Domestic and International Travel Courses
Since 2013, student participation in study abroad/study away programs has more than doubled. Programs include semester-long study at exchange partner universities, internships, and student teaching. The greatest growth, however, has occurred in the creation of new shorter-term, faculty-led travel courses to domestic or international destinations.
These credit-bearing courses are proposed, planned, and offered by SUNY Potsdam faculty, in collaboration with the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning and international partners. To ensure these courses meet the same standards for academic rigor and quality as on-campus courses, while also providing students meaningful, safe intercultural experiences, course proposals are vetted through a special review process as outlined in the Domestic and International Travel Course Policies and Procedures (PDF).
Faculty interested in developing new travel courses are encouraged to consult with the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning as early as possible. The proposal, planning, and recruitment process for a brand new successful, high quality, and well-subscribed program generally takes 12 months prior to your group’s departure.
Deadlines to submit travel course proposals are:
| April 1 |
| October 1 |
Ready to get started? Review the Faculty Manual, and begin the steps below.
Process Checklist
The first steps are to determine both the class registration term AND the specific travel dates for your proposed travel course.
Both items will determine whether the student will need to pay tuition for the travel course and/or be able to seek federal and/or state financial aid. To make that determination, please review the following carefully:
Travel Options and Financial Aid for Faculty Led Courses, 2024-2025 Academic Year
| When will the travel course occur? | When is the course registered? | Allowed Travel Dates | When is tuition paid? (in/out of state per credit hour) | When is financial aid received |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| During fall break | Fall | TBD | Course is added to fall course load - no additional tuition if student is in full-time status | Aid received in the fall |
| Dec. / Jan. | Winter session | TBD | Winter session tuition is paid per credit hour | Half aid increase in the fall; other half in spring |
| January - all travel starts and concludes within 14 days of the start of the spring semester (see Note 1) | Spring | TBD | Course is added to the spring course load - no additional tuition if student is in full-time status | Aid received in the spring |
| During spring break | Spring | TBD | Course is added to the spring course load - no additional tuition if student is in full-time status | Aid received in the spring |
| May - all travel starts and concludes within 14 days of the end of the spring semester (see Note 2) | Spring | TBD | Course is added to the spring course load - no additional tuition if student is in full-time status | Aid received in the spring |
| During summer | Summer | TBD | Summer tuition is paid per credit hour | To be eligible, students must be registered for min. 6 credits in the summer term. Aid received in the summer - typically after July 1 |
Send an initial notification to the International Education in the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning – international@potsdam.edu – documenting the following:
- the proposed study location(s)
- the proposed registration term and tentative travel dates
- academic discipline(s) and a short description of the anticipated topic and academic focus
Complete the Travel Course Proposal Form, Itinerary, and Budget Template including Department Chair(s) signature and submit it to International Education with the required supplemental documentation by the deadline. Late or incomplete proposals will not be accepted.
- Course Proposal
- Itinerary
- Course Budget -please email appliedlearning@potsdam.edu to receive the budget template
Complete any department or School curriculum processes. Submission of a proposal does not guarantee approval via the appropriate School curriculum committees and/or general education committee.
Faculty leaders are expected to pursue those approvals separately.
Once approved by the Dean(s), the faculty leader(s) will work with International Education to finalize logistics, overall program budget and the per student program fee.
They will also receive the appropriate training regarding the SUNY Clery and Title IX Procedures for Domestic and International Travel Programs. Coordination for all aspects of travel courses – including budget administration, creating/adding courses in the Banner catalog, student registration, etc. will be completed along with International Education.
Contact Information
For information or assistance, please contact:
Sarah Lister
Director of Applied Learning
international@potsdam.edu