Adminstrative history

The Junior Year Abroad Program was instituted at Boston College in 1959 with four students. The primary purpose of the Junior Year Abroad Program was to strengthen foreign language competence. As such, students were free to choose the country and university where they wished to study with the caveat that English speaking countries were not considered appropriate areas for Junior Year Abroad.

By the 1970s, the Junior Year Abroad Program had become increasingly popular with students through the integration of international education into the Boston College Curriculum. Between 1984 and 1987, for example, the program's enrollment increased by 55%. To meet the growing demand for an international program, President Monan, S.J. created the President's Committee on International Education in 1985.

In 1990, the Junior Year Abroad Program was renamed the Foreign Study Program. The name reflected a change in programmatic offerings and its expansion of eligibility. In 1997, the Foreign Study Program and the Office of International Programs merged to form the Center for International Studies.