As 44 students gear up for their semester abroad in Leipzig, Oxford, and Montevideo, the Office of International Programs and Study Abroad has announced changes to the program’s duration and the potential replacement of the Montevideo site with a location in Spain.
This semester, 23 students will be heading to Oxford under the guidance of Dr. Shelly Sanders, a professor of English. Meanwhile, 15 students will travel to Leipzig with Dr. John Boyles, an associate professor of Bible, missions, and ministry. The Montevideo trip, which will be led by Dr. Omar Palafox, assistant professor of intercultural studies, will include five students.
Unlike previous semesters, this year’s trips will be shortened to 12 weeks instead of the usual 14, according to Mark Barneche, Executive Director of International Education and Study Abroad. “Our students’ current immigration status requires them to limit their stay in the host country to under 90 days, so now our stay is set at 89 days,” Barneche explained. “Previously, our policy did not strictly adhere to local immigration laws, but we are now aligning it with local requirements.”
The Montevideo site will close after this semester due to low enrollment and limited growth potential, Barneche confirmed. “We decided to close the Montevideo program based on its limited capacity for meaningful expansion,” he said. “The facility in Montevideo was quite small, and its occupancy capacity never made financial or operational sense. We are moving to a location where there’s a higher capacity of students and more interest.”
The new location in Spain was chosen to replace Montevideo because of its geographical advantages, popularity, and the quality of Spanish spoken there, Barneche noted.
In addition to these changes, Study Abroad has launched language lunches on the first Wednesday of every month, designed to bring together students who speak languages other than English. Lindsay Snyder, Study Abroad Coordinator, highlighted the initiative’s goal: “If you speak another language, we want to bring you together because language can uniquely unite people and create bonds. It also gives students the opportunity to connect with others they might not know and bond over a shared language, whether it’s one they are learning or grew up speaking.”
Applications for the summer and fall of 2025 and spring of 2026 are currently open on the Study Abroad website, with a priority deadline of October 1 and a final deadline of November 1.
“Study Abroad offers a unique opportunity for students to explore the world with their peers and with the support of an educational institution,” Snyder said. “It’s a chance for significant personal and spiritual growth. Stepping outside of your comfort zone and typical community allows you to learn more about yourself, God, and the world He created.”
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