Required Guidelines for Students Abroad
UW offers many opportunities for student engagement abroad. Student health, safety, and security are our top priorities. This policy outlines three important pre-departure requirements for all students traveling abroad for official academic purposes.
All UW students, graduate and undergraduate, who are traveling outside the U.S. for UW purposes are included and beholden to this policy.
This includes:
- Students attending international meetings and conferences.
- Students conducting fieldwork or dissertation research.
- Students participating in Study Abroad programs.
- International students traveling to their home country for University purposes.
Traveling for University purposes includes travel and activities abroad that are funded, sponsored, administered, arranged, or approved by the University. Travel with a Registered Student Organization (RSO), that is not otherwise funded or supported by the University, and personal travel such as a vacation is not considered travel for University purposes.
See below for more scenarios on whether or not your travel is required to be registered, as per this policy.
Students are automatically enrolled in UW Student Abroad insurance when they register travel or commit to a UW Study Abroad program. Students are required to download the International SOS app as part of that process. The cost of the insurance will be automatically billed to the student’s account.
Students also have the ability to apply for an insurance waiver, allowing them to waive the benefits and fees of UW insurance if approved. Insurance waiver requests are part of the travel registration or Study Abroad application in MyGlobal.
Note that most insurance policies, including GAIP, home country insurance, or external provider plans do not meet the requirements for equal and equivalent coverage. Students are required to have $500,000 of emergency accident and illness coverage, medical repatriation and repatriation of remains, security evacuation (political unrest and natural disasters), as well as mental health benefits.
The UW Student Abroad insurance is not travel insurance and does not include coverage for things like trip delay, lost baggage, or stolen belongings.
Please contact UW Global Travel Health and Safety by emailing travelemergency@uw.edu if you experience any issues with your insurance while abroad.
Travel waivers are required for high-risk areas, as defined by the US Department of State (DoS). For students, this is all countries and regions defined as Level 3 or Level 4. The International Travel Risk Assessment and Safety Committee and University Provost review high-risk travel requests. If a waiver is required, it will be automatically included in the registration process.
- Requests for countries that have Level 3 or 4 regions, even if the traveler will not be going to those areas, are still required to complete a waiver for review by Global Travel Health and Safety.
- Requests for travel to a Level 3 or 4 country should be submitted at least 45 days before departure to give the committee and Provost time to review the request.
Students on study abroad will be automatically approved and covered under their program’s travel waiver, if required.
Travel waivers and review requirements may change on short notice. This includes if a country or region’s advisory changes before or while a traveler is abroad.
Commonly Asked Questions
The policy outlines three distinct pre-departure requirements for all students traveling abroad for official academic purposes. Students must register their planned international travel, purchase international insurance, and request a waiver before traveling to high risk destinations.
These three pre-departure requirements are critical to ensuring all students have a safe, healthy and positive academic experience abroad. The spirit of this policy is to facilitate our students’ success abroad, not create unnecessary burdens to travel abroad for academic purposes.
The policy was signed by the Provost in April 2017 and is now a formal campus-wide policy. Students who study abroad through UW Study Abroad already meet these requirements. This policy invites an opportunity to educate all UW students about the global resources and services available to them as outlined in this policy.
This policy does not address international travel by faculty and staff.
As of July 25, 2025, a new policy from the executive office requires travel registration for all faculty/staff on official UW travel. See here for more on that policy and additional employee travel information.
Does This Policy Apply to Me If…
Yes, however if you are traveling with UW Study Abroad, you will already meet these requirements.
UW Study Abroad works directly with students to ensure that these policy requirements are met, and you do not need to take any additional action or register separately for the dates of your program.
Yes, and you are specifically required to register as a student. Anyone enrolled in credit-bearing classes status as a student supersedes their employment or travel related to employment.
No, this policy only applies to international travel for official UW travel.
Canada and Mexico are considered international destinations; Alaska and Hawaii are not. US territories are also considered international, as the UW insurance extends coverage there. Please register any travel to Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, etc.
Yes, as there is no minimum number of days required for this policy to apply to official international student travel.
Yes, and please contact UW Study Abroad directly to discuss the unique aspects of studying abroad with a non-UW organization.
Yes, as policy applies to all students traveling abroad for official academic purposes.
Yes, and please contact UW Global Travel Health and Safety to discuss the unique aspects of traveling internationally aboard a research vessel.
No, as this policy only applies to travel abroad for academic purposes.
Yes, since this policy applies to all students traveling abroad on trips that are administered/arranged/approved by the university, including travel through UW Athletics. If you are traveling as part of a team that has registered through Study Abroad, you will already be in compliance with the policy.
No, as international travel with an RSO is not considered officially sponsored by the UW unless you receive travel funds or other support from UW. If you have questions or concerns while on your RSO trip, please contact your RSO advisor.