Study Abroad

UHS offers opportunities for students to study around the world, both through the SYA program and other exchanges.

School Year Abroad (SYA) is a secondary-level program which allows students from public and private schools across the United States to live with a European or Asian family for an entire academic year or a semester while earning U.S. graduation credits and preparing for selective U.S. colleges and universities.

Founded in 1964 by Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, SYA is now a consortium including top independent schools across the country. UHS has been a member of this consortium for many years, and many UHS students have taken advantage of the opportunities that SYA provides.

Currently, SYA operates schools in Rennes, France; Viterbo, Italy; and Zaragoza, Spain. At each site, every year, approximately 60 students come together to participate in a program that combines rigorous academics with a meaningful homestay experience. Students also participate in extracurriclar activities and in organized travel. 

Through the immersion experience of SYA, students can achieve real fluency and accuracy in a foreign language and gain a deep understanding of another people and another way of life. As they face the challenges of living abroad, they also have opportunities to grow in responsibility, in self-reliance, and in tolerance.

While providing high-level preparation for American colleges and universities, SYA also enables students to become comfortable and competent members of a global community.

For more information about School Year Abroad, see Gvantsa Apkhazava (Languages Department), UHS Coordinator for SYA. You can also visit the SYA website at www.sya.org.