19th century upheavals. In order to best appreciate the dynamism and complexity of this period, students will immerse themselves in the literary form most characteristic of the 19th century: the novel. By applying order to an increasingly dissonant world, the great novels of the European tradition illuminate daily life amidst revolutionary change in a uniquely personal way, and they capture in their progress both the subtlest movements of human consciousness and the most profound transformations of human hearts.

HUMA301 Global Cultures, History & Politics

This course studies a wide variety of global cultures by listening to indigenous voices expressing themselves in cultural products that include novels, films, music, poetry, essays, speeches, and journalism.

HUMA120 Culture Making *

This course examines how media and business shape the attitudes, practices and beliefs of individuals and groups, and develops in students a rich understanding of the subtle and powerful cultural currents swirling around them, so that they can make valuable contributions to the development of future cultures. Students will consider critically how media and business shape them, learning to recognize the attitudes, assumptions, arguments and ideas promoted by media and business enterprises and products. They will develop a full, thoughtful and practical understanding of what cultures are and how they grow, and of the university’s mission to Impact Culture for Christ. They will gain an understanding of how Christians are perceived by the cultures around them, and appreciate how one gains the privilege of participation in the shaping of cultures. Finally, students will learn to articulate what of value they have to offer the cultures around them, and how they hope to make that contribution over the course of their lives and careers.

HUMA122 College Writing I *

This course will emphasize the use of correct grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics. Students will be required to apply these skills to writing assignments.

HUMA124 Advanced College Writing

Students conduct research on a primary text and write a lengthy paper, practicing revision and editing skills as they develop their original theses. This class encourages a “close reading” of a primary text, requires students to build an annotated bibliography to evaluate secondary and tertiary source material, and introduces rhetorical concepts in the effort to help students become stronger readers and writers.

MATH202 Personal Finance & Success

This course provides students with concepts and strategies related to practical financial and personal decision-making. Taking a holistic approach, students will be given the tools to manage not just their personal finances, but their investments in time, service, etc. Topics will include budgeting, spending, hsaving, borrowing, investing, time management, tithing, and giving.

SCIN300 Science, Technology & Culture

This course will familiarize students with fundamental scientific concepts and explore how the application of those concepts affects society and global economics. Topics include: the structure of the atom and its applications in biology and physics; circuits, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things; DNA, diseases, and vaccines. Each topic builds towards the question, "what does Catholic teaching tell us about how we as Christians live and participate in this rapidly changing world?"

BUSI106 Entrepreneurial Thinking

In today’s world there is a need for strategic thinking and business vision based on a different paradigm. Competition is not only between products and services, but also between business models. Students will learn about innovation-driven business strategies and methodologies to develop business designs to successfully compete in the new economy.

BUSI120 Project Management

This course teaches the principles of project management that are commonly used to plan and measure projects in industry. It presents the project management mind-set, tools, and skills for successfully defining, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and reporting a project. Topics covered include: the project life cycle, fundamental PM processes, development of the project plan, interpersonal management skills, and managing changes during project execution. Case studies are from technology and media applications.

BUSI193 Introduction to Marketing

This course focuses on introducing the idea of “entrepreneurial marketing” and is aimed at students who plan to start a new venture or take a job as a marketing professional pursuing an innovative marketing approach. Students will study a full spectrum of marketing strategy and tactics that are especially suitable for entrepreneurial firms aiming for high growth and innovation yet faced by limited resources and uncertain industry dynamics. Students will work in teams on marketing plans for their own venture or for other high profile entrepreneurs or executives. The focus of this course is on hands-on experiences and practical relevance of innovative marketing concepts.

BUSI209 Building Blocks of Business

In this class students get a “big picture” look at the ingredients of a start-up firm and the process of creating one. The class details those ingredients, discusses the stories (good & bad) of people who have done it, and learn the process by going through it with a self-select team. Students learn: the business planning process, which maps how to move from an idea to an actual enterprise offering an actual product/service/apostolate; How to craft a compelling and clear business story that captures the true essence of your business; and finally acquire inquisitiveness as to how the world of business really works. The class deliverable is a complete Business Plan created by student teams along with a presentation of the plan.

