TCU-Texas Christian University doesn’t mess around when it comes to making you feel comfy in your group information sessions. It felt more like an executive coaching session at Goldman Sachs. But that was only the start of our remarkable two hours on this beautiful campus. I knew this was going to be more than we had bargained for when the admission officer talked about the newest college at the university, the College For Integrated Studies, where “you know, you can major in race and gender studies or ranch management”. The Ranch Management major earns the highest starting salary for TCU grads, averaging out at (gulp) $90K. The “Christian” moniker may alarm those outside of the Bible Belt, but TCU struck me as decidedly middle of the road or even liberal for a Christian college and there was not a single mention of religion beyond the one required religion course, and that could be the class on the Koran were you so inclined.
TCU is one of the few colleges to offer a ballet major, and while business is king here (biggest major) the Bob Schieffer College of Communications and the College of Fine Arts are stellar. Musical Theater here is national caliber. There’s engineering too, and one of the best nursing programs in the state. The core is split into thirds: Essential Competencies, Human Experience and Endeavors, and Values and Ethics.
TCU is a Big 12 school–the smallest in the conference at 10,000 students–so sports is a very big deal. And this is a Christian college with a growing non-Christian population. I asked our fabulous tourguide (Social Work major from Chicago and fourth generation TCU) about how easy it would be to be liberal here and she said “well, you’re from Massachusetts, but I can tell you that I have become much more liberal here and so have a lot of my friends. My parents aren’t too happy about it but they know that’s what happens in college”. I saw signs for Latinx Heritage week and Immigration workshops, and the person who waited on me in the bookstore was trans.
TCU may not be for everybody, but it’s a good reminder to a secular person that religiously affiliated colleges come in all flavors and they often value the same things as non-religious folks, just with a different language. TCU seems very comfortable with its value set, and its huge endowment has helped to combine those values with some stellar academic programs. TCU was a big surprise. A very impressive outwardly-focused university with a clear mission and a true community of scholars.
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