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Dual Enrollment

The Dual Enrollment program at Cairn University provides motivated, talented, and Christ-centered high school students with an early opportunity to take college-level courses at deeply discounted tuition rates and experience a biblical university environment while still enrolled in high school.

campus entrance
cairn university students on walkway

Jump-start Your College Education

As a dual enrollment student, you’ll enjoy 80%+ discounted tuition* while saving on housing and living expenses. 

Taking 4-5 Dual Enrollment courses can shorten your college time by one semester resulting in thousands of dollars in savings when in college. 

Families who pay for dual-enrollment credits may use a 529 plan to cover tuition costs. 

*based on regular tuition rate.

Cairn classes foster intense intellectual engagement and genuine interaction with professors and peers both onsite or online. You will receive the same credits as the undergraduate students. These courses also help home education programs meet academic criteria for the state of PA and/or other states.

Cairn is regionally accredited and you can transfer the earned credits to other accredited colleges or universities (Christian or secular). Subjects like English composition, American history, and mathematics can count toward both high school graduation and your college transcript.

Upon completion, you will have an official college transcript on file, which may be applied toward a degree at Cairn or transferred to another college or university. No limit to how many you can take!

Cairn University is committed to the centrality of Christ and the Word of God and is reflected in the curriculum and instruction. We must do more than say it matters, we must act in a way that demonstrates it matters.

All instruction is grounded in the timeless Truth of God’s Word. No matter what your intended career path or field of study, Cairn is committed to helping you think about your career through a biblical worldview.

By taking college level classes now, you set yourself up for success when attending college. 

Dual Enrollment Options

CAIRN ONLINE

$ $75 per credit
  • Flexibility to Learn from Anywhere
  • Committed Faculty Mentors
  • Rigorous Asynchronous Instruction
  • 7-Week Terms

LANGHORNE CAMPUS

Onsite
$ $75 per credit
  • Learn in a Classroom Setting
  • Study Arts Onsite
  • Experience College Onsite
  • 15-Week Terms

DUAL ENROLLMENT PARTNERSHIPS

A Cairn education in your classroom
$
  • Available to Juniors and Seniors
  • Taught by Christian School Faculty
  • Accredited
  • AP or Honors Equivalent Courses
  • A Cairn Education in your Classroom

Available Courses

A drawing course introducing basic methods, media, and concepts. It emphasizes drawing from observation with development of relative value, negative/positive space and shape, composition, line, edge development, volumetric analysis of form, light, and perspective.

3 credits | First Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A course providing an introduction to painting, emphasizing the basic techniques of watercolor and acrylic paint. Students examine and consider cultural, historical, and personal modes of expression through an exposure to basic painting methods. Subject matter includes still life, landscape, figure, media experimentation, and exploration of individual creative expression.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A course providing an introduction to ceramics, emphasizing the imaginative design and production of ceramic objects utilizing hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques. Students examine and consider cultural, historical, and personal modes of expression through an exposure to the complete ceramic process, including the use of demonstrations, slides, and lectures.

3 credits | Second Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A course introducing basic methods, media, and concepts of relief printmaking. Students examine and consider cultural, historical, and personal modes of expression through an exposure to basic relief printmaking methods. Processes addressed include monotype, collagraph, wood block, linoleum block, and polystyrene blocks using both black-and-white and multiple-color printing.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

An overview of the unfolding of God’s redemptive story from creation to new creation with a focus on the fall into sin, the plan of redemption through Christ Jesus, and the effective communication of the message. 3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite and Online| APPLY NOW

An introduction to the field of marketing and the role of marketing in business. The components of the marketing mix and marketing environment are examined. Emphasis is placed on marketing strategies, market segmentation, packaging and labeling, promotion, and regulatory and competitive forces. Students develop a marketing plan for an organization.

3 credits | First Semester | Onsite and Online| APPLY NOW

A study of biblical statements regarding the nature of the local church as God’s special instrument in the world today, including a study of the purpose for the church and its function in producing spiritual and numerical growth. The course also includes a survey of church organization and the function of church officers. 

