Prepare

Preparing for traveling abroad requires careful planning and organization to ensure a smooth and enjoyable journey, from securing necessary documents to researching cultural norms and packing essentials.

Preparation Timeline

9 Months Out

  1. Do you have a passport?
    You must have a passport to leave the U.S., so go ahead and check that off your list. And, if you’ve got one already, make sure your passport is valid for at least six months past your planned return date. Visit the Travel.State.Gov website to start the process.
  2. Do you need a visa?
    While you’re at it, check to see if you will need a visa to visit any countries on your agenda. You’ll want to check on this early enough, so you have plenty of time to go through the process before your planned departure date.
  3. Start saving
    It’s never too early to start saving for your trip. Go ahead and start planning and being aware of your finances now so you can take full advantage of your time abroad.

Health & Safety

Following Best Practices

The University endorses the recommendations and best practices established for health and safety in the field of education abroad by NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the Forum on Education Abroad. We align ourselves with those best practices by having our professional staff and faculty participate in risk management training, give conference presentations, and hold leadership positions in a variety of professional associations. That active engagement provides our office and greater community with experience and knowledge to create policy and practices to best support the health, safety, and security of our students. 

While abroad, we expect our students to: 

  • Stay informed on developments in the country/countries where they spend time. 
  • Continue to check their U of A email and respond to program leaders appropriately. 
  • Make sure that the emergency contact information that they provide in their HogsAbroad application is up to date. 

Insurance While Abroad

All students studying abroad need comprehensive international health insurance in addition to maintaining their U.S. health insurance. The Office of Study Abroad contracts with Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI) to provide insurance coverage to students that includes 24-hour emergency telephone assistance service, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, and security evacuation.

The CISI policy is usually included as part of the required program fees paid to the university for study at U of A administered programs. Most study abroad (external) program providers include international health insurance as part of the program fees. Students participating in a study abroad program that does not include international health insurance may enroll themselves directly in the CISI policy. It is important that students understand their coverage before departure.  

International Independent Travel Registration

Students approved to travel on an approved study abroad program are NOT required to complete this independent travel registration; their information will be gathered through the online application process.

Travel Registration can be completed by the traveler or by a designated proxy with the following: traveler’s passport information, purpose of travel (with host organization name, if applicable), dates and city destinations of travel, emergency contact name, phone, and email, U of A advisors name, email and U of A ID for students or for faculty/staff, name, email and U of A ID for students accompanying the travel leader.

For Students

All students traveling outside of the United States on a U of A related activity are required to register their travel with the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange. Itineraries, purpose of visit, and host organizations are shared with the International Education Advisory Council, travel office and appropriate college administrators upon request.

This would include but is not limited to the following activities:

  • Internship
  • Research/grant
  • Professional conference attendance
  • Traveling with a registered student organization (RSO)
  • Traveling with faculty on cultural or athletic events

Traveler RegistrationProxy Registration

For Faculty & Staff

All faculty and staff traveling outside of the United States on a U of A related activity are required to register their travel with the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange. Travel Authorizations will not be approved in BASIS for international travel until the trip has been registered, so travelers or their designated proxy should take care of this before airfare is purchased.

This would include, but is not limited, to the following activities:

  • Teaching or Research
  • Professional conference attendance
  • MOU development
  • Recruiting
  • Traveling with students on cultural or athletic events

Traveler RegistrationProxy Registration

Attend a Study Abroad Event

Events

View More Events