Each summer, a group of Hampden-Sydney men choose to extend their education abroad. H-SC’s summer abroad program (during May Term) allows students to experience various cultures, people, and traditions. Each year H-SC academic departments devise summer abroad courses, often with thoughtful input from students, in preparation for May Term. “In 2007 students chose to study Tropical Biology in Costa Rica, learned about History and Theater while traveling in Japan, and had the opportunity to study Economics and History in France. In years past, students have studied ecology in Scotland, language and culture in Spain, Renaissance history, literature, and theatre in England, and the European Union in Belgium and France.”

This summer, there was one group of sixteen students that spent May Term in Costa Rica studying Spanish. Dr. Palmer and Professsor Alvez joined the students, teaching various Spanish courses: Alvez, teaching Spanish 201 and 202, while Palmer thought upper-level Spanish linguistics. As the students immersed themselves in the culture, people, terrain, classes, and presentations, they were able to obtain a holistic picture and firm grasp of the language. Other students spent May Term in Costa Rica apart from the group. A separate group of four also spent the term studying Spanish.

Aside from the Costa Rica trip, 11 students participated in the Virginia Program at Oxford, which hosts a conglomerate of students not only from H-SC but also from Mary Baldwin College, Roanoke College, Washington and Lee University, Sweet Briar College, and Virginia Military Institute. This program is the oldest abroad program at Hampden-Sydney and has proven to be very popular among the students. During this program, the students studied literature, history and society of late 16th and 17th century England—the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline periods.

Three students had the opportunity to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science, widely known as one of the world’s premier institutions for the study of economics. These students participated in intensive, three-week courses which focused on a broad range of modules including accounting and finance, economics, international relations of government and society, law, and management.

Other students participated in individual programs in London (University of Richmond), Costa Rica, Spain, and many more. In an interview with Ms. Mary Cooper, the director of Hampden-Sydney’s study abroad department, she expressed her feelings on the significance and value of an education supplemented by a study abroad program: “Study abroad is a true complement to education at Hampden-Sydney. It not only allows the student to broaden their educational horizon, but it also allows each student to seize the college experience and use it to travel the world before entering a stationary job… Abroad, students are able to satisfy their curiosity of foreign lands—it’s nearly essential to the college experience.”

According to Cooper, each student returns with a more complex and fulfilled perception of the world and of foreign cultures and people; the students take courses and attend presentations, but the true value is much deeper than classroom learning.

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