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Former name | Add-Ran Male & Female College (1873–1889) Add-Ran Christian University (1889–1902) |
|---|---|
| Motto | Disciplina est Facultas |
Motto in English | "Knowledge is power"[1] |
| Type | Privateresearch university[2] |
| Established | 1873; 152 years ago (1873) |
| Accreditation | SACS |
Religious affiliation | Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $2.7 billion (2024)[4] |
| Chancellor | Victor Boschini |
| Provost | Floyd L. Wormley, Jr. (interim) |
Academic staff | 981 (623 full-time) |
| Students | 12,938 (fall 2024)[5] |
| Undergraduates | 11,049 (fall 2024)[5] |
| Postgraduates | 1,889 (fall 2024)[5] |
| Location | ,, United States 32°42′35″N97°21′50″W / 32.7096°N 97.3640°W /32.7096; -97.3640 |
| Campus | Large city[6], 325 acres (132 ha) |
| Newspaper | TCU 360 |
| Colors | Purple and white[7] |
| Nickname | Horned Frogs |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascot | Horned Frog |
| Website | tcu.edu |
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Texas Christian University (TCU) is aprivateresearch university[2] inFort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothersAddison and Randolph Clark as theAddRan Male & Female College.[8] It is affiliated with theChristian Church (Disciples of Christ).[9]
The campus is located on 302 acres (122 ha) about 4 miles (6.5 km) fromdowntown Fort Worth. The university consists of nine constituent colleges and schools. It isclassified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".[2] According to theNational Science Foundation, the university received approximately $19 million in research and development funding in 2022, ranking it 298th in the nation for research revenue and expenditures.[10]
TCU's mascot is Superfrog, based on the Texas state reptile: thehorned frog. For most varsity sports, TCU competes in theBig 12 conference of theNCAA'sDivision I. As of fall 2024, the university enrolled around 12,938 students, with 11,049 being undergraduates.[5]
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TheEast Texas brothersAddison and Randolph Clark, with the support of their father Joseph A. Clark, first founded Texas Christian University. The Clarks were scholar-preacher/teachers associated with theRestoration Movement. These early leaders of the Restoration Movement were the spiritual ancestors of the modernDisciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ, as well as being major proponents of education.
Upon their return from service in theConfederacy during the Civil War, brothers Addison and Randolph embarked on a mission to establish a children's preparatory school in Fort Worth. This educational institution, known as the Male & Female Seminary of Fort Worth, was in operation from 1869 to 1874. The Clarks shared a collective vision of creating a higher education institution that would embody Christian values while maintaining a non-sectarian and intellectually open-minded spirit. To realize this vision, they procured five city blocks in downtown Fort Worth in 1869.
But from 1867 to 1874, the character of Fort Worth changed substantially due to the commercial influence of theChisholm Trail, the principal route for moving Texas cattle to the Kansas rail heads. An influx of cattle, men, and money transformed the sleepy frontier village. The area around the property purchased by the Clarks for their college soon housed stretch of saloons, gambling halls, dance parlors, and brothels. By 1872, it had acquired it the nickname of "Hell's Half Acre". The Clarks found an alternative site for their college atThorp Spring, a small community 40 miles (60 km) inHood County to the southwest near the frontier ofComanche andKiowa territory.
In 1873 the Clark brothers moved South to Thorp Spring and founded Add-Ran Male & Female College.[11] TCU recognizes 1873 as its founding year, as it continues to preserve the original college through the AddRan College of Liberal Arts.
Add-Ran College was one of the first coeducational institutions of higher education west of the Mississippi River. The college expanded quickly from its first enrollment in Fall 1873 of 13 students. Shortly thereafter, annual enrollment ranged from 200 to 400. At one time more than 100 counties of Texas were represented in the student body. The Clark brothers also recruited prestigious professors from all over the South to join them at Thorp Spring.[12]
In 1889 Add-Ran College formed an official partnership with what would become theChristian Church (Disciples of Christ), though the church never enjoyed any administrative role at TCU. In 1889 the school was renamedAdd-Ran Christian University.
