Berkeley Summer Sessions Travel Study programs are open to UC Berkeley students, students from other colleges and universities, international students, and adults with an interest in studying abroad. All participants must have successfully completed at least one year of college coursework. Because of the rigorous academic nature of these programs, they are not open to high school students.
The application will be available starting February 16, 2010. The deadline for all Travel Study programs is April 1, 2010. Interested students are encouraged to apply as early as possible, as space is limited. All applications will be reviewed in the order received.
Applicants are required to submit the online application along with a non-refundable deposit (payable by credit card only), which will be applied toward the total cost of the Travel Study program.
You will also be asked to write a short Statement of Interest (500 words or less) as part of the online application. The statement should include, but is not limited to, the following:
1. Why you chose this program.
AND
2. A description of any cross-cultural or international experience you have had.
Applications will be reviewed by Summer Sessions, and admitted students will be notified of their acceptance by e-mail by April 15, 2010.
All participants must have a 2.0 GPA or higher. Applications are reviewed by Summer Sessions to ensure compliance with University policies and individual program requirements. Applicants may not be on academic probation or under censure for student misconduct at the time of the review. Summer Sessions reserves the right to void the admission of any student who is discovered after being admitted to a Travel Study program not to meet the above requirements.
All applicants are required to submit a copy of their most recent college transcript (official or unofficial) with a 2.0 GPA or higher online at MySummer within 14 calendar days from the day the online application is submitted or by April 1, 2010, whichever comes first. Applications are not considered complete until your transcript has been submitted. Failure to complete your application does not make you eligible for a refund of the application deposit. If you have questions, please contact theTravel Study representative at: travelstudy@berkeley.edu or call 510-642-5612.
Students may not apply to more than one Travel Study program per summer. The audit option is not available for Travel Study programs.
If a program becomes full, a waitlist of all eligible applicants will be created in the order in which applications are received. If you are placed on the waitlist, you will receive an e-mail notification. Upon receipt of the notification, you must reply to Summer Sessions with your intention to:
If an opening occurs in the program, the first student on the waitlist will be notified by e-mail. If you receive an offer for a place in the program, you will have 24 hours to accept the offer. After 24 hours, you will be placed at the bottom of the waitlist, and the next student on the list will be offered a spot instead.
Applicants admitted to the Travel Study programs will receive a confirmation packet including detailed program information by April 15, 2010. The packet will include important documents that need to be signed, scanned and submitted online, or returned as a hard copy, including a Student Agreement, a Waiver of Liability, , and a form showing proof of enrollment in health insurance.
These forms must be signed and returned to Summer Sessions by April 15, 2010 or you will lose your spot in the program.
Participants are also required to attend the pre-departure orientation conducted by Summer Sessions for the individual Travel Study program in which they are participating. If you are unable to attend the orientation for any reason, it is your responsibility to notify the Summer Sessions Office to ensure that you receive the information and materials covered during the orientation.
A valid passport is required to travel to all Travel Study program destinations (including Mexico). It is important to ensure that your passport is valid for the duration of your Travel Study program and for at least 6 months beyond travel dates; otherwise, you must renew your passport before the program starts. Passport renewal can be a lengthy process, and it is strongly advised that you start the process as early as possible. Berkeley students may obtain a passport at the RSF.
A visa may be required for travel to the Travel Study country or countries, depending on your citizenship and length of stay. Visa requirement information can be obtained from the embassy or the consulate of the country you are planning to enter. There may be different requirements for U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens. Please make sure to obtain information pertinent to your citizenship status. It is your responsibility to prepare any visa documents that are necessary to enter the foreign countries. Summer Sessions is not responsible for ensuring you have the appropriate visa or documentation.
Once the required confirmation documents are returned to our office, Summer Sessions will enroll you in your Travel Study courses. You will NOT be able to enroll yourself in, or make any changes to, Travel Study courses, though you can check the status of your enrollment via Summer Tele-Bears or Bear Facts.
If you would like to make changes not only to your Travel Study program but also to your on-campus summer courses, you must submit a Student Record Change Form to Summer Sessions and request that Summer Sessions make the changes on your behalf.
You can take Travel Study courses for a Passed/Not Passed grade instead of a Letter grade, but you will be enrolled on Letter grade basis by default when enrolled by Summer Sessions. If you wish to receive the Passed/Not Passed option, you must submit a Student Record Change Form to Summer Sessions by the deadline that corresponds to your Travel Study program. Please check this deadline with a Travel Study representative, as the deadlines are different for on-campus courses. It is strongly advised that you consult with your college advisor if you are unsure how the Passed/Not Passed option will impact your major/minor or graduation requirements.
You are advised to consult with your advisor prior to applying for the Travel Study program to confirm whether the course credit(s) you earn through your participation will fulfill any major/minor or graduation requirements.
If you are not a UC Berkeley student and you wish to transfer the course credits earned at UC Berkeley, you should talk with your advisor at your home institution prior to applying for the program to ensure that the transfer is possible.
For the Travel Study program, charges applied to your CARS account by Summer Sessions are as follows:
1. Unit Fees
Per unit cost x number of units offered in the program.
Per unit cost is different based on your student status: UC undergraduate student rate, UC graduate student rate, or Visiting student rate for all non-UC participants.
2. Program Fee
The program fee is specific to each program and can be found on the Summer Sessions website.
