  We investigate the effects of abundance and age on the mid-UV spectra and
Mg_{2} strengths of stellar populations using simple population synthesis
models. These models are used to constrain the star formation history of four
nearby elliptical galaxies and spiral bulges. The mid-UV (1800 - 3200 \AA)
light of evolved stellar populations (> 1 Gyr) is dominated by the main
sequence turn-off, unlike the optical light which is dominated by the red giant
branch. A detailed investigation of the mid-UV features of elliptical galaxies
may help break the age-metallicity degeneracy that plagues optical techniques.
Also, a better understanding of this wavelength region is useful for the
studies of 0.5 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 1.5 galaxies for which the rest frame mid-UV is
redshifted into the visible. We create simple, single age (3-20 Gyr), single
metallicity (Z = 0.0004 - 0.05) spectral energy distributions (SEDs) extending
into the UV using the Kurucz model stellar fluxes. Comparison to standard
stars' mid-UV spectra reveals that the Kurucz model fluxes accurately model a
blend feature of FeI and MgI at 2538 {\AA} (Bl2538) and the slope of the
continuum between 2600 and 3100 {\AA} (S2850). We find that our simple single
age, single metallicity SEDs agree well with these mid-UV features of globular
clusters. However, the majority of the galaxies do not agree with the Bl2538,
S2850, and Mg_{2} values given by these simple models. The mid-UV features
appear to require both an old metal-rich and a small old metal-poor (Z $\leq$
0.001) population. Despite being limited by the quality of the model stellar
fluxes, our study has yielded two promising mid-UV spectral diagnostics (Bl2538
and S2850) and suggests unique and complex star formation histories for
elliptical galaxies.
