COVID-19 - Education Abroad - University of Maine

COVID-19 Updates

May 23, 2022

As of April 2022 the CDC and Dept of State have separated their travel advisories; therefore, CDC advisories will not be the metric to determine approval for programs.

The abroad office will be using the Dept of State travel advisories only to determine if special approval is required for particular programs or countries.

Dept of State travel advisories 1 and 2 will require no special approval. Advisories 3 and 4 will need to be approved by the provost. Students should take into consideration any ongoing entry requirements, additional budget items, and health measures for their program.

January 31, 2022

Outbound education abroad programming involving category 1 and 2 countries are permitted in keeping with the requirements above, including currently for spring 2022 and beyond. Requests to travel to category 3 should be submitted to the student’s campus education abroad office. These will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis which includes a thorough risk assessment. Under certain circumstances, approval may be granted for programs in countries with a DOS or CDC travel advisory of level 3. This exception process will begin with the student’s campus education abroad office.

Students should take into the consideration the possibility of needing to quarantine while in their host country. Each student should look into the protocols for their host country to calculate a possible budget for quarantine costs which should include: quarantine housing, food, and testing.

October 27, 2021

The University currently continues to permit outbound education abroad programming involving category 1 and 2 countries for Spring 2022.

Travel to category 3 and 4 countries remains prohibited, but the University may consider case-by-case exception requests for U.S. Department of State level 3 countries. Travel to category 4 countries is not permitted.

Consistent with UMS international travel policy all students must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Any student, staff or faculty member who travels beyond Maine for University business or activities will be required to follow applicable quarantine and other guidelines as required by UMS, federal, state and University officials.

Please see the Together for Maine page for more information.

June 16, 2021

Outbound education abroad programming involving category 1 and 2 countries with a travel start date on or after August 16, 2021 are permitted in keeping with the requirements above.

Any requests for travel exceptions involving category 3 countries must be discussed with the education abroad advisor, who may then submit a petition to the Provost of the respective campus and to Risk Management for consideration. Travel to category 4 countries is not permitted.

March 15, 2021

Due to continued concerns regarding COVID-19 throughout the world, current U.S. Department of State and CDC travel advisories, and lack of key infrastructure and resources worldwide due to the pandemic, there will be no outbound spring education abroad programming with a travel start date before August 15, 2021.

Despite the growing availability of vaccines, we are seeing that another wave is possible across Europe and other regions which have experienced obstacles to rolling out vaccinations. Lockdowns abroad are still possible for unknown periods of time.

Any requests for travel exceptions must be submitted to the Provost of the respective campus and to Risk Management for consideration.

Please see the Together for Maine page for more information.

November 2, 2021

Due to continued concerns regarding COVID-19 throughout the world, current U.S. Department of State and CDC travel advisories, and lack of key infrastructure and resources worldwide due to the pandemic, there will be no outbound spring education abroad programming.

This is especially true now as we see a new wave of the virus across Europe and beginning here in the United States. International travel may be severely disrupted, making it difficult to return to the US, and stay-in-place orders of foreign countries will not be contradicted. These are often of uncertain length and may cause students to stay past their financial means. We look forward to next academic year, when we hope to be able to send students.

August 10, 2020

Travel to countries with a CDC or U.S. Department of State travel advisory level of 3 or 4 is prohibited. While the CDC and U.S. Department of State are actively evaluating risks and adjusting travel advisories, foreign governments may still implement restrictions with little notice, even in destinations that were previously a low risk. International travel may be severely disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it may be difficult to arrange travel back to the United States.

Due to these continued concerns regarding COVID-19 throughout the world, current U.S. Department of State and CDC travel advisories, and lack of key infrastructure and resources worldwide due to the pandemic, there will be no outbound fall study abroad programming with a travel start date before December 18, 2020.

Any requests for travel exceptions must be submitted to the Provost of the respective campus and to Risk Management for consideration.

For more information, please visit the Travelers page.