The need for a larger population and transportation base prompted the university to relocate toWaco from 1895 to 1910; it purchased the campus of the defunctWaco Female College.[13] The institution was renamed Texas Christian University in 1902, often called TCU. It was during this 15-year sojourn in Waco that TCU in 1896 entered the ranks of intercollegiate football and adopted its school colors of purple and white, as well as its distinctive Horned Frog mascot. A rivalry developed between TCU and nearbyBaylor University.
In 1910 a fire of unknown origin destroyed the university's Main Administration building. A rebuilding project was planned, but before reconstruction could begin, a group of enterprisingFort Worth businessmen offered the university $200,000 in rebuilding money ($6,614,210 in 2024) and a 50-acre (200,000 m2) campus as an inducement to return to Fort Worth.
The TCU campus in Fort Worth in 1910–11 consisted of four buildings: Clark Hall and Goode Hall, the men's dormitories; Jarvis Hall, the women's dormitory; and the Main Administration building (now Reed Hall).
The university received its first charitable endowment in 1923, fromMary Couts Burnett, the recent widow ofSamuel Burk Burnett, a rancher, banker, and oilman. Burnett received half of her late husband's estate of $6 million ($110 million in 2024), and in her 1923 will, she bequeathed her entire estate, including a half-interest in the substantial 6666 ("Four Sixes") Ranch, to TCU. Mary Couts Burnett Library is named after her.[14]
TCU's campus sits on 302 acres (1.22 km2) of developed campus (325 acres total) which is located four miles (6.5 km) fromdowntown Fort Worth.
The TCU campus is divided into roughly three areas: a residential area, an academic area, and Worth Hills. The two main areas of campus, the residential and academic areas, are separated by University Drive, an oak-lined street that bisects the campus. Residence halls, the Student Union, and the Campus Commons are all located to the West of University Drive, while the library, chapel, and most academic buildings are located to the east of it. All of TCU's surrounding streets are lined bylive oaks.
Roughly half of TCU undergraduate students live on campus.[15] Housing is divided among 16 residence halls and on-campus apartment complexes.[16]
The neo-classical beaux-arts architecture at TCU incorporates features consistent with much of theArt Deco-influenced architecture of older buildings throughoutFort Worth. Most of the buildings at TCU are constructed with a specially blended golden brick tabbed by brick suppliers as "TCU buff." Nearly all of the buildings have red-tile roofs, while the oldest buildings on campus are supported by columns of various styles.
A notable exception to this rule is Robert Carr Chapel, which was the first building on campus to be constructed of bricks other than TCU buff. The chapel is built of a distinctive salmon-colored brick, a deviation that caused alumni to protest when the building opened in 1953.[17]
TCU is home to the Starpoint School, a laboratory school for students in grades 1–6 with learning differences.[citation needed] Starpoint's goal is to develop advanced educational techniques for helping students withlearning disabilities. KinderFrogs School, an early-intervention laboratory pre-school for children withDown syndrome, is housed in the same building as Starpoint. TCU is the only university in the nation with two on-campus laboratory schools in special education. The laboratory schools, both programs of the College of Education, are located near Sherley Hall and Colby Hall.
