In August, five Lubbock Christian University Honors students will join ten other LCU students for a semester abroad in Ávila, Spain.  They are kicking off the university’s new Study Abroad program in this historically important central Spanish city.  Ávila, declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, is known for its medieval walled old town and its complex religious history of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interchange.  The birthplace of St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross, Ávila offers rich theological and philosophical explorations among a spectacular offering of sculpture, architecture, and other arts.

With four LCU faculty in residence and the resources of the Catholic University of Ávila, the students will study courses in Spanish, Art History, Religion and Philosophy, Business, and Psychology.  On weekends, they will be traveling to various locations in central and Western Europe.  Following the semester’s work, students and faculty will complete the semester with a week in London and the surrounding area.

LCU has offered students a variety of foreign travel experiences, including Spring Break study tours, service and mission trips in Central America and Europe, and summer service trips to East Africa, Peru, and the Ukraine.  Students have also had the opportunity to join another university’s study abroad program in Europe or South America.  LCU in Spain, however, is the first full academic semester program that is limited only to students who are enrolled at the university.

“We see the Ávila program as crucial to the future global learning experiences for our students,” Honors Dean Stacy Patty noted.  “The opportunity to offer a full semester of challenging academic study with our own faculty marks a new phase in the academic growth of the university.”

LCU Spain was established in 2016 largely through the leadership of LCU Business School Dean Tracy Mack and Page Carter, the director of the Office of Global Campus.

“We are so excited to offer this program as a way for LCU students to discover a new culture, broaden their world view, and answer the call to “Go into all the world,” Carter said.

LCU in Spain is open to all students in their sophomore year or higher, subject to grade point average qualifications and faculty references.