Study Abroad in The United States - History

History

Though the University of Delaware is typically credited with creating the first study abroad program designed for U.S. undergraduate students in the 1920s, the early stages of study-abroad actually began at Indiana University. In the 1870s, IU faculty invited students to attend courses in Switzerland, France, England, Germany, and Italy, in a series of "summer tramps." Studies focused on natural history, language, and culture, and were so academically-oriented that they were eventually offered for college credit. A few decades later, Professor Raymond W. Kirkbride of the University of Delaware, a French professor and World War I veteran, won support from university president Walter S. Hullihen to send students to France to study during their junior year. UD initially refused to fund Kirkbride's travels, and he and Hullihen appealed to prominent public and private figures for support including then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover and businessman Pierre S. du Pont. Kirkbride set sail for on July 7, 1923, with eight students for six weeks of intensive language courses in Nancy, France, before moving on to Paris to study at The Sorbonne. The Delaware Foreign Study Plan, which came to be known as the Junior Year Abroad (JYA), was considered a success and was replicated by other U.S. institutions, such as Smith College. In 1948, the Delaware Foreign Study Plan was discontinued due to post-war conditions in Europe and shifting priorities under a new university president. It has since been re-instated in the form of their current study abroad program.