Graduate Student International Travel | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

WPI is committed to the health, safety and security of all its graduate travelers. Whether you are traveling abroad for the first time or you are a seasoned traveler, we want to make sure you are well-prepared for the experience. The following policy information pertains only to university sponsored international travel.

Your trip will be considered university sponsored international travel if it involves travel undertaken outside of the 50 United States for any academic or business travel that is authorized, funded, coordinated, or administered by WPI. This includes all research-related travel, including that funded by grants and contracts.

To properly support you and provide best service, graduate students must disclose their international travel to the Dean of Graduate Studies office and register their travel using the WPI Mytrips International Travel Registry.

*In order to be automatically enrolled in the WPI International Travel Insurance and pre-authorized to use the services of International SOS, travelers must register their travel and contact information using the WPI MyTrips International Travel Registry.

The graduate student pre-departure requirements checklist and guidance provides important information on travel requirements, reminders and resources for traveling abroad on university-sponsored trips. Complete all pre-departure requirements as soon as possible.

Graduate Student Pre-Departure Requirements and Recommendations Checklist

Read all steps prior to submitting materials. For questions or clarifications email internationaltravel@wpi.edu

Go to lunch; we went to a different place almost every day! Sometimes we’d also work on or discuss our project while in the restaurant.

Walk around Blloku and maybe get a crepe or some gelato.

Identify the risk rating for your destination. As part of the graduate travel disclosure form above, students with university-sponsored travel located in countries, regions, or cities under current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory Level 3 or Level 4, or a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Travel Health Warning Level 3: Avoid Nonessential Travel or Medium, High, or Extreme Travel Risk destinations, as defined by International SOS Global Risk Ratings, will require the WPI Elevated Travel Risk Application Form be completed. The university may also apply the designation “elevated-risk” to locations that pose a specific health, safety or security concern as indicated by sources other than the U.S. Department of State and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as individual U.S. embassies or consulates, the World Health Organization, insurers or travel providers, and in these cases, will also require the WPI Elevated Travel Risk Application form be completed.

After a 3-hour long bus ride through beautiful scenery like mountains and lakes, we reach the ferry terminal on Lake Koman. It was excruciatingly cold, but beautiful.

After some Turkish coffee and good music to nourish our souls, we start our journey again.

Meet team members at Mon Cheri, a coffee shop down the street from our apartment.

Meet up with our sponsors at a cafe down the street to discuss our trip to Vjosa Valley. Our sponsors give us contacts to assist with the planning of the trip while we sip on some tea.

Refer to the International SOS and WPI International Travel Insurance FAQ for more information on: (Recommended)
- what to do when in need of medical or security assistance;
- what is contained within the insurance policy
- what travel services does International SOS provide
- I need pre-trip travel advice who do I contact?

After traveling by bus from Tirana to Berat on Friday evening with the entire WPI team, we wake up and meet at the hotel restaurant for a traditional Albanian breakfast with coffee, breads, jams, and vegetables.

Arrive back to the hotel and spend time in downtown Berat for dinner. We have the opportunity to meet some local students here—their English teacher was a Peace Corps volunteer from Connecticut!

Return to the office and continue working on assignments from the morning.

Return to the apartments and watch a movie or play cards with my roommates and other students.