By Shannon Frazer

Students staying in Lexington this summer have the opportunity to receive up to three credit hours in two weeks or less.

The Christian Studies Center, located next to UK at 502 Columbia Ave., exists to provide a space for students to ask questions of faith and to see where God fits into their lives, according to the center’s Web site. College-level summer classes will be offered beginning May 17.

Classes at the CSC transfer to any institution for credit, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredits the school in partnership with Asbury University.

Greg Schuette, director of marketing for the center, said the center will offer a variety of courses, including areas of philosophy, history, gender studies and film studies, taught with a Christian slant.

Summer classes at the CSC are formatted differently than traditional summer college courses, said Phil Tallon, director of academic programs at the center.

“Our summer courses are mostly two-week intensives.  We offer a few one-week courses.  But for most of our courses, students will be in class either in the morning or in the afternoon for two weeks,” he said. “Then students have a month to complete their assignments after that two weeks is over.”

Non-traditional students can enroll for a small fee.

“Non-students can audit the class for a modest fee, but these classes are aimed at college students who are already working on their degrees,” Tallon said.

Brian Marshall, director of the CSC, said the center aims to challenge people to think differently.

“(We want to) connect Christian thinking through different disciplines. (Christian thinking is) one of oldest intellectual traditions in the world … and we wanted to revive that,” he said. “(We want to) re-introduce that stream of conversations at the university.”

For more information about the CSC, visit www.TheChristianStudiesCenter.org.