Arcadia releases photos of first-ever study abroad program in 1948

Arcadia University recently released photos from the school’s first-ever study abroad program in 1948.

According to the social media post, students sailed from New York to England and rode bicycles from England to France.


A brief history of the program is included in the History of the College of Global Studies page:

In June of 1948, a professor at Beaver College – the institution now known as Arcadia University – took seventeen students via boat to Europe for ten weeks to see the first-hand economic effects of World War II and the post-war efforts to rebuild. This was a pioneering effort in a time when other colleges had yet to resurrect the study abroad programs that the recent world war had interrupted.

The success of that summer study initiative spawned several more programs in other disciplines, so for the next several summers both Beaver College students and those invited from neighboring institutions took part in Beaver’s European study tours. Then in 1965, the Center for Education Abroad was established to enable American undergraduates to study for credit in fully-integrated programs in Great Britain, Austria and elsewhere. Soon thereafter, the Beaver College London Center was founded. Over the years, Arcadia has expanded both its curricular offerings and the locations of its programming. Arcadia University is now recognized as one of the oldest and most prestigious education abroad programs in the U.S. and continues to be a national leader in international education.