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

Study Abroad Programs

Program Offerings

Woodberry Forest offers a variety of spring break and summer study abroad opportunities designed to give students an immersive experience in a new culture or academic discipline. The school also offers a trimester-long exchange program with three boys schools in South Africa; information about that program is shared separately with members of the fourth form later in the school year. 

  • Applications for each program will be available this fall and due mid-November. 
  • The approximate costs listed below 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 China - Not offered in 2023

    Overview and itinerary: Woodberry in China gives students an overview of the rich and varied cultures of China throughout Asia. Students improve their Chinese language abilities and gain an appreciation for the diversity of this ancient culture. The program is designed as an introduction to a lifelong interaction with China and its people. Highlights include a twelve-day homestay in coordination with a high school in either China or Taiwan.  The trip traditionally runs every other summer and visits major cities and historic sites.  In the summer of 2023 we are hoping to give students a chance to see the spread of Chinese culture throughout Southeast Asia.
     
    Approximate dates: Offered on a rotating basis. 
    Approximate Cost: $8,100 (plus international airfare)
    Student Eligibility: Students enrolled in Chinese 2 or higher
    Academic Credit: One semester of language credit. A student who completes the summer with distinction, earning a grade of “A-” or higher, can enroll in the next higher level of Chinese.
    Program Directors: Mr. Scott Navitsky and Dr. Ping Guan
  • Woodberry in Cuba

    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 4–12, 2023 (first week of Spring Break)
    Approximate Cost: $4,150 (plus international airfare)
    Student Eligibility: Current Fifth and Sixth Formers
    Program Directors: Jairo Rivera and Drew Collier
  • Woodberry in the Galapagos

    Overview and itinerary: Woodberry in the Galapagos introduces students to the Galapagos Islands, a volcanic island chain off the coast of Ecuador home to distinctive plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Charles Darwin’s species collection and observations in the Galapagos 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 how human behavior has affected this unique environment.

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

    Approximate dates: June 13–June 28 (all students should arrive at WFS on June 12 to stay overnight and travel together to the airport on June 13)
    Approximate Cost: $7,340 (plus international airfare) 
    Student Eligibility: All forms, with a preference to rising fifth and sixth formers 
    Program Director: Len Mills and Alex Tisch
    Galapagos Blog
  • Woodberry MESA

    Overview and itinerary: Woodberry MESA occurs in Mexico, where students will visit Mexico City, Acapulco, and the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende. 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. MESA also incorporates meaningful community service; participants improve their understanding of local culture and language through sustained local outreach.

    The trip is based in Mexico, and students spend a portion of the trip with host families.

    Approximate dates: June 3 –26
    Approximate Cost: $6,400 (plus international airfare)
    Student Eligibility: Students currently enrolled in Spanish 1, Spanish 2 and Spanish 3. (Third and fourth form only)
    Program Directors: Jairo Rivera and Scott Navitsky
    Mesa Blog
  • Woodberry in Oxford

    Overview and itinerary: Woodberry has a decades-long tradition of summer study at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Each year, a different faculty team designs and teaches a course to Woodberry students that highlights various aspects of English history, drama, visual art, literature, and politics. Students and faculty reside in Brasenose College at Oxford for the duration of the trip; the group makes frequent trips to London and other destinations of cultural interest.

    A proposed theme for the 2023 trip is “Signs of Ancient Rome in Britain,” focusing on British history from the pre-Roman period to the beginning of the Dark Ages. Participants will visit important Roman historical sites such as Bath, Chedworth Villa, and the British Museum. In addition to visiting the Classical sites, participants will also have the opportunity to see and study other aspects of British History and culture from the Renaissance to the present day. Each student will be required to give a presentation on site or in our classroom at Oxford about some aspect of England that he has chosen to study in greater depth and share with the group.

    Approximate Dates: July 2–22, 2023
    Approximate Cost: $7,700 (plus international airfare) 
    Student Eligibility: Rising fifth and sixth formers, preference to 6th form
    Program Directors: Taaj Davis and Donald Brewster

  • Woodberry on the Silk Road - Not offered in 2023

    Overview and itinerary: Woodberry on the Silk Road is a summer trip designed as a companion experience to the history courses Caliphs and Kings and China and the World, as well as other Woodberry offerings in the foreign language and religion departments. The program aims to introduce students firsthand to the places, history, and cultures along the Silk Road, which historically stretched from Jerusalem and Constantinople in the West to Xi'an, China in the East, forming the greatest cultural and trading network in human history.

    Students will visit archaeological digs and historic sites in Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. They’ll try their hands at falconing and fishing in Central Asia and explore sites of global importance in Istanbul.

    Approximate dates: Summer 2024 (Offered on a rotating basis with Woodberry in China). 
    Academic credit: Participants are eligible to undertake research leading to a 1/3 Honors History credit
    Approximate Cost: $5,500 (plus international airfare)
    Student Eligibility: Rising fifth and sixth formers
    Program Directors: Tony Watson and Taaj Davis

    2021 Program Records

    Woodberry Forest on the Silk Road Blog (2021)

    2019 Program Records
    Photo Album of Silk Road (2019)


    2018 Program Records
    Photo Album of Israel    
    Photo Album of Silk Road (2018)

  • Woodberry in Spain

    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 8–July 15
    Approximate Cost: $8,500 (plus international airfare)
    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.
    Program Directors: Andrew Handelsman and Drew Collier
    Spain Blog

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 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.