Students — Apply for the BSC Fellows Program

Exploring the intersection of Leadership, Faith, and Society

The BSC Fellows Program offers undergraduate and graduate students a biblical and theological foundation during their time at Virginia Tech. The program combines rich community and conversation, Christian spiritual formation, and the historic resources of the Christian tradition, helping students to see their studies and callings in the light of the gospel. This multi-semester program aims to provide a grounding in the best of what the Christian tradition—the Bible, the early church, and more recent Christian writers—says about what it means to bring our whole lives into God’s story for the world.

We encourage you to try out the Fellows Program for the Fall Semester with our first cohort: Rooted — Finding Your Part in God’s Plan.

I would like more information about Fall 2020!
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“The Bradley Study Center Fellows program has truly enriched my experience as a student at Virginia Tech. The program has enabled me to connect with other believers in the university setting, deepened my faith and understanding of Scripture, and most importantly, has helped me make a lasting connection between my faith and my work as an engineering PhD student. I highly recommend this experience to students of every stage and field of study!”

Natalie, Class of 2021

What’s involved in the the BSC Fellows Program?

The BSC Fellows Program includes three parts, which you can take throughout your studies at Virginia Tech, exploring important themes of Christian theology and application to real life.  The Fellows Program includes two “cohorts” of up to 12 students and faculty — one offered in the Fall and one in the Spring.  Each cohort meets weekly for 12 weeks during the semester, often over a meal.  There is some advance reading — 15-20 pages each week — which is strongly encouraged to promote more engaging and fruitful discussions.  Fellows who complete the program will be awarded a Certificate in Christian Studies, formally recognizing their education in the Christian tradition and exploration of Christian vocation.

The BSC Fellows Program has Three Core Parts:

Finding Your Part in God’s Plan
Each Fall Semester

This cohort provides deep immersion in Scripture as we trace the arc of the biblical story from creation in Genesis to new creation in Revelation.  We will consider how all parts of Scripture are connected to one another in the unfolding of God’s purposes and we will explore how our own respective purpose in life is found in God’s larger plans for the world, and particularly what this means for life now as college students.  We’ll use The Drama of Scripture and the Bible as our texts.

(Colossians 2:6-8)

The Renewing of your Mind

Students complete a self-directed learning project under the direction of a tutor — a VT faculty or BSC staff.  This presents a student with the opportunity for guided study on a topic of interest, or other learning project of interest to the student.  Options might include one or more BSC reading groups, a study exploring a topic of theology, vocation, science and faith, Christian themes in a class you are taking, or a reflection on a Spring or Summer mission trip.

(2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Christian Calling in Public Life
Each Spring Semester

In this cohort we explore what Christian faithfulness looks like in our twenty-first century society and how the Christian faith guides and informs our academic study and future vocations.  We consider what it means to be human: how we’re designed for worship, love, embodiment, freedom, work, and more.  We seek to understand both the challenges and the opportunities for Christians studying at a public university and preparing to become Christian leaders in our modern society.

(Acts 1:8)

Fall 2020 Activities

FALL FELLOWS COHORT

ROOTED: Finding Your Part in God’s Plan

See the description up above!

Mondays, 5:30-7:30pm (with dinner)

FELLOWS RETREAT
Mountain Lake Lodge
September 19, 9am – 3pm

Join us for a day retreat at the beautiful Mountain Lake Lodge, only 25 minutes west of Blacksburg.  We’ll gather student fellows, faculty, and study center staff for a day focusing on integrating spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation in Christ.  Faculty from Virginia Tech will offer their wisdom, and we’ll have time for hiking up to Bald Knob!

The New Testament in its World, Part 1
This is your passageway from the twenty-first century to the era of Jesus and the first Christians.  Questions we will explore include: What is the purpose of the New Testament?  What was the first-century understanding of the kingdom?  What is the real meaning of the resurrection in its original context?  What really were the Gospels? How do the gospels and Paul’s letters relate? As twenty-first-century people, how do we recover the excitement of what it was like to live as Christians in the first or second centuries?  We’ll work through the first half of The New Testament in its World covering the cultural background of the NT and the letters of the Apostle Paul. (Part 2 will be offered in the Spring Semester)

Thursdays, 6:00-7:30pm

Other Opportunities for Fellows

We believe fostering Christian community with a focus on spiritual and intellectual formation is an important part of the ministry of the Bradley Study Center. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in additional opportunities for:

• Occasional dinners at a faculty member’s home

• Annual day retreat at Mountain Lake Lodge early in the academic year (September 19)

• Optional 1-1 mentoring by study center staff, faculty, or local friends of the BSC

• A carefully curated selection of classic Christian works. By participating in the main elements of the Fellows Program, you’ll receive a small library of rich, classic Christian works of literature and theology

• Priority application for a trip to Israel during the 2021 Spring Break (March 7-17)

I would like more information about Fall 2020!

“The Fellows program created an amazing community of faculty and students with dinners and theological conversations. Anyone who is interested in discussing Scripture, Christian living, and theology I would recommend to join the Fellows program.”

Zak, Class of 2020