Since 2006, much of the campus has been under construction, and many buildings have been either renovated or replaced. The old Student Center was demolished in 2008 and replaced with Scharbauer Hall, which opened in 2010 and houses the bulk of AddRan College's offices and classrooms. Renovations to Erma Lowe Hall, the building that houses the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance, were completed in 2011.[18] A new academic building for Brite Divinity School – the W. Oliver and Nell A. Harrison Building – was completed in 2012.[19]
The 717-seatVan Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU opened in 2022; the TCU Music Center had opened in 2020.[20]
| Undergraduate admissions statistics | |
|---|---|
| Admit rate | 42.6% (  +16) |
| Yield rate | 24.1% (  −1.1) |
| Test scoresmiddle 50% | |
| SAT Total | 1140–1345 |
| ACT Composite | 26–31 |
| |
The 2022 annual ranking ofU.S. News & World Report categorizes TCU as "more selective".[22] For the Class of 2027 (enrolled fall 2023), TCU received 20,517 applications and accepted 8,740 (42.6%). Of those accepted, 2,488 enrolled, ayield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 28.5%.[23] TCU's freshmanretention rate is 94.3%, with 85.6% going on to graduate within six years.[24]
The enrolled first-year class of 2025 had the following standardized test scores: the middle 50% range (25th–75th percentile) ofSAT scores was 1140–1345, while the middle 50% range ofACT scores was 26–31.[21]
The university experienced a record number of applicants in 2011, when over 19,000 students applied (a 5,000-student increase from 2010). The applicant pool also set a record with 60% applicants from out of state, whereas usually 1/3 of applicants were from out-of-state. While heightened national recognition due to TCU's victory in the 2011Rose Bowl is one contributing factor, the university has experienced a steady growth for some time. In 2000, only 4,500 students applied. In 2023, out-of-state students accounted for 52 percent of the undergraduate student body, with the majority of those students coming from California.[25]
High school seniors who have been accepted must maintain solid academic performance senior year during the spring and not show signs ofsenioritis; in 2012, national media reported on a letter the admissions dean had sent to 100 college-bound seniors, threatening to rescind offers of admission without satisfactory letters of explanation for the slump.[26]
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 19,782 | 21,145 | 19,028 | 20,156 | 19,740 | 19,972 |
| Admits | 10,606 | 10,155 | 8,966 | 8,210 | 8,110 | 7,506 |
| Admit rate | 53.6 | 48.0 | 47.1 | 40.7 | 41.1 | 37.6 |
| Enrolled | 2,560 | 2,287 | 2,159 | 2,194 | 1,955 | 1,888 |
| Yield rate | 24.1 | 22.5 | 24.1 | 26.7 | 24.1 | 25.2 |
| ACT composite* (out of 36) | 26–31 | 25–31 | 25–31 | 26–30 | 25–30 | 25–30 |
| SAT composite* (out of 1600) | 1140–1345 | 1120–1310 | 1150–1340 | 1150–1343 | 1130–1330 | — |
| * middle 50% range |
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Forbes[32] | 220 |
| U.S. News & World Report[33] | 105(tie) |
| Washington Monthly[34] | 352 |
| WSJ/College Pulse[35] | 247 |
| Global | |
| ARWU[36] | Unranked |
| QS[37] | Unranked |
| THE[38] | Unranked |
| U.S. News & World Report[39] | 1,680(tie) |
| Business | 44(tie) |
| Education | 117(tie) |
| Medicine: Primary Care | Unranked |
| Medicine: Research | Unranked |
| Nursing: Doctorate | Unranked |
| Nursing: Master's | Unranked |
| Chemistry | 161(tie) |
| English | 122(tie) |
| Fine Arts | 178(tie) |
| History | 134(tie) |
| Mathematics | 173(tie) |
| Nursing: Anesthesia | 7(tie) |
| Physics | 167(tie) |
| Psychology | 210(tie) |
| Social Work | 142(tie) |
| Speech-Language Pathology | 78(tie) |
TCU is classified as a Doctoral University: Higher Research Activity by theCarnegie Foundation. TCU is accredited by theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools.[41] As of 2025[update], TCU is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as No. 105 (tied) among National Universities.[33]
The university offers 117 undergraduate majors, 62 master's programs, and 25 doctoral programs. Among the university's most popular majors are Business, which accounts for roughly 25% of TCU undergraduates, and Journalism/Strategic Communications, which accounts for roughly 20% of TCU undergraduates. Nursing and Education are also popular majors, and many students choose to major in more than one field.[42]
In addition, TCU hosts theBrite Divinity School, a separate institution run by the Disciples of Christ that is housed on TCU's campus and whose students have full access and use of TCU facilities. In 2015, TCU and theUniversity of North Texas Health Science Center announced the creation of an MD-granting medical school jointly administered by the two institutions. The school accepted its first class of 60 students in 2019 with plans for 240 students when fully enrolled.