3 credits | First Semester | Onsite and Online| APPLY NOW

A course designed to develop effective, professional oral and written communication for a variety of settings.

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

An examination of the relationship between communication and popular culture, emphasizing how culture impacts the way humans interact with one another directly and indirectly. 3 credits | First Semesters | Onsite | APPLY NOW

An examination of the field of criminology focusing on theories and empirical patterns of crime and criminal behavior.

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A first-level course for all teacher education majors, designed to introduce the student to the teaching profession, to the University program for teacher preparation, and to the origins and development of educational thought. The historical context and sociological dynamics of educational thought are examined and evaluated in light of their impact on education today. 

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A course that examines the principles and practices of clear, concise, and literate writing, focusing on the content, style, organization, and mechanics of academic writing. This course provides the skills necessary for critical thinking, research-based writing, and correct documentation.

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A comparative study of major civilizations prior to 1500 AD, emphasizing their religious, political, economic, social, and cultural developments.

3 credits | Either Semester |  Onsite | APPLY NOW

A course that analyzes Western history from the Italian Renaissance to the present and examines the religious, political, economic, social, and cultural developments in humanity in Europe and its influence around the globe.

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A course designed to allow the student to examine the historical, philosophical, sociological, psychological, and developmental factors associated with issues and trends in health and physical education.

3 credits | First Semesters | Onsite | APPLY NOW

An introduction to the genre of poetry, focusing on prosody, imagery, diction, forms, and reading a wide variety of poems.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A study of American literature from the colonial period through the Civil War era.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A study of American literature from the Civil War era to the present.

3 credits | Second Semester | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

An investigation of selected mathematical topics that expand the students’ understanding of the nature and scope of mathematics, highlight the interdisciplinary characteristics of the subject, demand biblically integrative thinking, and promote creative mathematical thinking.

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite | APPLY NOW

An examination of the fundamental underlying concepts of various mathematical topics. Emphasis is placed on the study of sets, number systems, operations, algebraic functions, geometry, measurement, statistics, and probability.

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A review of algebra along with a development of polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A development of concepts from number and operation, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis and probability. This course traces the mathematical content strands from elementary understandings to those used in higher mathematics.

3 credits | Second Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

An examination of various topics in mathematics with direct application including estimation, income, bills and taxes, compound interest, and probability.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

Performance of standard and non-standard orchestral literature, as well as accompaniments for oratorio and concerto performances. Membership is open to all University students. Two-and-a-half hours of rehearsal per week.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

Performance of standard literature and non-standard works for wind ensemble. Membership is open to all University students by audition. Two and one-half hours of rehearsal per week.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A basic introduction to the principles of music theory: music notation, clefs, key signatures, scales, intervals, triads/seventh chords, and inversions, including their application to keyboard harmony through playing the circle of fifths and constructing scales and triads.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

An introduction to the materials of music and a chronological study of major musical periods, styles, and forms (including representative composers and compositions) from the Classical Era to the Present.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

An introduction to the materials of music and a chronological study of major musical periods, styles, and forms (including representative composers and compositions) from the Middle Ages through the Baroque period.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

An examination of the founding, structure, and operations of the United States government and the corresponding political processes and dynamics, with special emphasis on the rights and responsibilities of US citizens and residents.

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A study of the origins and development of the United States’ legal system from the colonial period to the present. Special emphasis is given to the ways the legal system, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court have influenced and been influenced by social, ideological, political, and economic factors. 3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A course designed to provide students with the fundamental principles of psychology, emphasizing basic research and applications in psychology’s major theoretical areas of study. 

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A course introducing students to historical and emerging areas in applied psychology in preparation for careers in psychology and related fields. 3 credits | Second Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A conceptual study of physics and chemistry, including principles of motion, energy, fluids, electricity, magnetism, and atomic theory and structure. 

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A study of the scientific principles and sociological issues related to environmental science. Emphasis is placed on relationships between human activity and the environment. 

