The TCU Office of Admissions opened the door for incoming first-year students to have the option to go abroad instead of arriving on campus in the fall.

Incoming students have the option of spending a semester at American College of Thessaloniki in Greece or Franklin University in Switzerland.   

“This new program provides a pathway to TCU for excellent students who otherwise might go to another institution,” Heath Einstein, the vice provost for enrollment management, said. “It would stand to reason that a larger applicant pool contains more qualified students, and so this program creates an additional stream of students who transfer into the university each spring semester.”

This program differs from traditional TCU abroad programs, since it is not directly affiliated with the university. Students would transfer credits to TCU after their abroad experience, Einstein said.

Having students begin their academic career abroad isn’t new. Michigan State University, Syracuse University and the University of Colorado Boulder are among several institutions that offer these programs.

​“Studying abroad the first semester of my freshman year changed my perspective on the world and how I want to learn moving forward,” said Genna Geller, a sophomore at the University of Colorado Boulder who studied in Seville, Spain last fall.

Offering study abroad to select first-years also helps ease the space crunch TCU is facing as it grows the student body. 

This semester, 44 first-year TCU students started their college careers abroad.

TCU Global reaches new heights in Japan

TCU students can now take class credits in Asia for the first time. In an attempt to further diversify the worldwide academic experience, TCU Global’s launched TCU-In Japan. 

Over the past year, TCU Global’s program has undergone several changes. They have introduced seven new semester locations and multiple summer programs, including Japan, Athens, Paris, Prague, Barcelona, Dublin and Sydney.

Junior criminal justice majors Anna Spieler and Mia Bene were among the 39 students who had the opportunity to go to Hirakata, Japan, this past May. 

“TCU-In Japan allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and experience a culture completely unknown to me,” said Spieler.  “I am grateful I was given the opportunity because it enhanced my learning and the ideas involving social problems and criminal justice by allowing me to compare and contrast to that of the United States.”

This is just the beginning for TCU Global’s Asian based programs and TCU-In Japan. TCU Global aims to continue expanding its repertoire with further advancements. 

“Our goal is to open a second TCU-In location in Japan, and to launch a bilateral exchange partnership with several Japanese universities, which would allow students from Japan to spend a semester at TCU in addition to enabling TCU students to spend a semester studying at our partner institutions,” AnneLiese Busch, the director of TCU Global, said.