BUSI300 Negotiation Skills

This course teaches students to meet and resolve objections and conflicts that result from written and oral proposals and pitches. Emphasis is on resolving customer obstacles before addressing your own. Topics covered include: Wants vs. Needs; Win-Win Strategies; Best Alternatives to Agreement; Schedule vs. Quality vs. Cost; Progress vs. Perfection. The class progresses through carefully structured, progressively more complex negotiation exercises. Students learn how external and internal negotiation has become a way of life for effective managers in a constantly changing business environment.

BUSI393 Leadership and Management

This course is an introductory-level course for students. Its intent is to give an in-depth understanding of the differences between – and similarities of — leadership and management. The course focuses on the major traits of leaders and managers, and augments these with examples of great historic leaders, including George Custer and Jesus Christ. The course also studies the many leadership traits of Abraham Lincoln, and looks at how these can be applied in modern business to improve management techniques. As part of the learning process, students give summaries of Lincoln’s leadership lessons, using short, Power Point presentations.

COMM200 Business Communications

This course will teach students how to write and speak effectively in business and other communication.

BUSI100 Intro to Products & Markets

The purpose of this class is to review current information about companies and business trends, to learn important lessons regarding the products they are selling and the markets they are serving. Students will use real-world and timely experience from a variety of businesses by reading the Wall Street Journal. Students will also become proficient in brief Power Point presentations.

BUSI102 Excel & Statistics for Business

This course will provide hands-on experience building effective and accurate spreadsheet models. The course reviews and strengthens the student’s understanding of applied mathematical concepts relevant to solving problems in accounting and finance. Students will learn basic and advanced functions, and how to practically apply them to business problems.

BUSI104 Principles of Accounting

This course provides the student with the fundamental understandings of how the accounting process is used to measure and report economic events to outside stakeholders. The course focuses on fundamental concepts, required financial statements, and key relationships. The course emphasizes the role of accounting in decision making by investors, creditors, and regulators. The primary objective of this class is that students will be able to demonstrate, at a basic level, an understanding of the knowledge and practice of the core business discipline of accounting.

BUSI203 Principles of Finance

This course provides the student with the fundamental understandings of how financial issues impact the decision-making process in companies. Students learn the significance of costs, profitability, and the general financial consequences that result from day-to-day business decisions. They will learn strategies to make better investment and financing decisions in entrepreneurial settings. The course covers the stages of the company growth process, from startup to exit. The case studies cover technology-based businesses, with the emphasis on gaining financial insights. The course will introduce the student briefly to structuring multi-staged start-up financings, understanding business models, and valuing entrepreneurial ventures. The primary objective of this class is that students will be able to demonstrate, at a basic level, a global understanding of the knowledge and practice of the core business discipline of finance.

BUSI218 Microeconomics

This course introduces the basic principles of economics and their applications to managerial decision making. It begins with an analysis of the decision making of individual consumers and producers and how they interact in a variety of marketing settings. Other topics covered include: decision making in risky situations; the complexity of pricing, production, and market entry and exit; and the relationship between market structure and the strategic choices that are open to the company. The course forces the student to think systematically about achieving competitive advantage through the management of the firm's resources.

BUSI219 Macroeconomics

This course gives an in-depth introduction to the major concepts of business macroeconomics, exposing them to the issues faced by companies competing in global markets. This course is devoted to the fundamental principles of macroeconomics, with particular attention paid to how these principles shape the structure and performance of nations and governments. The course provides conceptual tools for analyzing how governments and social institutions inter-relate, and how their policies influence economic competition on national and global scales. They learn how national systems have affected production, inflation, unemployment, as well as the quality of life in their respective countries.

