Authorization for a UMB Student: A student's international travel must be approved by the UMB international program lead and by a person with fiscal authority for the funds used to pay for travel.

Authorization for travel to a high-risk destination: If traveling to a high- or extreme-risk destination, the travel must be cleared by the AVP of International Operations or their designee, as per Step 2 above.

Check out CGE's Global Health Opportunities and Travel Awards page for funding opportunities, including application opening dates and deadlines. The page includes opportunities for students in all UMB schools. Note that while some opportunities involve travel, others are virtual opportunities.

UMB values ethical engagement and mutually beneficial relationships with international partners. Cultural humility is a more useful concept than "cultural competence," which implies that someone can learn all there is to know about another culture. Cultural humility is lifelong learning that focuses on developing awareness of one’s own culture and critical self-reflection as a pathway to understanding other cultures.

• Watch this TedTalk by Dr. Juliana Mosley, PhD - This is an invitation to learn why cultural humility is a more profound and impactful way to engage with other people and cultures.

• Take the Ethical Challenges in Short-Term Global Health Training online course - This free course created by Johns Hopkins University consists of a series of 10 cases based on real scenarios to introduce trainees and others involved in global health research and service to ethical issues that may arise during short-term training experiences abroad.

• Read an article by UMB professor Virginia Rowthorn on ethical challenges to be aware of in short-term global experiences: Not above the law: A legal and ethical analysis of short-term experiences in global health. Annals of Global Health. 2019; 85(1).

Travel in groups or with a friend when leaving your residence or program site, if possible.

Contact your faculty or International SOS with any concerns during travel. It is appropriate to contact International SOS in any difficult situation or emergency, e.g., if you have any health issue, even if minor, if you are a victim of a crime of any sort, or if you find yourself in a threatening or dangerous situation.

Minimize your exposure to dangerous or compromising situations. Remember, you do not have the situational awareness in a new setting that you have at home. Something like an evening jog or flagging down a taxi on the street may not be safe in a new setting. Local hosts will be allies in determining safe behavior.

For more guidance, see Safety & Security while Traveling.