The Academy at Houston Baptist University
Transformative Classes for Home Schoolers
Aim Higher
The Academy Difference
Homeschoolers have more options than ever before. Though you will find dozens of programs that offer homeschool students college credit and many that are teaching students in a classical Christian model, rarely will you find the two combined into a seamless whole.
Any student who graduates from The Academy will not only graduate with a college transcript, but they will have been taught to learn from the best books the world has to offer, to think for themselves, to integrate their faith into their education, and to reach for a level of academic excellence they previously thought impossible.
The Academy Distinctives
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Classically trained, dedicated Christian professors, with over 300 hours of experience in classical, Christian Great Books education.
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Education for the whole soul. We believe that every student’s heart, soul, and hands are as important and as much worth educating as their mind, and that math, music, science, and literature all work together to reveal God’s glory.
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Exclusive learning opportunities through Houston Baptist University, such as faculty lectures, concerts, and plays for Academy students.
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Transferable college credit from Houston Baptist University to wherever the student decides to go to college.
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Automatic acceptance into the Honors College at Houston Baptist University, with Academy Staff recommendation.
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A Christian community of friends and mentors, built around mutual love of Christ and a life of learning.
Coming This Summer
God and Reason
Christians today have acquired a bad reputation, intellectually. But we Christians, above all others, have a tradition of truth-seeking, strong minded, women and men earning their place at the cultural table. In order to inherit that legacy, we need to participate in it. In this intensive week-long class, you will get the opportunity to do just that. Beginning with St. Paul in Athens in Acts 17 and continuing until modern writers, we will cover the major reasons for and philosophic foundations of Christian thought.
Summer Dates TBA. Contact us to express your interest
Classes Offered This Fall at the HBU Campus and at Extraordinary Education Center in Magnolia, TX
Introduction to Great Books and Composition (recommended for 7
th and 8
th grades).
The Academy’s Introduction to Great Books is a great place for any student to start learning in the Socratic style from original source texts, and improve the quality of their academic writing in preparation for an intensive high school curriculum.
Great Books I: The Greeks, Israelites, Romans, and Early Christianity (recommended for 9
th and 10
th graders, and open to any older students interested in the era).
Great Books III: The Making of Modernity, Poetry and Story, and the Victorians. (Recommended for 11
th and 12
th graders).
The Academy Great Books Series is a four-year overview of some of the most important works of western civilization. Classes are designed to provide the student with an essential grounding in western history, literature, philosophy and culture through reading the original sources. Our classes are a Socratic-style study of literature and history, and intensive training in how to write at a university level.
The completion of each year of the Great Books Series will earn the student three units of college credit at Houston Baptist University, which will earn them transferable college credit in English and History, or equivalent electives.
Writing, Rhetoric, and Logic I
Great leaders and cultural influencers have this in common: They know how to think, write, and speak with clarity and authority. We’ve combined the study of writing, rhetoric, formal logic, and foundational philosophy into a class that will train students to think on their feet, accomplish any writing assignment with confidence and clarity, and become excellent communicators. Students can earn 3 units of transferable college credit.
Christian Theology and Apologetics
Starting with the book of Acts and working our way through the essential Fathers of our faith, Christian Theology introduces students to the incredible theological, cultural, and philosophical tradition that every Christian shares, no matter what church you go to. As the year progresses students will learn the foundational reasons for and philosophical underpinnings of the faith, enabling them to engage the many challenges that may come. Students can earn 3 units of college credit, or take the class for no credit at a reduced cost.
The Academy Players
The Academy Players is a theater group open to homeschoolers ages 8-18, directed by the Provost of Houston Baptist University, Dr. John Mark Reynolds. Every school year we put on a play, learning how to act, sing, make costumes, paint sets, and perform in front of a live audience. High School students also have the option of taking our Academy Players class, which will focus on the arts of play-writing, directing, acting, and theater appreciation.
To get more information about Academy classes, please
Contact The Academy.