COVID-19 Travel Policies
For the most up to date information on the University of Alberta's response to COVID-19, please visit the university's COVID-19 Information page.
Given the ongoing suspension of all university travel for students and staff, University of Alberta International anticipates that a resumption of travel (for programs managed by this office) will not occur before August 15 2021 at the earliest. We are continuing to plan for future education abroad opportunities but the ability for students to participate will be dependent on the situation at the time of the program.
Exceptions for International Activities
The University of Alberta has developed a special authorization for students wishing to participate in education abroad activities.
Only the following students are permitted to partake in education abroad activities:
- International students and permanent residents of Canada who are back in their home country or plan to return to their home country and would like to participate in programming in their home country.
- Canadian citizens who since March 2020 elected to remain on their education abroad program and are seeking to participate in additional programs in their current host country.
Canadian citizens, currently in Canada and international students seeking to participate in a program outside their home country are not eligible for this authorization.
Students who are applying for the special authorization must comply with all program requirements, including but not limited to;
- COVID 19 special authorization to participate form
- Student agreement/waiver
- Demonstration of sufficient travel/medical insurance coverage that does not include pandemic and/or travel advisory exclusions
- Pre-departure orientation
- UGo registration
Students will need to submit their completed COVID 19 special authorization to participate form to uairm@ualberta.ca to begin the approval process.
Short Term Programs:
- There are a number of short term online programs students can take during the Fall 2020/Winter 2021 school year. Please check here for available opportunities.
- Spring/Summer 2021 partner programs - Due to the ongoing pandemic and the suspension of all travel, UAI will only accept applications for online program opportunities (unless one of the exceptions listed above applies to your situation). We are updating information as we receive it from our partners on the program finder. Please refer to the specific page for your program of interest for further details.
- Students wishing to take courses online for credit must submit an application in Horizons. Contact your Faculty to ensure that they will award you transfer credit for your completed online courses and if the courses you wish to take fit into your program. Please note that some Faculties will require you to go through a formal approval process before you can take the course.
- e3 2021 programs - The difficult decision has been made to cancel all in-person opportunities for e3 Berlin and e3 French Alps. Virtual internships are available for both locations and we are hoping to offer two academic courses online with e3 Berlin. Please check the respective e3 pages for more information. e3 Brazil will not run in 2021.
Exchanges:
Internships:
- Winter/Spring/Summer 2021 internships (managed by this office) requiring travel outside of Canada have been suspended until August 15, 2021.
- Virtual Internships: UAI is actively engaging with our partners to explore virtual opportunities as an alternative to traditional internships. Please see our Global Learning without Travel page for more details.
Scholarships and Funding:
- Students who received an Individual Award or Endowed Award in the 2020-21 competition are eligible to transfer their award to a program in 2021-22. If further travel delays extend into the 2021-22 academic year, the award cannot be transferred to 2022-23 and all students will be required to re-apply for the Individual and Endowed awards for 2022/23 program participation.
- Education Abroad Individual Award, Edmonton Consular Corps Award and Endowed Award funding for the 2021-2022 academic year is still scheduled to proceed, with a funding deadline of February 1, 2021, for programs abroad between May 1, 2021*, and April 30, 2022.
*Please note: in-person Spring/Summer 2021 programs managed by the Education Abroad Program have now been cancelled outside of some exceptional circumstances (please see the section "Exceptions for International Activities" above). In the case of eligibility for an exception, you may submit an award application pending travel approval. Exchanges starting in July 2021 or later are also still eligible pending University of Alberta travel policy updates. If you plan to participate in a faculty-administered study abroad program, please check with your faculty program coordinator on current updates for 2021/22.