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Build Your Career. Serve with Purpose. Lead with Integrity
Welcome to the Shelly Roden School of Education and Professional Studies at Arizona Christian University. We’re one of ACU’s academic schools, home to programs in business, education, healthcare, counseling, sports management, and more. Whether you take courses here as part of your major or to fulfill degree requirements, you’ll gain professional skills while seeing your field through a biblical lens.
At ACU, every student receives a biblical worldview education. But in the Shelly Roden School, you'll see how that worldview directly applies to your professional field.
Professional Skills with Biblical Foundation
You'll gain the technical skills employers demand while learning to lead with integrity and serve with excellence.
Careers That Transform Communities
Our graduates don't just clock in and collect a paycheck. They transform their workplaces and communities because they see their careers through a biblical lens.
Ready for Any Professional Setting
Whether you're called to the classroom, the boardroom, the clinic, or the field, programs in this school equip you to excel.
Biblical Worldview-Integrated Professional Practice
You won't compartmentalize your faith and your profession. From accounting to therapy to lesson planning, you'll explore how biblical truth informs professional practice.
In Business
You'll understand that every transaction involves people created in God's image. Learn to lead with integrity, practice ethical decision-making, and create value while serving others. Our business graduates don't just maximize profits—they build sustainable enterprises that honor God and benefit communities.
In Education
You'll see teaching as more than curriculum delivery. Discover how biblical understanding of human development shapes your classroom management, instructional methods, and relationships with students. Our education graduates don't just teach subjects—they form young lives with care.
In Healthcare & Counseling
You'll recognize that every patient and client is uniquely created and deeply valued by God. Learn to provide clinical excellence while honoring human dignity in every interaction. Our healthcare graduates don't just treat symptoms—they care for whole persons with compassion and competence.
In Exercise Science & Sports Management
You'll understand the body as God's design and athletics as a means of human flourishing. Learn to promote health, develop character through competition, and steward athletic programs with excellence. Our graduates don't just manage events—they build programs that develop people.
In Social Work & Ministry
You'll combine professional expertise with biblical understanding of justice, mercy, and human dignity. Learn to serve vulnerable populations with both competence and compassion. Our graduates don't just meet requirements—they advocate for change and restore hope.
Faculty Who've Been Where You're Going
Our professors aren't just academics—they're experienced practitioners who bring real-world expertise into the classroom. They've run businesses, taught in schools, worked in hospitals, and served in communities. And they're committed to mentoring you, not just lecturing you.
Hands-On Learning from Day One
You won't just read case studies. You'll complete internships, practicums, and real-world projects that give you experience before you graduate. Our partnerships with Phoenix-area businesses, schools, hospitals, and organizations mean you'll build your resume while earning your degree.
Biblical Integration in Every Course
From accounting principles to therapeutic techniques, from lesson planning to exercise physiology, you'll explore how biblical truth informs professional practice. This integration prepares you to think critically and lead confidently in any workplace.
Small Classes That Feel Like Community
You're not a number here. With class sizes typically under 20 students, you'll know your professors and classmates well. Study together. Learn together. Challenge each other. These relationships will support you throughout your time at ACU and beyond.
Career Preparation Throughout Your Degree
We're focused on your success after graduation. You'll receive career counseling, resume building, interview preparation, and networking opportunities throughout your time here. Our goal isn't just to help you graduate—it's to help you thrive in your chosen field.
Natural & Psychological Sciences
Dr. William Nelson
Business Administration & Communication
Dr. Ryan Lunsford
Education
Dr. Lisa Bernier
Every student who walks through our doors has a career ahead of them that will touch other people’s lives. Whether you’re preparing to teach a classroom of children, lead a business team, counsel someone in crisis, or manage an athletic program, your work will matter. That’s what drives everything we do in this school. We don’t separate professional training from faith formation—we weave them together so you graduate ready to serve with both competence and conviction. Our faculty have been practitioners in the very fields they teach, and they’re here to mentor you every step of the way. We can’t wait to see the impact you’ll make.
Dr. Linnea Lyding
Dean of the Shelly Roden School of Education & Professional Studies
The Shelly Roden School of Education and Professional Studies at ACU will equip you with the skills, knowledge, and biblical foundation to excel in your career and make a lasting impact. You’ll graduate ready to represent Christ in word, mind, and action in both your personal and professional life.
Whether you’re planning to teach, heal, lead, serve, or manage, your education at ACU will prepare you not just to succeed, but to transform your field. You’ll see your career as more than a job—it’s a calling. And we’re here to help you answer it with excellence.
Explore our programs and discover how ACU can equip you to build a career that matters.
