First Research Study on Outcomes of Study Abroad

During my research efforts I came across what I believe to be the first research study on the outcomes of study abroad.

The article by Roxana Holden was published in The Modern Language Journal in 1934. Holden analyzes statistics and statements from alumni participants of the first ten years of the Junior Year Abroad Programs (which first started at the University of Delaware in 1923). To be sure, there is much literature on U.S. students studying/educated abroad that pre-date this 1934 article. Some of the literature from the 1920’s and 1930’s provides anecdotal evidence of the “value” of study abroad or provides information and quotes of opinion from U.S. based faculty and administrators on the outcomes of study abroad but the Holden article is the first I’ve found that discusses outcomes based on actual data analysis.

The article is available via JSTOR and I’ve provided a citation below:

Holden, Roxana. (1934, November). "Ten Years of Undergraduate Study Abroad". The Modern Language Journal, 19 (2), 117-122.