FOR ADVISORS’ INFORMATION: Spring 2021 Study Abroad Cancellation
Dear colleagues,
We have been closely monitoring the global pandemic situation. While we had been hopeful that things would improve considerably to allow us to resume study abroad in spring 2021, the situation continues to pose high risks for international travelers. The U.S. Department of State maintains its travel advisories of Level 3 and 4 for most countries around the world and the CDC lists most countries at Level 3: Avoid Non-essential Travel. Given this information, and to ensure that students are able to register for UIC classes in a timely manner, UIC has made the difficult decision to suspend study abroad programming for the Spring 2021 semester.
We have been in touch with students with an active application on file with our office to inform them of this decision. We are hopeful that conditions will improve to allow study abroad to resume at some point next year. The next application cycle will be for Summer 2021, Fall 2021, and Academic Year 2021-22 programs. The application deadline for most of these programs is March 12th, 2021 and students are invited to meet with our advisors to begin planning for a future term.
Additionally, we are pleased to announce our new Virtual International Internship program for Spring 2021. Students have the opportunity to gain valuable international and remote work experience even while travel is suspended. Internships will provide students with 120+ hours of remote intern experience and students will enroll in a seminar titled International Internship: The Multicultural Workplace, offered by our partner CEA. Students can work with their advisors to determine if they might be eligible to receive academic credit for this experience. Please refer any questions or interested students to the SAO’s Executive Director, Dr. Kyle Rausch (kcrausch@uic.edu).
Although it is disappointing that study abroad remains suspended, we are confident that it will rebound before long and that there will be many new and exciting opportunities for our students. Thank you for continuing to speak with your students about study abroad and for your support.
Sincerely,
Kyle Rausch, EdD
(pronouns: he/him/his)
Executive Director
Study Abroad Office
Office of Global Engagement
University of Illinois Chicago