International travel courses

How do faculty propose a Travel course? RISD Global sends out a call for proposals in Fall for faculty to propose summer and Wintersession travel courses for the next academic year. To do so, faculty work with the department head and staff of their area to submit a course proposal by the established deadline. These considerations are important:

• the relevance of the location to the course content,

• familiarity with the geographic location, and/or community in the proposed course location,

• will the course take place off-campus for the length of the term, or if a part/parts of the course will take place on-campus, and

• if they require further resources and/or information to fully prepare RISD students for the site/location of the proposed course.

Once submitted, how do courses receive approval? WS travel courses are submitted by department staff in Workday and are subject to review by: 

• The Department Head

• The Dean

• The Deans Council

• RISD Global

• the International Crisis Response Team

How will I know if the course has been approved? RISD Global will inform faculty, Dean, and department head if/as your travel course/studio is approved to run.

Once the course is approved, then what happens?

• you will be invited to a WS faculty planning meeting, coordinated by RISD Global in collaboration with a number of offices including: Academic Affairs Budget & Facilities Planning, Risk Management, Student Affairs, Public Safety, among others (April/May),

• RISD Global will post and promote your course on this website (April through October)

• you will begin to develop, using the Academic Affairs template, the budget and itinerary for your course (Spring), please note: here is the budget template,

• you will meet with Academic Affairs Budget & Facilities Planning + RISD Global to review and finalize your budget and planning for the travel course/studio (September),

• you will plan and lead information sessions for your travel course (Spring through October),

• you will inform the RISD Global Office of the dates and times of your information sessions for posting on its site (Spring through October),

• you will receive notification from the Registrar's Office of the dates for WS travel course/studio registration (late-September),

• students will Register for WS travel course/studios prior to on-campus WS course registration (mid- to late-October),

• you will be informed as to the registration status for your course (late-October/early November),

• you can access your roster in Workday (November),

• you will attend a pre-departure meeting for WS travel course/studio faculty led by RISD Global, in collaboration with a number of other offices. At this meeting, you will receive supporting documents and information to be completed by students on your course (mid- to late-November),

• you will work with RISD Global to co-lead pre-departure meetings with the students in your course to go over necessary details, prepare for these unique academic experiences, and discuss health and safety concerns (November through December), 

• you will submit to RISD Global all student forms prior to the end of semester (mid-December),

• you will lead your WS travel course/studio (January through early-February).

How does RISD Global support WS travel course/studios? RISD Global works with faculty and students to create a supportive environment for off-campus teaching and learning experiences. RISD Global:

• consults with faculty, per request, on the location, organization, and details of travel courses and studios during the course preparation stages,

• ensures that the International Crisis Response Team, Public Safety, and Student Affairs are aware of approved off-campus courses,

• leads pre-departure meetings for faculty + joins faculty-led pre-departure meetings for students,

• provides faculty/students with pre-departure materials and forms,

• enrolls students and faculty for health and safety insurance, 

• helps promote approved courses, and