One hundred years ago, in July 1923, eight students from the University of Delaware embarked on a trip to France. The students studied at various French institutions, attended operas and immersed themselves in the French way of life.
To our modern minds, this trip seems unremarkable. Study abroad programmes are offered at almost every major college and university in the United States. At the time, however, this was the only programme of its kind – an experiment in American higher education.
The experiment was largely made successful by Professor Raymond W. Kirkbride, a lecturer in the Modern Languages Department and a veteran of the First World War. Despite the circumstances that brought him to France, Kirkbride enjoyed spending time with the French and the parts of their culture he was able to experience.
After the war, many American academics believed it was time to focus on greater understanding between nations. Kirkbride agreed, believing that his students should learn about the world beyond America’s borders. With this in mind, he proposed that his students travel to France for their junior year.
Junior Year Abroad (JYA) was born, and the programme began to attract students from peer institutions such as Princeton and Harvard to take part in study abroad trips like the one to France.
In 1939, the start of World War II put a halt to the study abroad programme, but not before the University of Delaware had expanded to Germany and Switzerland.
Study abroad revived
The hiatus in programming continued after the war. With international tensions high, few institutions offered study abroad programmes. In 1971, the University’s Community Design Commission called the hiatus in programming “a paradox…and a rather embarrassing one”. By 1972, the University of Delaware had revived the programme.
The University of Delaware programme was innovative even after the decades-long lapse. The programme served a broader segment of the student population by offering short-term study abroad opportunities. The vast majority of universities at the time only offered semester-long programmes.
The wide reach was a huge success. In fact, so many UD students enrolled in study abroad programmes in 1972 that Pan American Airlines painted two of its planes “Delaware Clipper”.
Since its revival in the 1970s, more than 24,000 University of Delaware students have studied abroad. Approximately one in 10 students in the nation will study abroad. Three in 10 UD students take advantage of the study abroad programme. The university also works to make study abroad programs more accessible by providing approximately $1 million in scholarships each year.
With a wide range of programmes for all majors and an international network of faculty to support students, the programme remains exemplary. Design students from the University of Delaware have assisted at Paris Fashion Week. Students have hiked through the tropical forests of Costa Rica, interacted with spider monkeys in the Amazon, and participated in various humanitarian projects around the world.
