Step 1: Vetting Destination for Travel Risk

It is vital to ensure your chosen destination(s) are not on the Texas A&M University System International Travel Advisory List. Any travel planned to and/or through extreme-risk and/or high-risk regions included on this list, see page 7, will require additional travel authorization approval.

If your destination(s) are on the list, please email abroad@tamu.edu to obtain recommendations for consideration. If your destination(s) are not on the list, please proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Support and Approval

If wishing to propose and lead a non-academic group, please meet with the appropriate administrator within your entity to discuss your program and obtain approval. Departments/colleges may have an internal deadline and additional documents required.

Note that with the implementation of new requirements and processes, we encourage department staff to contact Education Abroad in advance to discuss the steps, resources, and protocols in place.  Education Abroad can provide a list of program providers to deliver logistical support in the foreign location by contacting abroad@tamu.edu.

Step 3: Proposing a Non-Academic Group Program

Once the program leader/coordinator has developed the program and worked on a budget with their business office, submit the Non-Academic Group Proposal. You will click on the gold “Apply” button and log in with your NetID and Password.  It should then redirect you to the proposal application.  

You will be asked to include the tentative itinerary, course information, provider information, budget, and other details.  The more information provided up front, the better. 

**We do not recommend making any payments or reservations for the program prior to receiving approval from Education Abroad.  

Time Abroad	Proposal Submission Deadline
Winter Break/Spring/Spring Break	July 1st
May/Summer/August/Fall	Priority Deadline - December 1st   Late Deadline – February 1st

Step 4: If Charging a Fee to Student Accounts

If your entity will pay for all program expenses or students will pay the provider directly, you may skip this step.

However, if the department will collect funds from the students to pay for the program expenses, pre-authorization must be requested and obtained first through the Provost office. This process is facilitated by Education Abroad and must be done before the proposal submission deadlines listed below. Please contact our office as soon as possible to begin this step.

Step 5: Approval & Registration

Upon receipt of the Non-Academic Group Program proposal, a designated Education Abroad advisor will contact and work with the program/coordinator with next steps, including opening the program application in the Education Abroad Portal.

The Education Abroad advisor will work with the program leader/coordinator and student participants to complete training and preparation.

Program leaders traveling with the group will be required to attend a Trip Leader briefing prior to departure.