Travel
Occasionally research projects or other MIT work may take you off-campus, for example, within the US to an affiliated research facility or internationally for field work or collaboration with researchers at other universities. If you travel, you should obtain guidelines from the program administrator for the sponsoring agency, for example, the staff for UROP.
Special Considerations for International Students:
If you are an international student and your project is taking place off-campus, whether locally or overseas, you must first inform the International Students Office (ISO) before agreeing to work off-campus.
International Travel
The decision to travel overseas
requires extremely careful consideration, particularly
in these troubled times. If you are invited to conduct
MIT research abroad, you are responsible for fully
understanding the related travel risks and making sure
that the appropriate safeguards are in place.
You must:
- Be fully aware of MIT's policies and concerns
related to your particular destination. MIT
classifies travel risk under three categories: highest,
high, and moderate. To determine if your travel destination falls under
one of these categories, visit the Emergency Preparedness & Response site to view MIT's Travel Risk Policy and Travel Advisories to specific destinations. In situations where the advisory lists travel risk as "highest," MIT-related
travel may not be permitted.
- Read and understand the US Department of State information on your particular destination. Check to see if your
destination is on the list of Travel Warnings for countries that Americans
should avoid. In addition to this list, the State Department issues Consular
Information Sheets for every country of the
world with information on such matters as the health
conditions, crime, unusual currency or entry requirements,
any areas of instability, and the location of the nearest
US embassy or consulate in the subject country.
- Make sure that all required travel paperwork and information
is on file at the appropriate MIT office. For
higher risk destinations, this may include
completing a Graduate and Undergraduate Students Travel Form.
For destinations not listed in one of the risk
categories, a checklist and risk acknowledgement
form is recommended. For more information,
see the Travel
Forms page in the Guidelines section of the UROP site.
- Give all pertinent travel and contact information
to sponsoring program staff. This includes:
- Estimated dates of travel and destinations
- Travel itinerary
- MIT affiliates traveling with you
- Overseas contact information
- Passport information
- Relevant medical and health information
- Emergency contact information
If you are traveling as part of UROP, see
the UROP & Overseas Travel pages in the Guidelines section of
the UROP site for complete details. UROP
students are expected to travel with MIT-affiliated
research mentors. If you are traveling for other
programs, the UROP site includes useful information,
including general travel tips.
Questions or concerns should be directed to the MIT Safety Office or the staff of your sponsoring program.
US Travel
If you are traveling in the US, discuss with the program
administrator of the sponsoring program your travel
plans and any related safety issues.
It is recommended that you complete a travel checklist and risk acknowledgement form.
See the Off-Campus
UROP page for sample travel information and forms.
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