Statement on Coronavirus Outbreak
IU officials have determined that IU study abroad programs cannot proceed this summer due to the current pandemic and the U.S. Department of State’s worldwide Level 4 Global Health Travel Advisory. It is impossible to predict when this Advisory will be lifted and more than 50 countries have implemented entry restrictions barring travelers from the U.S. while others have instituted mandatory quarantines for all arriving travelers. The duration of these restrictions is not clear, but may very well extend into the summer.
This suspension encompasses programs that were not previously cancelled—that is, programs with start and end dates that fall between May 16 and August 23.*
These program cancellations are disruptive to faculty and staff who have invested time and energy to make these activities possible as well as disappointing to the students who have been planning their summers around them. But a clear determination regarding these programs will now allow students who had planned to engage in summer study abroad to register for other summer courses or make alternative plans.
The Office of Overseas Study looks forward to offering programs abroad when the current pandemic subsides.
[*Note: semester programs that begin during the summer months will depend on our partner institutions and the evolution of the pandemic.]