All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
Academics

Study Abroad Programs

Program Offerings

Woodberry Forest seeks to teach the boys about their place in the world, and the connection of their experience to the world beyond our campus. To that end, Woodberry offers a variety of short-term and trimester-long study abroad programs, designed to give students an immersive experience in a new culture or academic discipline.

For all programs listed:
• Applications for each program will be available this fall and are due November 1.
• The approximate costs listed do not include airfare.
• Tuition assistance is available for abroad programs; boys receive a level of assistance that matches the assistance they receive for regular tuition.
• If a program does not have an adequate number of participants, we will forgo the program.
• Families of students who are interested in participating in a study abroad program must be in good financial standing with the school to be eligible.

Study Abroad Programs

List of 7 items.

  • Woodberry in Zambia – Spring Break Trip

    Student eligibility: Current fifth and sixth formers
    Overview and itinerary: Woodberry Serves in Zambia is a cultural exchange trip with a focus on service. Through partnership with the Tongabezi Trust School in Livingstone, Zambia, Woodberry students will work with the school and its children - teaching English, sports, and providing other help and support for the school and its community. The Tongabezi Trust School was founded to provide underprivileged rural Zambian children, living within walking distance of the school, with a sound and holistic education in a bid to improve the quality of their lives. 

    The trip will include visits to local and regional sites, including Victoria Falls and a game drive in the African bush.

    Approximate dates: March 1–12, 2025

    Approximate cost: $4,000 (plus international airfare)

    Program Directors: Catherine Wharton and Ben Hale

  • Woodberry in Cuba – Spring Break Trip

    Student eligibility: Current fifth and sixth formers, Spanish 3 preferred but not required

    Overview and itinerary: The Woodberry in Cuba program is designed for mature students who want to learn about a nation following an alternative economic, political, and social model to that of the United States. Students in the program will be exposed to history, Spanish language, and Cuban culture and literature.
    The trip will visit Casa de las Américas, the most important cultural and literary institution in Latin America, and the Universidad de la Habana, one of the region’s most prestigious universities.

    Approximate dates:     March 1–9, 2025 (first week of Spring Break)

    Approximate cost:     $4,800 (plus international airfare)

    Program directors: Jairo Rivera and Drew Collier ’03

  • Woodberry in the Galápagos

    Student eligibility: All forms, with a preference to rising fifth and sixth formers

    Overview and itinerary:     Woodberry in the Galápagos introduces students to the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic island chain off the coast of Ecuador that is home to distinctive plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Charles Darwin’s species collection and observations in the Galápagos contributed to his theory of evolution by natural selection. The program focuses on natural history: students study the life on and around the islands with a particular interest in ecological and geological processes, as well as how human behavior has affected this unique environment.

    This is a co-educational trip. Participants will visit cloud forest locations near Quito, Ecuador, before traveling to the Galápagos to tour by boat a number of the islands that make up the archipelago.

    Approximate dates:     June 10–27, 2025

    Approximate Cost:     $8,100 (plus international airfare) 

    Program directors: Len Mills and Bailey Filkoski

  • Woodberry Central America Study Abroad (CASA)

    Student eligibility: Third- and fourth-form students currently enrolled in Spanish 1, Spanish 2, or Spanish 3

    Overview and itinerary:     Woodberry will take a group of Spanish students interested in improving their understanding of local culture and language and participating in meaningful community service to Nicaragua. CASA will include visits to Esteli, Leon, Granada, and San Juan del Sur.

    Boys participate in a homestay and practice their Spanish with native speakers in a completely immersed environment. They also explore museums, authentic music and food, and local industry. The program emphasizes one-on-one tutorials, dynamic classes, specialized language instruction, innovative teaching methods, and full immersion that will enhance boys’ Spanish skills. 

    Approximate dates:     May 31–June 24, 2025

    Approximate cost:     $7,000 (plus international airfare)

    Program director: Jairo Rivera



  • Woodberry in Oxford

    Student eligibility: Rising sixth formers who will have completed Spanish 2; completion of Spanish 3 before the trip is preferred. Students must have a good disciplinary record and a passion for the language.

    Overview and itinerary: Woodberry’s oldest study abroad offering, Woodberry in Spain is a five-week language immersion program. The sights, sounds, and aromas of Spain set the background for an opportunity to live the language. The program starts in Madrid and then moves on to Seville, the first of two homestay experiences. One student per family ensures a total Spanish language and culture experience. After a brief respite in the Mediterranean city of Valencia — where students experience paella and horchata — they spend the remainder of the program in homestays in San Sebastián. This Basque city in northeastern Spain offers a stark contrast to their time in Seville.

    Approximate dates: June 2025

    Approximate cost: $11,000 (plus international airfare)

    Program directors: Andrew Handelsman and Drew Collier ’03

  • Woodberry in Spain

    Student eligibility: Rising sixth formers who will have completed Spanish 2; completion of Spanish 3 before the trip is preferred. Students must have a good disciplinary record and a passion for the language.

    Overview and itinerary: Woodberry’s oldest study abroad offering, Woodberry in Spain is a five-week language immersion program. The sights, sounds, and aromas of Spain set the background for an opportunity to live the language. The program starts in Madrid and then moves onto Seville, the first of two homestay experiences. One student per family ensures a total Spanish language and culture experience. After a brief respite in the Mediterranean city of Valencia — where students experience paella and horchata — they spend the remainder of the program in homestays in San Sebastián. This Basque city in northeastern Spain offers a stark contrast to their time in Seville.

    Approximate dates: June 2025

    Approximate cost: $11,000 (plus international airfare)

    Program directors: Andrew Handelsman and Drew Collier ’03

    Spain Blog

  • Woodberry in Rome

    Student Eligibility: Rising fifth and sixth formers
    Overview and itinerary: Rome—a city that has seen it all: triumph, transformation, and yes, decadence. This is not just a trip; it’s a three week journey through the layers of history that shaped the world, exploring how the allure of power and excess has influenced one of the greatest civilizations ever known.

    Our group will stay on Catholic University’s campus tucked inside the heart of Rome in the ancient neighborhood of Trastevere. We will walk the ancient streets where emperors once ruled over a vast empire, only to see it crumble under the weight of its own opulence and corruption. Fast forward to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and we will see how this theme of decadence reappears, this time in the grandeur of the Catholic Church.

    As we study these themes, we’ll also ask ourselves: What lessons does Rome hold for us today? How does decadence, both personal and societal, affect our world and our community here at Woodberry? We’ll have the chance to debate these questions, reflecting on how the pursuit of power and wealth can sometimes lead to moral and cultural decay—and what that means for us as leaders and citizens today.

    Approximate dates: July 5–26, 2025 

    Approximate cost: $8,800 (plus international airfare)

    Program directors: Gerry Wixted and Paul Erb

Tuition Assistance

Tuition assistance is available for the study abroad programs. Several endowed fellowships — supported by generous alumni or friends of the school — allow students to pursue special summer activities that might not otherwise be possible.
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
Woodberry Forest, VA 22989
Phone: 540-672-3900

Explore & Resources

Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.