Students at this Presbyterian-affiliated Christian college will find a lot of traditional requirements in the college's core curriculum, including a first-year composition course and a variety of general education topics in humanities, science and math. But King University also requires students to complete a “cross-cultural experience” in which they interact with people from a different background. (Mission trips, study abroad, extended community service projects or mentoring an international student are all options.) In their senior year, the core curriculum ends with a capstone course called Christian Faith and Social Responsibility.
Each fall, freshmen can participate in an annual trip to Washington, D.C. It’s not a sightseeing tour (or at least, it’s not just a sightseeing tour). Faculty-designed programs are intended to get students thinking critically about careers, history, cultural events and more. (Past examples include discussions of the Human Genome project at the Smithsonian Institute and watching news-gathering in action at NPR headquarters.)
And each spring, all undergrads participate in spirit week, which culminates in a reunion weekend for alumni — it’s named Dogwood Weekend for the trees blossoming on campus during that time of year. Students and alums alike cap the weekend at the spring formal (the Dogwood Ball).
The hilltop campus, with its historical Georgian architecture, is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It’s about two miles from downtown Bristol, known as the “Birthplace of Country Music.”
