All Bethel undergraduate programs have general education and major requirements. Those two parts of the curriculum create an academic program that we intend to be personally transformative and enriching. The curriculum in the College of Adult & Professional Studies (CAPS) is designed to provide opportunities for students to develop the skills and insights to have successful careers, live good lives, and help others. Graduation requirements are focused on themes that form a coherent view of the world.  

Programs will incorporate six common themes, including:

• Skills, strategies, and plans for self-directed learning.
• Critical thinking skills and dispositions.
• Ethical principles in areas of study and daily life.
• Collaboration, leadership, and communication skills.
• Relationships among Christian faith and program areas of study.
• Human, social, and environmental relationships in a global and diverse world.

The CAPS Bethel Distinctives (CORE 300 and CORE 330)  are required to be taken at Bethel. Students who have already completed a bachelor's degree at Bethel University are exempt from this requirement.