Texas Christian University

TCU’s story began in 1869 when brothers Addison and Randolph Clark dreamed of creating a college where men and women could acquire a classical education and develop character.

The Clarks were both Fort Worth-based minister-teachers. To distance their endeavor from the distractions of “Hell’s Half Acre”—where the cattle industry and the pending new railroad had stirred a boisterous culture—the brothers headed for the open prairie of nearby Thorp Spring.

With just 13 students, they opened the doors of AddRan Male and Female College, one of the first co-ed institutions west of the Mississippi. 

The mission of Texas Christian University, a private comprehensive university, is to educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community through research and creative activities, scholarship, service, and programs of teaching and learning offered through the doctoral level. To be a world-class, values-centered university.

At TCU, we value:

• Academic and personal achievement
• Intellectual inquiry and the creation of knowledge
• Artistic and creative expression
• A heritage of service in pursuit of the greater good
• Personal freedom and integrity
• The dignity of and respect for the individual

Active appreciation for the array of human experience and the potential of every human being