Poppie Gullett, a graduate student in the Public History-Cultural Resource Management Program, at the McMurdo Station research center in Antarctica.
Gullet spent four weeks doing research and fieldwork on the history of Antarctic policy and environmental management.
As graduate students make plans to travel abroad for academic purposes, faculty and staff are encouraged to inform them about registering as individual travelers, a process that offers travel insurance, advice, and support in case of an emergency.
While nearly 1,400 Colorado State University students participate in traditional semesters, summers or faculty-led study experiences around the world each year, another population going overseas is made up of “individual travelers” — students traveling internationally for academic reasons such as research, fieldwork or conference attendance. Individual travelers make up 17 percent of CSU’s students traveling abroad and are most commonly graduate students, though occasionally undergraduates may also pursue independent academic opportunities abroad.
Within the Office of International Programs, Education Abroad provides support for all CSU student travelers and departments with academic-related international travel plans. Support for individual travelers includes:
- Travel registration (required for official CSU travel), which allows CSU to track and support students abroad during emergencies
- Travel insurance, including international travel medical and international evacuation coverage
- Group travel advising
- Location advising and research if travelers would like safety or security information
Benefits for individual travelers
Who are individual travelers?
Individual travelers are CSU students traveling abroad for academic purposes, including conferences, research, fieldwork, practicums, presentations and knowledge sharing. They are generally graduate students, traveling alone or with a faculty member; their experience doesn’t look like traditional “study abroad.”
Individual travelers should register degree-related or University-supported (logistic or financial) international travel with CSU Education Abroad, even if international travel is only for a short period of time or they are not receiving financial support from the university. Registering ensures that travelers receive CSU support, including travel health insurance and emergency assistance.
These benefits are offered as part of CSU’s commitment to helping students with planning and safety advising before they travel, and to ensuring that they have support – including effective international evacuation and medical insurance – in case of an emergency abroad.
Online travel registration – Travel registration is required to ensure that CSU, the student’s academic department, and the student are supported and insured during all University-sponsored academic related travel. Individual travelers should complete the online CSU Individual International Travel registration form, which asks for personal information and travel plans, and provides information on health, safety and required free insurance. Once registration is complete and travel is authorized, the student receives an email from Education Abroad, which should be forwarded to the department’s travel arranger.
Higher risk travel destinations – In addition to registering their travel abroad, students traveling to higher risk destinations are required to complete a petition that is reviewed by the CSU International Travel Oversight Committee. Completed prior to travel, the petition asks students to outline their specific travel plans and to consider how to mitigate the risks of the area. The committee will then approve, approve with conditions/advising, and in few cases, deny the petition because of health and safety considerations.
Faculty, staff or students with questions about travel registration and the resources available to individual travelers should contact Vanessa Hayward, Education Abroad coordinator, vanessa.hayward@colostate.edu or (970) 491-2773. More information can also be found at educationabroad.colostate.edu/health-safety.