BUSI323 Human-Centered Design

In this course students learn the human-centered design process, which moves from concrete observations about people to abstract thinking then back to the concrete with tangible solutions that are desirable, feasible, and viable in today's global business environment.

BUSI418 Business Career Strategies

In this class, students will reflect on their future career goals. Specifically, they will: determine their ideal career goal and put a concrete career plan in place now to accomplish it; learn to network in the professional community that you want to join; create a professional resumé and an equivalent LinkedIn profile, where the student will connect with 100 professionals in their immediate field of interest; form a team of 4-6 students to arrange group meetings with professionals in a field relevant to the student group; get an internship that could transition into a part-time job prior to graduation and into a full-time job after graduation; reflect on their personal strengths and weaknesses; create a personal Plan for Success; and create a 30 second Elevator Pitch.

BUSI420 Business Law

Students study in detail the significant legal considerations involved with forming and operating a sustainable small business, becoming acquainted with real-world examples of incorporation issues and trade-offs, taxes and tax liabilities, human resource commitments and limitations, advertising issues and implications; contract law; patent, copyright and trademark law; and digital rights management.

BUSI431 Global Markets

This course outlines fundamental differences among developed and developing countries, starting briefly with broad historical differences and moving on to specific issues such as the protection of property rights, corruption and the effects of political institutions. Particular attention will be given to China’s influence on global markets and its economic ties to the United States. The role of international institutions such as the IMF and World Trade Organization also are discussed. Public policies and institutions that shape competitive outcomes are examined through cases and analytical readings on different companies and industries operating in both developed and emerging markets.

BUSI490 Business Launchpad I

The first in a sequence of three 3-unit classes offered to upperclassmen, generally seniors. This course explores market opportunities and needs, competitive market landscapes, skill competencies and gaps, and the process of creating a financial forecast model.

BUSI222 Project Execution I

Students will learn how to successfully execute a small project, gaining understanding of the key steps in project planning and execution. They will play a key role in a real project by planning, executing and debriefing. By experiencing being a part of a team and having to learn from team members, they will apply their lessons learned in class and eventually in their own businesses.

BUSI394 Advanced Leadership

Building off BUSI393 Leadership & Management, Advanced Leadership explores further the concept of leadership, what makes a good leader. Taking these ideas, students are able to implement them in their personal, academic, and professional lives. Doing so develops their own leadership abilities. Particular emphasis is placed on the moral and ethical requirements of Catholic leaders, formed by the teachings of the Church.

BUSI422 Project Execution II

This course is designed for junior and senior entrepreneurial business students, and builds upon earlier courses in leadership, project management, and Project Execution I. The course’s intent is to show how to successfully visualize, plan, brief, execute, and debrief a more complex project involving the entire class. The center piece of the course is the actual execution of a three-day wilderness campout involving JPCatholic students as part of their overall academic experience. The course shows how management (represented by half students) can successfully plan and brief a project that is executed by other staff (represented by the other half), which in-turn demonstrates the importance of visualization, discussion, and tapping into the experience of others, as well as how to successfully debrief the team to learn valuable lessons. Consequently, the course gives valuable insight, since the division of duties mimics real-life project execution in the business world, where management and staff have different roles and responsibilities.

Prerequisite: BUSI222

BUSI423 Organizational Design

This course is an introduction to the step-by-step methodology companies use to realign work flow, procedures, structures, and systems to fit the business. The course will look at how this process leads to effective organizations through: improved profitability; better customer service; efficient internal operations; and integration of employees with core business processes, technology, and systems.

THEO422 Theology of Leadership

This course will provide students with the opportunity to explore the theology of leadership. Topics will include: Leading like Christ, ways in which saints have led, and growth in virtue. Focus will be given to exploring ways in which one can personally emulate Christ and the Saints, identification of personal gifts, and discerning specific ways in which these gifts can be used in service of God and others.