UT 1 Program

Real Relationship. Real Community. Real Future.

The UT 1 Program in the International College at Trinity Western University is intentionally distinct. Its design is underscored by the intentional choice to prioritize a learning environment of care. The program is also distinct from other international colleges, ESL schools, and other kinds of supports because it emphasizes an all in one-premium services packaging of resources.  The UT 1 Program is also focused directly on the challenges international students face in making the adjustment to Trinity Western University.

Trinity Western University is committed to global education. We see international students from a “whole person” perspective – mind, body, heart, and soul. The UT 1 Program seeks to support international students WHOLLY in their first year. It also encourages the global development of the entire Trinity Western University campus. The UT 1 Program provides a scaffold for international learners to develop their English language skills in the context of taking academic courses and living in the TWU community. In this way, international learners develop the social, linguistic, psychological and academic skills, together with physical and spiritual health, to be successful throughout their TWU degree and throughout their lives.

The UT 1 Program provides a safe, hospitable learning environment in which international students can take risks with the English language and experience critical thinking through cross-cultural and bilingual dialogue. Within a cohort model, students take a full year of academic courses (36 semester hours) while enhancing their language ability through integrated, content-based integration and engagement classes and a weekly bilingual lab. In addition, academic learning coaches provide one-on-one tutorial support and students experience community-building in extra-curricular activities with the cohort. Students in the UT 1 Program can also participate in all aspects of campus life at Trinity Western University through dorm life and membership in various student-led clubs and recreation. With its emphasis on providing an enriched environment, the UT 1 Program partners with parents through regular communication and relationship-building. Furthermore, over the one year of study, students will have the opportunity to hear presentations from various departments in order to make informed choices of degree and career.

Through these features, the INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF TWU is intentionally distinct. It is about living and learning authentically, guiding students to become the young men and women God has made them to be. The motto is “Real life. Real community. Real future,” reflecting the dynamic relationship between authenticity, togetherness, otherness, and scholarship.