TheNeeley School of Business ranked as the No. 25 best undergraduate business school in the country in2023 byPoets and Quants.[46]
TCU is an educational partner to the US military and serves host to reserve officer training corps (ROTC) programs for two different service branches, the US Air Force ROTC's Detachment 845 "Flying Frogs" and the US Army ROTC's "Horned Frog Battalion". Since 1951, nearly 1000 TCU graduates have received Army commissions through the ROTC program.[47]
DuringWorld War II, TCU was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in theV-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.[48]
The university operates the 450-acresouthern white rhinoceros preserve,TCU Rhino Initiative. Doctor Michael Slattery established it in 2014.[49]
| Race and ethnicity[50] | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 68% | 68 | |
| Hispanic | 16% | 16 | |
| Black | 5% | 5 | |
| Foreign national | 4% | 4 | |
| Other[a] | 4% | 4 | |
| Asian | 3% | 3 | |
| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income[b] | 12% | 12 | |
| Affluent[c] | 88% | 88 | |
The student population at TCU in 2024–2025 is 12,938, with 11,049 undergraduates and 1,889 graduate students. Women make up about 61% of the student population, while men make up about 39%.[51] Undergraduates matriculate from all fifty states, including Texas at 48%. The fields of nursing, education, and advertising-public relations tend to be the majors that attract the most women, while business, political science, and a host of liberal arts majors are more balanced. A few areas of study at TCU, such as engineering and the sciences, are typically disproportionate with men, though even in those areas the percentage of female students tends to be higher than those of other comparable universities.
The student and faculty populations are overwhelmingly non-Hispanic white, but the minority population has seen increased rates over the past few years, especially for Hispanics. The school has also tried to achieve stronger diversity by hosting "Black Senior Weekend", "Hispanic Senior Experience", and offering full scholarships to a select number of exceptional minority high school students inNorth Texas with economically disadvantaged backgrounds.[52][53]
TCU sponsors over 200 official student organizations includingAmnesty International,Habitat for Humanity,Invisible Children and others. Students may also compete in intramural sports including basketball and shuffleboard, or join various other sport-hobby groups, such as the TCU Quidditch League.
Many students involve themselves in various campus ministries, such as Disciples on Campus, aChristian Church (Disciples of Christ) student group. Other groups include Ignite, a nondenominational campus ministry; Catholic Community, a large and active group; TCU Wesley, a Methodist group; the Latter-Day Saint Student Association (LDSSA); andCru, a nondenominational evangelical student ministry. Most religious groups on campus are Christian-based, although TCU also sponsorsHillel, aJewish student group, and theMuslim Students Association (MSA). Additionally, each year TCU Housing and Residential Life allows students to apply to live in the Interfaith Living Learning Community (LLC), in which the residents spend the year living alongside neighbors of various religious beliefs.
At the beginning of each fall semester, TCU's student government holds a large concert on the Campus Commons. In 2008, TCU celebrated completion of the Brown-Lupton Union by hosting popular country artistPat Green. In Fall of 2009, it held a concert byOneRepublic following a football victory over Texas State.Lady Antebellum performed in 2010, andThe Fray in 2011.Blake Shelton performed in 2012,Little Big Town in 2013 andJason Derulo performed in the campus commons in 2014. These fall concerts are free to all students.
The Bob Schieffer College of Communication circulates a number of student-run publications:
Other student-run media include:
Approximately 50% of undergraduate students are active in TCU'sGreek system:[59][60] there are dozens of fraternities and sororities on campus.
A "Purple Bike" program was instituted to allow students to use purple bicycles free of charge as an alternative to motor vehicles. Scharbauer Hall, which opened for classes in 2010, is a Gold US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified facility.
In 2010 TCU faculty and staff held a conference for Service-Learning for Sustainability and Social Justice with keynote speaker Robert Egger, founder of D.C. Central Kitchen. Also, sustainability and social justice are emphasized areas in the curriculum and programs offered by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology located in Scharbauer Hall.
