OUR PROGRAMS
ACU Study Abroad offers fall and spring semesters and two summer programs at the university’s residential campuses in Leipzig, Oxford, and Valencia, as well as faculty-led and partner-based experiences in locations around the world. Participation in these programs has become a hallmark of the ACU student experience and is consistently described by students as the most meaningful, formative, and transformative aspects of their education.
Through study abroad, students deepen their faith, develop greater maturity and independence, and learn to engage the world with curiosity, humility, and purpose. They also flourish academically and professionally, often strengthening their preparation for graduate study, competitive scholarships and fellowships, and lives of Christian service and leadership.
The following virtues guide ACU’s intentional approach to designing and delivering the study abroad experience:
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 through one of ACU’s International Programs is an academically rigorous experience that expands students’ understanding of their disciplines and their imagination for lives and vocations that extend beyond cultural and national boundaries. Courses are taught by ACU and local faculty, with instruction offered in English and, where appropriate, in the language of the host location—German in Leipzig and Spanish in Valencia.
Our academic offerings are intentionally designed to help students make meaningful progress toward their degrees, including courses that fulfill ACU’s core curricular requirements. Major-specific courses may also be available based on the expertise of the visiting ACU faculty members teaching abroad.
Students should work closely with their academic advisors to determine how a semester or summer abroad can fit within their degree plans. The Study Abroad Office or your academic advisor is also available to assist students in exploring program options and planning for their time abroad.
We believe that travel can be one of life’s best educators. For this reason, 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. 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 or check out some of our student-produced videos or photos.
Travel:
Student Support:
Students benefit from a spectrum of supportive structures and university personnel during their time abroad.
Facilities: While the configuration of each program 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.
Program Staff and Faculty: 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.
Health & Wellbeing: 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.