Students jumping in front of a chateau
A 1989 cohort of the Middlebury School in France

The fall of 2024 marked the 75th anniversary of the Middlebury C.V. Starr Schools Abroad, which began in 1949 with the graduate program in Paris. In the subsequent years, the Schools Abroad have grown to 16 Schools worldwide across 32 sites, welcoming over 550 students annually from Middlebury College and beyond.

The Middlebury College News Letter from 1952 published a story about the (then only two) locations for students: “in the green valley of the Seine in Paris and on the brilliant Castilian plateau in Madrid.” At that time, these sites were exclusively for graduate students. Today, those students can still combine their studies at the Middlebury Language Schools with a year in France or Spain, and there are additional opportunities for them in Argentina, Italy, Germany, and Kazakhstan. The role of the director as described in the story is remarkably similar to the current task of any of the staff members abroad: to provide support to students while simultaneously encouraging individual growth. Indeed, much of the philosophy of the current-day programs can be seen in the original framework for the academic curriculum: an emphasis on immersion under the trademark Middlebury Language Pledge®, the opportunity to study alongside local students at a host university, and the chance to go off the beaten path and engage deeply not as tourists but as members of the community.

As did the graduate programs of yore, the present-day Schools Abroad attract undergraduate students from far and wide. About 50% of all participants come from colleges and universities other than Middlebury. Among the many excellent study abroad opportunities available to them, they choose Middlebury for its rigor and the chance to delve into language study at a level that is now almost exclusive to Middlebury. In honor of the School in France’s 75th anniversary in particular, we reached out to alumni from Paris and beyond. Their resounding response? Un grand “merci” to Middlebury for the life-changing experiences abroad. Many mentioned the program’s balance of challenge and support, facilitation of life-long friendships, and cultivation of a deep appreciation for cultures around the globe. We also wrote to friends of the Middlebury Schools Abroad, from whom we learned that the impact of our immersive language programs span not only decades, but also generations. In the words of Kristen Grace, Senior Education Abroad Advisor at Cornell University:

“I like to say that I am in the field of education abroad today because my mother participated in that Middlebury Schools Abroad program in 1963-64 in Spain as a graduate student. I grew up with Middlebury calendars in our house and with her fond memories of “la Madre” who hosted her. My mother kept her language commitment and never spoke English while abroad, though she did compose letters in English home to her family and her boyfriend, my father. They chose to marry in Spain after her classes were over. Years later, when she was teaching my daughter Spanish, we were able to travel as a threesome and see some of her favorite spots. She pointed out where her bedroom window overlooked the Neptune statue across from the Prado Museum. From the minute we stepped off the plane, she spoke Spanish. Locals would sometimes look at us, obvious tourists, with my mother and daughter speaking Spanish and me following along but responding in English! She was immensely proud of Middlebury’s Language Schools, and the result was clear as she spoke Spanish beautifully for the rest of her life.”

2024 was a big year not only for the School in France, our first site, but also for four of our other Schools. We celebrated 10 years at our School in the UK (Oxford), 20 years at both our School in Brazil (Florianópolis and Niterói) and School in Greater China (Beijing and Kaohsiung, Taiwan), and 65 at our School in Germany (Mainz, Potsdam, and Berlin). We are grateful for all of the students, faculty, and administrators who have been a part of our global journey over the past 75 years, and we look forward to many more years of immersion, connection, and growth.