Division of Science and Mathematics

Belhaven University is committed to advancing the cause of Christ in every part of the educational experience including science and mathematics.  Belhaven has a commitment to teaching sciences with a foundation in Biblical truth including the ethic of stewardship and responsibility. 

Belhaven’s Division of Science and Mathematics is home to the Departments of Biology, Chemistry & Physics, Computer Science, Nursing, Mathematics as well as Sports Medicine & Exercise Science.  Each of these programs maintains the highest quality faculty working with newly improved classroom and laboratory facilities to produce graduates meeting the highest standards of undergraduate education. 

Our programs prepare students for graduate and professional schools or for direct entrance into the industrial work force in private and public sectors.

Students majoring in the sciences also have the choice of concentrating in more advanced areas including Biochemistry, Chemical Physics, Ecology and Field Sciences as well as others. 

Belhaven takes great pride in our highly successful pre-medical and pre-health professional programs as well as our newly invigorated pre-engineering program.   All of our graduates are trained using the latest modern technological and laboratory methods to prepare them for increasingly technical careers in science related fields. 

Students graduating from our program can expect to pursue careers in medicine, nursing and allied health, research and development, teaching, statistics, actuarial sciences, information sciences, forensics, the pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, environmental science and conservation, and sports and therapy related areas.  Additionally, Belhaven has several opportunities to help tailor programs of study for students looking to bridge gaps between basic science, business, law, communication, and public policy.  Students interested in careers in research will find ample opportunities to conduct guided independent research projects in a variety of areas of investigation on and off campus. 

Belhaven science faculty are all research active and maintain close contact with a network of local, regional, and national entities that give our students a unique opportunity to pursue independent study in a variety of ways.

The Division of Science and Mathematics prepares non-science majors and science majors alike to be civically engaged.  All Belhaven courses, including those in our general education course series “Science & Culture” course series engage diverse students in not only rigorous academics but also in issues and opportunities that continue to impact the local and global community. 

Thus, in addition to preparing the technical critical thinking and problem solving skills of our students, we are also engaging them in the constructive and destructive attributes of science and technology and their effects on an increasingly global society.  These discussions connect students with how science and technology have historically been connected to the church and its role in developing Christian and secular worldviews.  In this way, our students are prepared to meet the complex multidisciplinary problems that challenge modern society.

Belhaven recognizes that many modern students are pursuing a variety of different activities at once.  In some cases, students have families, work jobs, play sports, or are committed to other endeavors including entrepreneurship, the arts, or church service and missions.  Belhaven faculty and administration respects the outside lives of students and work to craft a degree program that fits student limitations while also helping them achieve their goals. 

Belhaven maintains an organized group of qualified tutors in the various departments and in Belhaven’s Think Center.  These tutors are prepared to work with students at all levels of ability. 

Our mission is to engage all students in math and science and to help students overcome deficiencies and reach their full potential regardless of their perceived deficiencies.  Students will find an abundance of service opportunities through our student and faculty led clubs and organizations, internships and externships.  Finally, all of Belhaven’s new science facilities which includes our newly constructed Fitzhugh Hall and renovated Irby Science Building were designed from the start to be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).