TCU competes inNCAA Division I athletics as a member of theBig 12 Conference (Big XII). For most of its history (1923–1996), TCU was a member of the now defunctSouthwest Conference (SWC). Prior to joining the Big XII in 2012, TCU spent seven years in theMountain West Conference (MWC) (2005–2011), where they were the only school to join from a conference other than theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC), having come fromConference USA (C-USA), of which they were a member from 2001 to 2005. Before joining C-USA, TCU teams competed in the WAC for five years, from 1996 to 2001, after the SWC dissolved.
TCU's varsity sports have eight men's and twelve women's squads. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, swimming & diving, track & field, cross country, and tennis. Women's sports include basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball, golf, swimming & diving, cross country, track & field, triathlon, soccer, rifle, equestrian, and tennis.
In recent years the university has made significant upgrades to its athletics facilities, including construction of the Abe-Martin Academic Enhancement Center, which was completed in August 2008.[61] The university finished reconstruction of the entire Amon G. Carter Football Stadium in September 2012, with an additional expansion on the east side of the stadium being completed in 2019.[62] The Daniel-Meyer Coliseum underwent a reconstruction and was completed as Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena for the 2015–16 basketball season, with expanded seating, concessions, office and locker room space, better sight lines, and luxury fan facilities.[63]
The Horned Frogs have won two national championships, one in 1935[64] and the other in 1938.[65] The Horned Frogs also competed in the2023 College Football Playoff National Championship game, losing 65-7 to theGeorgia Bulldogs. Additionally, the team has captured eighteen conference championships. Many notable football players have played for TCU, includingSammy Baugh,Davey O'Brien,Jim Swink,Bob Lilly,LaDainian Tomlinson, andAndy Dalton.
The oldest rivalry, which has become nationally famous since TCU joined theBig 12 Conference, isThe Revivalry withBaylor University.[66] The Revivalry is unique in that it is a major FBS rivalry between two church affiliated schools. It is also one of the oldest rivalries in the nation, with the series currently led by TCU 59-54-7 since 1899.[67][68]
TheTCU Horned Frogs also share a historic rivalry with theSouthern Methodist University Mustangs, located in Fort Worth's sister (and rival) city,Dallas. In football, teams from TCU and SMU have competed annually in theBattle for the Iron Skillet since 1946 when, during pre-game festivities, an SMU fan was fryingFrog Legs as a joke before the game. A TCU fan, seeing this as a desecration of their "Horned Frog", told him that eating the frog legs was going well beyond the rivalry and that they should let the game decide who would get the skillet and the frog legs. SMU won the game, and the skillet and frog legs went to SMU that year. The tradition spilled over into the actual game and the Iron Skillet is now passed to the winner as the rivalry's traveling trophy.[69]
West Virginia University has become a rival largely due to the schools' cohort entry into the Big 12 Conference together in 2012, combined with a toggle of extremely close, dramatic, last-minute wins in their football match ups to date. The rivalry withBoise State University, with which TCU competed on the national stage in the 2000s as the two most prominent"BCS Busters", and which also shared one year together as members of the Mountain West Conference, has also become a major, if periodic, rival. TCU and Boise State competed as the most effective BCS Busters before the demise of theBCS system. In 2011, as members of the Mountain West, TCU won the only in-conference game between the two schools, winning with no time left on a missed Boise State field goal. The rivalry with Boise State will be played only sporadically in the future due to TCU's move to the"Power Conference" Big 12 and Boise State's remaining status as the consensus leader of the "mid-major" programs in the"Group of Five" Conferences.[citation needed]
TCU has more than 100,000 living alumni.[70]
TCU is the largest of 21 institutions associated by an ongoing covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). A protestant denomination with Presbyterian and Baptist roots, the Disciples' vision statement speaks of "true community, deep Christian spirituality and a passion for justice."
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)College-bound seniors beware: ... failing grades ... your university may soon threaten to rescind your admission...
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