Institutionalization of Study Abroad Programs (1980)

Most universities institutionalized study abroad programs by the 1980s and Trinity University was no exception. Under the leadership of Dr. George Boyd, Professor of Religion and Dean of Humanities and Arts (from around the late 1970s to the late 1990s), different programs were supported or developed with a mission similar to the Language School in 1944. Under policies detailed in a document of the early 1980s, students were able to choose between semester programs -in London, Paris, Madrid, or other places in Europe- approved by Trinity but hosted by a different institution or provider, and summer programs, some of them led by Trinity faculty. These summer programs were designed with a theme course and would last two to six weeks, and would vary in the availability of the faculty. In general, students were able to travel to Mexico (Mexico City, Cuernavaca, or Morelia), Spain, or Germany (Munich and Berlin) during the summer. Still, in the 1980s up to the mid-1990s, financial aid to study abroad was very scarce, limiting the demography of students that would be able to engage in these experiences.