Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
Dallas Baptist University is proud to be a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) a higher education association of 180 Christian institutions around the world. The 150-member campuses in North America are all regionally accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities with curricula rooted in the arts and sciences. In addition, affiliate campuses from 18 countries are part of the CCCU. The CCCU is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in the historic Capitol Hill district of Washington, D.C.
BestSemester provides ten innovative off-campus and study programs located at strategic sites in the U.S. and around the world. Study abroad programs are intended to complement and expand the opportunities found on a traditional campus through a comprehensive experiential learning approach. These programs are available to undergraduate students of sophomore, junior, or senior standing with a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher on a 4.00 scale. (GPA requirements vary among the various study programs.) BestSemester programs provide strong academic and culturally engaging learning experiences. A student can earn up to 18 hours of credit. DBU students must be enrolled full-time at DBU during participation in a BestSemester program.
Culture-Crossing Programs include: Australia Studies, Brisbane, Queensland; Latin American Studies, San José, Costa Rica; Middle East Studies currently in Amman, Jordan; Northern Ireland Studies in Belfast, Ireland; Programmes in Oxford, England; and Uganda Studies, Mukono, Uganda.
Culture-Shaping Programs include: American Studies, Washington, D.C.; Contemporary Music Center, Nashville, Tennessee; and the L.A. Film Studies Center, Los Angeles, California.
PLEASE NOTE: The student must contact the DBU Program Contact in the Academic Dean’s Office before the student makes contact with BestSemester™. BestSemester programs have deadlines by which the student must submit an application packet. It is the student’s responsibility to see that all application materials are completed and submitted to the respective study program. DBU does not provide funding for these programs.
(Note to seniors: If you choose to participate in a BestSemester program during your graduating semester and DBU has not received your transcript from our BestSemester program, you may not be eligible to participate in the commencement ceremonies if we have not received your transcript in time).
American Studies Program (ASP)
Washington, D.C. is the classroom at the American Studies Program. Students live eight blocks from the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court and within walking distance of historic Eastern Market, Union Station, and the National Mall. ASP students have the unique privilege of diving into a network of internship opportunities and mentoring relationships which have been built up over nearly four decades. Along with the critical internship component of the program, students choose a track of courses centering on either public policy or global development and leave ASP with up to sixteen credit hours of well-earned academic and work experience.
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu
Australia Studies Centre (ASC)
The Australia Studies Centre is offered in partnership with Christian Heritage College (CHC), a CCCU affiliated member in Carindale, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. The ASC is designed to integrate the firsthand observation and study of Australian culture, history, religion, politics, and Indigenous cultures together with experiential service learning and formal instruction in Christian Studies, Business, Ministries, Social Sciences, and Education and Humanities. ASC students live with Australian families in Brisbane and its surrounds, enabling them to experience Australian life firsthand.
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu
Contemporary Music Center (CMC)
The Contemporary Music Center is located in Music City USA, Nashville, Tennessee. Over 100 CMC alumni live in the city and continue to interact with students of the program. CMC students have the option to choose one of three study tracks for their semester: artist track, business track or technical track. In each of these tracks, students hone their skills alongside mentors from the industry. All CMC students participate in a music tour at the end of the semester as part of a practicum course.
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu
Latin American Studies Program (LASP)
Based in San José, Costa Rica, the Latin American Studies Program will expose students to the beauty and complexity of Latin American history, religion, people and cultures. LASP students will also have the opportunity to experience life in several Latin American countries. Past student groups have journeyed to Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Panama. At LASP, students choose from the following four academic concentrations in addition to their core coursework: Latin American Studies, Advanced Language & Literature, International Business (offered fall semesters only), or Environmental Science (offered spring semesters only).
