Health, Safety, and Security


Will I be safe?

SIT Study Abroad places the highest priority on the health, safety, and security of all students. Building on a long history of running high quality programs, we are experienced in orientation, risk assessment, emergency preparedness, and crisis management, and we are able to adapt quickly to challenges. Socioeconomic, political, environmental, and medical conditions vary widely across the more than 40 countries in which we operate, and SIT Study Abroad specifically tailors health, safety, and security measures to each program, location, and context.

Health, safety, and security preparation begins before students depart for their program, starting with documents students receive in the predeparture stages.  Upon arrival, students take part in an intensive orientation further preparing them for the realities of where they have chosen to study.  Personal responsibility is a key part of a successful and safe term abroad, but we provide students with solid information and tools to best minimize risk, and our staff is available throughout the program term to continue discussions as necessary.

On a day-by-day basis, our staff in Vermont and the academic directors at each of our programs in the field evaluate information from a wide variety of sources. We collect information from government sources, our contacts in non-governmental organizations around the world, international and local media outlets, and from our own network of local contacts within each country.  In rare circumstances, situations may merit changes to the program.