Global Scholars: Reimagining the First Semester of College

During the first week of Baylor's Global Scholars Program, one of our students was so homesick she cried nearly every day. She was brave enough to stay anyway. Just a few months later, she returned to our Waco campus transformed—confident, self-aware and glowing with purpose. She went on to apply for a Critical Language Scholarship to go abroad again.

That kind of growth is what Global Scholars is all about.

Why Start Global Learning Early?

With rising concerns about student preparedness, cultural awareness and career readiness, institutions like Baylor are rethinking when global learning should begin. The answer: day one.

According to Education First's 2025 report, Reimagining Study Abroad, first-year abroad programs enhance academic performance, build adaptability and help colleges stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape. Baylor's answer to that call is the Global Scholars Program, a bold reimagining of the first semester of college as a globally immersive experience.

A Different Kind of First Semester

Baylor Global Scholars is a first-semester study abroad experience designed specifically for incoming freshmen. Students begin college not in Waco but abroad, alongside a close-knit cohort, Baylor faculty and a curriculum built on cultural immersion, reflection and leadership development. After their fall abroad, they return to campus for the spring semester, continuing their global journey through coursework, mentorship and community engagement.

The program launched in 2022 with 21 students at Dublin Business School in Ireland, then expanded in 2023 to 31 students at University College Dublin. After a one-year pause to reset and relocate, the 2025 cohort of 23 students studied at Liverpool Hope University in the UK for the 2025–2026 academic year. The new location was chosen for its student-centered environment, smaller scale and compatibility with Baylor's community-oriented values. The program continues into 2026–2027 with a cohort of 13 students.

While overseas, students take 15–18 credits: two courses led by Baylor faculty and three to four from the host university. All of it counts toward general education requirements, making the program academically seamless regardless of major. But coursework is only part of the story. Cultural excursions, mentorship and shared experiences build the community and self-discovery that define the semester.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Students describe the experience as transformative in their own words. One 2023 participant put it this way:

"The biggest impact this program had on me was being outside my comfort zone, which made me confront who I was without my usual routines. I didn't just learn about another culture; I started to learn about myself."

Another reflected:

"Growth isn't always achievement. It's getting lost, confronting your own biases, asking questions, and challenging what you thought you knew. The university I was at in Dublin had over 8,000 international students. That taught me how valuable it is to admire differences and see them as an opportunity for connection."

These reflections echo the research. A 2017 study by Hawkins found that first-semester study abroad students undergo a "double transition"—first to a new culture, then back to campus life—and that this double adjustment builds maturity, intercultural skill and academic focus in ways a single transition does not.

For Global Scholars, that transition is part of the education. Students learn to navigate unfamiliar environments, build relationships across cultures and develop confidence outside the routines they have always known.

Does It Work? The Numbers Say Yes

The data backs up the student stories. Of the 21 students in the 2022 cohort, 20 returned and matriculated into their sophomore year—a 95% return rate. In 2023, 30 of 31 returned—a 97% return rate. In both cohorts, every returning student completed a spring reentry course, "Learning for the World," designed to help them process the experience and plan their continued global engagement.

The numbers tell only part of the story. A student who arrives abroad unsure of whether they belong can return to Waco with greater confidence. A student who had never considered another international experience may begin looking for the next opportunity. Another may discover an academic or professional interest that shapes the years ahead.

The first semester abroad can change what a student believes is possible for the rest of their college experience.

Beyond One Semester: A Four-Year Global Journey

Global Scholars isn't a one-and-done experience. Students can follow a four-year roadmap that includes mentoring, research, service-learning and a second international experience. One standout opportunity is the chance to become a Provost Scholar, Baylor's premier academic honor for students who excel in scholarship, leadership and service. Open to every major, Provost Scholars gain mentoring, community and guidance in applying for fellowships such as the Fulbright, Truman and Rhodes.

The goal is to build on the transformation that begins during the first semester abroad. Global learning becomes not a single milestone, but part of a student's broader academic, professional and personal development.

What We've Learned

Baylor's experience shows that first-year global programs work best when they align coursework with general education pathways, choose host institutions that reflect campus culture and support systems, offer intentional reentry support and build global themes across the full undergraduate experience.

The program also advances institutional goals set out in Baylor's strategic plan and the Baylor In Deeds initiative, promoting student flourishing, academic excellence and global engagement together.

Most importantly, Global Scholars demonstrates that global learning does not have to wait until students are upperclassmen. The first semester of college can be an opportunity to challenge students, broaden their perspectives and give them a stronger foundation for everything that follows.

A New Kind of College Beginning

As Education First notes, first-year abroad programs are redefining what it means to begin college. At Baylor, Global Scholars has become more than a study abroad option; it is a launchpad for a student's entire academic journey.

Our students come home not only with stamps in their passports, but with stronger identities, deeper curiosity and a new sense of what it means to lead in a global world.

Sometimes that transformation begins with something as simple as staying when you're homesick.

And sometimes, staying becomes the first step toward imagining where you might go next.