Previous studies assessed the intercultural competence of groups of individuals including primary and secondary school teachers, students that have studied abroad, and students enrolled in a specific course at an institution. However, few, if any, studies have investigated the intercultural competence of a cohort of freshmen at the university level. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the differences in intercultural competence among a cohort of freshmen. Specifically, this study assessed differences in intercultural competence among the independent variables of ethnicity, gender, geographic region of primary residence, amount of experience in a country other than the participant's passport country, amount of experience with intercultural relationships, and religious or denominational affiliation. The dependent variable was the participant's level of intercultural competence, which was measured by the Developmental Orientation score of the Intercultural Development Inventory Version 3. The study also sought to determine if there were a significant difference in the gap score between the Perceived Orientation and the Developmental Orientation based on the variables. Furthermore, the study sought to ascertain the distribution of the cohort of freshmen on the intercultural development continuum as well as the collective intercultural competence level. Additionally, the study examined the extent to which the variables predict the value the participants place on external study experiences while attending the university. Findings indicated there was a significant difference in intercultural competence among participants of various ethnicities; however, post hoc procedures were unable to identify the pairs that were causing the difference. Therefore, collectively, there was a significant difference among various ethnicities, but individually there was no significant difference. Thus, it was concluded that leaders should provide intercultural competence development in heterogeneous settings rather than differentiate by ethnicity. There was an interaction effect between geographic region and religious or denominational affiliation. Baptist students from outside the United States scored higher than any other combination of geographic region and religious or denominational affiliation. Due to the characteristics of the institution, these participants were probably Baptist missionary dependent students. Implications of these findings as it pertains to this sample and recommendations for further research are discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]