OUR PROGRAMS
ACU Study Abroad programs primarily consist of semester and summer programs at our campuses in Leipzig, Montevideo, and Oxford with non-hub site experiences at other locations worldwide. Our semester programs are a hallmark of the ACU student experience and are consistently cited as one of the most powerful and transformative educational experiences in a student’s career. In addition to deepening our students’ faith, maturity, and independence, students who participate in ACU Study Abroad graduate with higher GPAs, are admitted to graduate programs in higher numbers, have higher levels of engagement with undergraduate research, and are successfully awarded some of the most competitive undergraduate/graduate scholarships (Fulbright, etc). The following virtues guide our intentional approach to the study abroad experience at ACU:
Christian Community:
At the heart of the international experience is the community that forms as our students explore the world and share their lives together in each program. They foster trust and interdependence by pledging to conduct themselves with integrity, to treat each member with dignity, and to “speak the truth in love.” This supportive context allows students a space to reflect deeply and develop in the intellectual, social, and spiritual domains of their lives.
A central component of our community is our desire to wrestle together with the critical and timeless questions of the Christian faith: “Who is God?”, “Who am I?”, and “How do I live a life of significance?” We probe the Bible, examine the life of Jesus, and seek to understand the relevance of the Christian faith to the world today. In this search, we seek to be guided by love, honoring the faith journey that each student is on and the questions that propel them to greater understanding and transformation. Within this supportive environment, students grow in their love for God and in their desire to serve others, as Jesus expressed in Matthew 22:37-38: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Click here to learn more about the Christian communities that define our students’ spiritual lives abroad.
Academics:
Studying at one of ACU’s International Programs is an academically challenging experience that enriches our students’ imaginations for their lives and work beyond their cultural and national borders. Our courses are taught by local faculty and classes are conducted in English and the language of each host site (Spanish or German). Our academic offerings are intended to fulfill many of ACU's core curricular requirements in history, communications, economics, language, Bible, and literature. However, major-specific courses may also be offered depending on the specialties of the visiting ACU faculty member accompanying students abroad. For assistance in determining how a semester or year abroad works with students' academic planning, please contact the Study Abroad Office or your academic advisor.
Travel:
Because real-world experience enhances classroom learning, our academic schedule has been intentionally designed to allow students to regularly explore the richness of their host countries/regions through university-sponsored excursions and independent student travel. Each program takes week-long university-sponsored educational field trips (EFT) to various sites culturally and/or historically linked to each host site or region. Please note that all university and independent student travel is governed by ACU Study Abroad travel policies described in the ACU Study Abroad student handbook. To learn more about student travel, please review our most current student handbook here.
Student Support:
All ACU students are housed in ACU facilities abroad. While the configuration of each facility is unique, all contain student accommodations, classrooms, community spaces, student kitchens and food storage spaces, and common student rooms and bathrooms. To learn more about each of our international campuses, click here.
Students live/learn alongside an ACU faculty-in-residence and our local program staff and faculty. Local faculty and staff are international education experts deeply embedded in each local context. They serve as professors, mentors, and guides during a student’s time abroad and are primarily responsible for each program's administration, cultural engagement, and operational guidance. To learn more about our international staff and faculty, click here.
In addition to the social support of the unique living/learning community that forms abroad, students are provided with global medical insurance and access to clinics, hospitals, and mental healthcare practitioners at each site. To learn more about our local counseling services, click here. To learn more about our global health insurance policy and terms of coverage, click here.