Olivet Nazarene University's School of Graduate and Continuing Studies provides educational resources in the areas of business, education, nursing, theology and counseling, and offers degrees at the associates, bachelors, master's, and doctoral levels.
Olivet was founded in 1907, and the main campus is located one hour south of Chicago in Bourbonnais, Ill. Olivet Nazarene University is a liberal arts university with more than 100 areas of study and is home to 2,600 undergraduate students.
The School of Graduate and Continuing Studies extends the mission of the University to thousands of adult students. In the past 20 years, more than 10,000 students have earned degrees and are now making a difference in their communities as a result of their education.
Our classes meet online or at numerous locations throughout Illinois. The School of Graduate and Continuing Studies has offices in Bourbonnais, Rolling Meadows and Oak Brook, Ill.
Our Philosophy
The School of Graduate and Continuing Studies exists to serve adult and non-traditional students by providing educational resourcing that equips them to transform the communities around them in the modeled spirit of Jesus Christ.
We believe in people.
We believe that education unlocks a person’s potential.
We believe an educated person has a significant impact on his or her community.
We believe an education is not something to be contained, but is intended to impact the world.
Our Mission
Olivet Nazarene University, a denominational university in the Wesleyan tradition, exists to provide a university-level liberal arts "Education with a Christian Purpose."
Our mission is to provide high-quality academic instruction for the purpose of personal development, career and professional readiness, and the preparation of individuals for lives of service to God and humanity.
"We seek the strongest scholarship and the deepest piety, knowing that they are thoroughly compatible (and) ... a Christian environment ... where not only knowledge but character is sought."
(Quotation from the Olivet Nazarene University Catalog, 1915)