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A course that examines the interconnectedness of the five Earth systems-lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, exosphere, and biosphere.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A course that explores the related disciplines of biological, chemical, geological, and physical oceanography.

3 credits | Either Semester | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A study of culture, social structure, anthropology, and human interaction through the social institutions of society. Special attention is given to the family, government, economy, education, and religion. 

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

A study of foundational vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of Spanish. Attention is given to the relationship between the Spanish language and Spanish-speaking cultures. 3 credits | First Semesters | Onsite | APPLY NOW

A continuing study of the vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of Spanish. Attention is given to the relationship between the Spanish language and Spanish-speaking cultures.

3 credits | Second Semesters | Onsite | APPLY NOW

An introduction to major doctrines of Christianity and to theological method: biblical, systematic, and historical theology. The relevance of the truths of these doctrines to life is explored.

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

An introduction to living faithfully as servants of God, with particular emphasis on the calling of the student. The course engages students in the biblical and theological rationale for biblical education and Christian discipleship.

3 credits | Both Semesters | Onsite and Online | APPLY NOW

*Core curriculum course

Not all courses are available every semester. Please contact your admissions counselor for a list of available courses for the upcoming semester.

Your Next Steps and FAQs

  • Consider whether you want to take your courses online or onsite. 
  • If you are planning to use Dual Enrollment courses as part of your curriculum, discuss your course selection with your school counselor to ensure it meets your specific requirements for high school graduation. 

Complete the application online. During the application process, you will also need to send the following: 

  • Your testimony of trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior, and how that has impacted your life and made you excited to study at a place like Cairn University. (500 word minimum). We want to ensure that Cairn is the right place for you
  • You must also demonstrate the academic ability, motivation necessary to succeed in a college-level course. We want to ensure you will be able to succeed in your investment. 

$75 per credit hour + any required course fees (textbooks not included)

Note:

  • Tuition must be paid prior to the start of class.

Can I transfer my college credits? 

The course transfer depends on where you are transferring from, and what program you are transferring to. If you are coming to Cairn Online from another institution, it is very likely you will have some credits that will transfer. Because there are so many options, we encourage you to talk to an enrollment counselor. If you are transferring out, Cairn is a regionally accredited school and some credits should transfer with relative ease. Each college sets their own transfer criteria, so be sure to check their policies for specifics.

What can I expect from Cairn Online Courses? 

Cairn Online courses based on Cairn’s 100+ years tradition of excellence in biblical education. Our on faculty has carefully designed them taking into consideration what works best for the online learner. The modular design and asynchronous delivery enable you to complete your studies while you pursue your career, ministry and spend time with your family.

Courses typically contain seven units and are delivered in 7-week terms*. Each unit contains 5-7 modular activities. Each learning activity includes instructional videos accompanied by reflections, quizzes, discussion forums and other assessments. Courses also utilize adaptive learning technologies such as Cerego for long-term retention of concepts and VoiceThread for enhanced collaboration.

The asynchronous delivery provides flexibility around your daily busy schedule. In most courses, interactive activities are typically due by Wednesday while the rest of the unit’s work is due by Sunday night. The MBA, M.A. in Music and Criminal Justice programs use the 7RD2 process and require the completion of certain activities daily to optimize learning.

Our own Cairn faculty intentionally participate in the course throughout the week to provide you with an incarnational experience.

To learn more about Cairn Online, please see the FAQs from this page

How do faculty participate in Cairn Online courses? 

All courses are developed by one or more course developers and taught by our own faculty. The instructors are also intentionally involved in the course throughout the week by providing direction in the course activities, participating in the forum discussions, grading the student work and providing substantive feedback. Most courses also offer optional office hours weekly via Zoom or similar video conferencing tools.

Am I required to be online at a particular time when taking online courses? 

All online dual enrollment courses are delivered asynchronously i.e. you do not have to be online at a particular time of the day. There are however activities that are due throughout the week. The courses are designed and typically offered in 7-week terms. 

Other Questions?

Contact the Office of Admissions at [email protected] or 215.702.4235.

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