Service Requirement for Graduation
As a foundational component of the APU undergraduate experience, each full-time student must fulfill 120 MAS credits along with their academic requirements. There are many opportunities to receive MAS credit including participation in MAS ministries, service-learning courses, international service experiences, and additional volunteer opportunities outside the APU community.
The following are the graduation requirements for full-time undergraduate students:
- 120 credits for students beginning a fall semester as freshmen
- 90 credits for transfer students beginning a fall semester as sophomores
- 60 credits for transfer students beginning a fall semester as juniors
- 30 credits for transfer students beginning a fall semester as seniors
Through supervised, purposeful, and transformational service, APU students become consistent community contributors. Generally, students earn credits according to the following guidelines:
- 5 credits for a one-day service experience
- 10 credits for a weekend service project
- 15 credits for a semester of weekly involvement (generally one hour per week totaling 15–25 hours of service)
- 30 credits for an intensive week-long or summer service experience
The maximum amount of MAS credits is 30 per semester and 60 per academic year. (For instance, 30 credits for a fall LA 101 experience and 30 credits for a spring Focus International trip.) To receive credit for completing service experiences, students must complete the Ministry and Service Report* and turn it in to the MAS office, preferably during the semester they completed the service experience. This report is available online or in the MAS office.
MAS encourages you to broaden your horizons through different experiences, and we also recognize that you may desire to stay with a particular ministry to continue developing your gifts and sustain relationships. Additionally, you may find that a certain ministry/service opportunity is a fitting compliment to your academic major. MAS fully supports this continuity of involvement and wants to encourage you to provide increased leadership within the community. Therefore, you may receive 60 credits maximum per year distributed in any way you choose among ministry/service ventures. Only the following restrictions exist:
- Athletic training may use up to four sessions for a maximum of 60 credits.
- Nursing majors may use up to four clinicals for a maximum of 60 credits.
- Music ministries may use up to two ensembles for a maximum of 60 credits.
Service Credit Verification
If you would like a letter verifying your hours of service for a graduate school or scholarship application, please provide us with a pre-written verification letter addressed to the appropriate institution and include the information that you would like verified (e.g., hours served, location of service, etc.). Our office would be happy to print the letter on university letterhead and sign the letter to verify your service. We have a two-week turn-around policy, so please plan accordingly.
*The downloadable version of this document is provided in a Portable Document Format (PDF). To learn more about PDFs or to install Adobe Acrobat Reader, follow this link.