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu
Los Angeles Film Studies Center (LAFSC)
The L. A. Film Studies Center exists to launch students into their dreams. Exploring the art, craft and technology of film, LAFSC offers intensive hands-on production experience coupled with real world exposure, living and working in Hollywood. Students will study various aspects of film production, faith and artistic development, and will hold an internship in the industry. Additionally, students may choose an elective course in the areas of narrative storytelling, professional screenwriting, professional acting for the camera, or carry out an independent study. With a vast network of LAFSC alumni in L.A., students are never lacking for mentors and a community of believers. LAFSC encourages alumni to make films by offering grants, continuing education and low-cost equipment rentals.
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu
Middle East Studies Program (MESP)
Located in Amman, Jordan, the Middle East Studies Program (MESP) immerses students in the daily life, language, food, culture, religion and politics of one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Learn firsthand from locals how to work, play, and serve in the Middle East as you become their neighbor—and soon, their family—while learning adventurously at MESP. The heart of the Middle East Studies Program is the authentic community you’ll forge with these neighbors, families, and peers. Grounded in Christian liberal arts, MESP engages the religious culture and politics of the Middle East. You will examine the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from every perspective, live with a local family during a week-long homestay, and worship with your roommates in the morning. You will sit at the feet of native experts to learn about topics most precious to the region and then serve that region through a long-term service project. On this adventure, you will have an experienced staff and your fellow MESP students from universities across the U.S. and Canada.
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu
Northern Ireland Semester (NIS)
The first thing you notice as a student in Northern Ireland is the beautiful verdant landscape, but there's more to this country than rocky green cliffs and sparkling blue waters. From your home base at Lakeside Manor, a charming 19th-century mansion in Belfast, you'll travel all over the Irish isle visiting important cultural and historical landmarks like SAUL, the site of St. Patrick's first church in Ireland, the Northern Ireland Parliament, and Dublin Castle.
In addition, you will experience the deep impact of the religious and political conflict that has been an important part of Northern Ireland's history. Sit at a table with residents who lived through "The Troubles" as you hear first-hand accounts of the hunger strikes and political clashes that beset Belfast in recent decades. Pray in ancient cathedrals that predate the birth of your home country. Hike among green pastures and ancient forests. This opportunity for experiential learning in Northern Ireland will make your next semester unforgettable.
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu
Oxford Summer Programme (OSP)
For five weeks Oxford Summer Programme students read, learn, and live in the ‘city of dreaming spires’. Students have access to Oxford’s world-famous libraries as well as local art galleries, museums, bookshops, and ice cream parlours. OSP allows students, as affiliate members of Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford, to do intensive scholarship while exploring the relationship between Christianity and the development of the British Isles. Tutorials (discussions between one student and the tutor) give students personal attention from expert Oxford academics as they pursue topics in classics, English language and literature, history, history of science, philosophy, and theology and religion.
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu
Scholars’ Semester in Oxford (SSO)
The Scholars’ Semester in Oxford allows students, as members of Wycliffe Hall and Visiting Students of the University of Oxford to pursue intensive scholarship in an historic seat of learning. With personal attention in tutorials (meetings between one student and an expert academic) SSO students focus in detail on topics chosen from among hundreds of possibilities in classics, English language and literature, history, history of art, modern languages, musicology, philosophy, psychology, and theology. SSO students may explore nearby London, and historic sites throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, but the main foci are the pleasure of intellectual enquiry and getting a taste for graduate school.
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu
Uganda Studies Program (USP)
The Uganda Studies Program is offered in partnership with Uganda Christian University, a CCCU international affiliate in Mukono, Uganda. The course, “Faith and Action in the Ugandan Context,” combines a traditional classroom component (e.g., readings, discussion, small group processing, lecture) with a broad spectrum of experiential learning (e.g., living and studying with Ugandan students, home stays with Ugandan families, travel to various regions of Uganda and Rwanda, exposure to both missionaries and Ugandans involved in various social services). In addition to the core course, each student selects and emphasis: Uganda Studies Emphasis or the Social Work Emphasis.
DBU Program Contact: Monica Hardy, Academic Dean’s Office monica@dbu.edu