At this moment, GEO plans to operate programs with COVID-19 risk mitigation plans in place without impacting the overall quality of the study away experience. You can see the full list of programs accepting applications for spring 2022 here. However, we may be forced to change or cancel previously planned programs. Students with open applications will be informed of any changes in programming and updates will be posted to GEO’s COVID-19 & Study Away webpages.

GEO is constantly reviewing program offerings and monitoring the global and local responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we can’t guarantee that programs will run, we will update applicants about cancellations as soon as possible. We are mindful of competing on-campus deadlines and will do our best to accommodate students’ reentry to a semester in Durham should a study away cancellation require it. 

Each country continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in its own way. While we can’t eliminate all risks associated with this disease, there are things we can do to help prevent and mitigate its spread. GEO is in constant collaboration with Duke’s Undergraduate Health and Safety Support unit to evaluate the regional and country response of each study away program’s location. GEO will not operate or approve programs that don’t have adequate health and safety measures in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

GEO is evaluating all the elements of its programs within the context of a global pandemic. In addition to GEO’s own careful assessment of events, such a decision would be based on world events and informed by consultations with various parties and sources of information, which may include:

• Duke program administrators
• In-country partners and program providers
• The U.S. State Department Other U.S. agencies (for example, the CDC)
• Private-sector international security experts
• Other relevant Duke University offices

The U.S. Department of State is noting significant passport processing delays: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/processing-times.html. Routine passport applications can take up to 18 weeks to process and ship.

If you do not have a passport, please apply for one as soon as possible. If you already have a passport, please check the expiration date to make sure it will remain valid for at least 6 months after the end date of the study away program/s for which you’ve applied. When calculating your timelines, remember you’ll need a passport in order to apply for a student visa, and the process of applying for a visa will take upwards of 4-6 weeks.

Passport information for U.S. citizens can be found at http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html. If you are concerned about not getting your passport processed on time you might want to consider expediting your passport application by following the directions on the U.S. State Department website: http://travel.state.gov/passport/hurry/hurry_831.html.

Please refrain from beginning a visa application until you hear from our office. We’ll send you an email confirming your program’s status if and when travel has been approved by Duke. Once you receive our confirmation, then you should begin your visa application and other travel arrangements.

Applications for some fall 2021 study away programs are still open. Please review this list of programs to see which are still accepting applications. 

GEO has also opened applications for its spring 2022 programs. Each program has different deadlines. Please check the MyExperientialEd application portal for application details. 

We anticipate that programs that were popular before the pandemic will remain competitive due to space limitations. Some programs may operate with reduced numbers due to COVID-19 considerations, so that may also reduce the number of students we can accept on each program.

No, the Global Education Office is not accepting Spring 2022 petitions for study away programs outside of its Duke-Approved portfolio. If you have questions about the petition process or would like to think about petitioning a program beyond Spring 2022, please contact a GEO advisor at geoadvising@duke.edu.

If you withdraw after a program has started GEO will work with you and your academic dean to sort out the academic ramifications. These situations are dealt with on a case-by-case basis because every program and situation is different.

For the policies pertaining to remote delivered courses during the fall 2021 semester, please see the Fall 2021 FAQ section above.

For spring 2022 programs, students must take classes scheduled to be delivered face-to-face or via hybrid methods which includes some elements of in-person instruction. If classes later move online due to the pandemic, students should abide by the host institution’s course delivery requirements. As long as academic departments find course content to be acceptable for transfer credit, Duke will accept the transfer credits if the courses were face-to-face or hybrid at the point of enrollment.

Yes. In the event that Duke suspends or cancels a specific Duke-In study away program due to COVID-19, thereby causing no academic credit to be awarded, a full refund of Duke-billed expenses will be made. This includes a refund of the program fee, should a program be canceled after the commitment date, but before the start of the program.

Carefully consider non-billable expenses (e.g., personal and travel expenses) when planning your program participation. We recommend you purchase travel insurance, though you should make sure it is clear what and when expenses will be covered by your travel insurance policy.

If Duke terminates a program early but makes arrangements for students to earn full or partial credit, the tuition refund amount would reflect these circumstances. Whether or not credit is awarded would depend on the particular program and when the suspension or cancellation takes place, among other factors.

Students studying away on Duke-Approved programs, sponsored by another institution or provider, are subject to the cancellation and refund policies, if any, of the respective institution or provider. Upon cancellation notification at Duke, any study away-related fees charged to a student’s Duke Bursar account will be removed.

Students who choose to withdraw from a Duke-In program are subject to the Responsibility to Pay policies and timeline outlined on GEO’s Withdrawal & Cancellation webpage.

Students who choose to withdraw from a Duke-Approved program or institution are subject to the sponsoring program or institution’s refund policy. Upon withdrawal notification at Duke, any study away-related fees charged to a student’s Duke Bursar account will be removed.

Students receiving financial aid who withdraw from a Duke-approved program should discuss the aid implications of withdrawal with their financial aid counselors before withdrawing.

There will be a behavior compact for students of all study away programs to read and sign. Most Duke-Approved programs will have their own behavior agreements and Duke students will be expected to abide by the rules of both.

The personal travel considerations for study away participants are outlined on the COVID-19 Policies page.

It’s currently too early to give specific guidance, for the spring 2022 semester, but wearing a mask and social distancing could be enforced on study away programs to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We will provide specific details related to your program in the months leading up to the program’s start date.

It’s currently too early to say how testing will be conducted on study away programs but this is part of our overall COVID-19 mitigation plan in each location. How and when testing is conducted will likely vary by program and location. We will provide specific details related to your program in the months leading up to the program’s start date.

It’s too early to know what specific travel expectations or entry requirements will be, but you most likely will either need to provide proof of a vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to be allowed in your host country/board a plane. We will provide specific details related to your program in the months leading up to the program’s start date.

Quarantine requirements vary by location of program and where participants are arriving from. Information about quarantine requirements, if any, will be disseminated prior to departure giving participants adequate time to plan. If entry quarantines are required, the program may start virtually before moving to an in-person or hybrid format after the quarantine period has ended.

As of May 2021, GEO requires COVID-19 vaccines for all participants on Duke-In and Duke-Approved programs. This mirrors the Duke policy which requires all students on campus during fall 2021 to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.  Vaccines ensure your safety abroad, the safety of others on your program, and help the host countries contain and reduce the number of infections.