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Texas Christian University, founded in 1873, has grown from a small school on the cattle frontier to a major center of independ


MISSION
TCU educates individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.  

VISION
Our vision is to be a prominent private university recognized for our global perspective, our diverse and supportive learning community, our commitment to research and creative discovery, and our emphasis on leadership development.  

VALUES
TCU values academic achievement, personal freedom and integrity, the dignity and respect of the individual, and a heritage of inclusiveness, tolerance and service.

 

Our Heritage, Philosophy and Goals

Texas Christian University, founded in 1873, has grown from a small school on the cattle frontier to a major center of independent higher education in a dynamic city. As agents of change in our time as our predecessors were in theirs, we–faculty, staff, students, and trustees–are united in striving for the constant improvement of the University.

A community dedicated to learning, the University affirms its commitment to rationality, objectivity, diversity, freedom of inquiry, creativity, and civility. TCU is committed as well to the preservation, appraisal, and transmission of knowledge and wisdom and to the discovery of new ideas and knowledge by which the understanding of truth may be extended or corrected.

An independent and self-governing institution, TCU attests that a representative democracy provides the context within which free inquiry may best be protected and encouraged; and the University acknowledges that independent higher education can thrive only in an economic system which prompts and rewards individual initiative. TCU has an historical and intentional connection with a religious body, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), that embraces pluralism, rejects sectarian narrowness, encourages a reasoned faith, and affirms the rights of informed individual conscience in religious preference. The University welcomes students, faculty and staff of all religious faiths and takes pride in the diversity of its academic community.

Much of the knowledge students seek is related to their specific career goals. The University, however, regards as essential the advancement and communication of general knowledge which enables students to understand the past, to comprehend the natural and social order, to search for the good and the beautiful, and to integrate knowledge into significant wholes.

Education fosters the capacity for rational decision-making, creative thinking and expression, and responsible living. Though knowledge may be treated as ethically neutral, we believe that questions of value are vital and that the exploration of the moral and religious dimensions of human existence is basic to the love of wisdom. At the center of the educational endeavor are people. Affirming the incalculable worth of each individual, TCU seeks to be a caring community, encouraging close working relationships among all members of the University and challenging students, faculty and staff alike to high achievement. In such a setting, the enhancement of mental, physical and spiritual gifts contributes to the integration of the self and to the enrichment of the community and humankind.

TCU provides undergraduate and graduate instruction in a vital and inviting residential setting for learning and living.

We intend to maintain and establish only undergraduate and graduate programs that are aimed toward excellence, the well-being of students and the wholeness of the University. We believe there must be a general compatibility among the values and daily practices of the University and its several units.

Among our many goals are the following: