Academics

Creating meaningful learning and relationships through on-campus intensive courses

One of the highlights for many students is our unique “intensive courses.” These one-week courses are taught on Messiah College's campus in Grantham, Pa., conveniently located near the state capital of Harrisburg—an easy driving distance from numerous metro areas in Pennsylvania and surrounding states.

Intensive courses are named for their concentrated meeting time and immersive learning experience. Typically, these classes meet for five days during the summer months, or in January, for eight hours a day. They include a mixture of lecture, discussion, group work, videos, and applied exercises. Students enjoy digging deeply into one subject matter and getting to know their classmates and professors. In fact students often share with us that these intensive courses help to build a face-to-face relationship with the people you will be interacting with online throughout your program.

Each graduate program has a different course schedule and requirements regarding the intensive courses—many of which require internships or other practica that complement the theoretical content that you will be learning in your classroom experience.

Messiah offers on-campus lodging and meal options for students who are travelling from outside the local area for their summer intensive course week—or there are numerous hotels and restaurants in the surrounding area. Visit our housing and meals page for additional details.