The program fee varies from program to program. However, the following items are included in the program fees for all Travel Study programs:
The fee for some programs may also include program-related meals, group transportation, internal air travel between multiple program sites (once abroad), guest lectures, etc.
In addition to the fees (program fee and unit fees) applied to your CARS account, you will be responsible for additional expenses such as airline tickets and other out-of-pocket personal expenses not covered by the program. The following items are universally excluded from the program fee for all Travel Study programs:
Once you are registered in the Travel Study program, the corresponding charges will appear on your CARS (Campus Account Receivable Statement) bill. Visiting students will be assigned an SID (student identification number) to access their CARS bill.
You can pay several different ways:
If you are a UC student:
* UC students are not allowed to pay the course fee(s) with a credit card.
* For UC students only. Visiting students should contact the financial aid office at their home institution for more information.
In order to find out if you are eligible for financial aid for the Travel Study program, you should consult with the Financial Aid Office. If eligible, you should be able to estimate the amount of aid you will receive by accessing the Summeraid Estimator in early March: summeraid.berkeley.edu. You will need to provide the Course Control Numbers (CCNs) for the Travel Study courses in order to access the estimates. You may contact Summer Sessions for the CCNs.
When Financial Aid calculates the amount of aid offered for participation in Travel Study, they not only consider the Summer Sessions charges, but also any out-of-pocket expenses they anticipate you may incur during your participation. The charges posted directly to your CARS account by Summer Sessions are for the course fee(s) and the program fee, which are the only charges you will pay to Summer Sessions, and are different from the total expenses you may occur while abroad.
If you will finance your trip with financial aid, it is your responsibility to obtain confirmation in advance of any Travel Study program deadlines. Inability to pay the program or unit fees is not a valid reason to receive a refund of the fees associated with Travel Study.
All cancellation/withdrawal requests must be submitted via a Student Record Change Form. Writing an email or talking to Summer Sessions staff about your intention to cancel is not considered an official request. You can submit the completed Student Record Change Form to the Summer Sessions Office in person, by mail, by e-mail, or by fax.
Berkeley Summer Sessions – Travel Study
1995 University Ave., Suite 110
Berkeley, CA 94704
travelstudy@berkeley.edu
Fax: 510-642-2877 (Attention: Travel Study)
Please be sure to indicate that you are a Travel Study student, and review the refund policy carefully for details on cancellation/withdrawal deadlines.
The refund policy is as follows:
Deposit (to be determined)
The deposit is not refundable, except in exceptional cases under the following circumstances:
Program Fee
Once you have confirmed a spot in the program by submitting your confirmation documents, you will be assessed program and course fees. You can receive a refund of the program fee, minus the deposit, if you cancel by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on April 30, 2010. If you cancel after this deadline and have not made payment, you will owe the program fee.
Course Fee
You will receive a refund of course fee(s) if you cancel by the Friday of the first week of your program.
Summer Sessions reserves the right to cancel Travel Study programs for any reason. In the event that your program is cancelled, you will be notified and have the option of switching to another open program by completing an Alternative Options Form. If you decide not to participate in another program, you will receive a full refund of all unit fee(s) and program fee, including the $350 deposit.
Summer Sessions is not responsible for any costs incurred regarding air travel, housing or personal expenses. We highly recommended that you do not proceed with expensive arrangements, such as an airline ticket, until you are admitted and confirmed in the program. It is also advised that you purchase trip cancellation insurance.
An optional group flight may be available through a travel agency designated by Summer Sessions. Information will be provided to you as it becomes available. However, please keep in mind that the price of group airfare is not guaranteed to be the lowest. You may be able to find a cheaper fare through websites such as Cheaptickets, Orbitz and Student Universe, or by redeeming frequent flyer mileage. It is your responsibility to make reservations and pay for all airline tickets.
It is strongly advised that you do not purchase airfare until your participation in the program is confirmed, meaning that you should have already been admitted into the program, and you should have submitted all confirmation documents.
Effective October 1, 2007, when traveling to participate in off-campus activities sponsored and supervised by the University, registered students will be covered worldwide, 24 hours a day, for a wide variety of accidents and incidents.
This coverage is provided at no cost to students; however, students MUST register in order to be covered. Travel Study participants will receive registration instructions in their confirmation packet. This coverage includes:
It is your responsibility to obtain any necessary vaccinations before traveling abroad. Please refer to the Center For Disease Control's (CDC) travel website, which includes vaccination requirements and other helpful health-related information.
Participants are required to attend the pre-departure orientation conducted by Summer Sessions for the individual Travel Study program in which they are participating. If a participant is unable to attend the orientation for any reason, it is the participant's responsibility to notify the Summer Sessions office to ensure that he or she receives the information and materials covered during the orientation.
Non-enrolled family members and others accompanying participants, faculty or staff of Travel Study programs cannot be accommodated in program lodging, courses or activities held in conjunction with the Travel Study program. Program classes, excursions, guest lectures, dinners, receptions, program-provided transportation, and all other program-related events are open only to those officially enrolled in the program. Berkeley Summer Sessions will not provide support services or assume any responsibility for those not enrolled in the program.
The most basic and essential program and country information can be obtained from the following sources:
Program and country information may not be immediately posted online by Summer Sessions. It is important that you actively research and ask appropriate questions to get the answers that you need.
Travel Study Tips
>> Ten Things to do NOW.
>> Ten Ways to Travel Green.
Helpful Links
Apply for your Passport with
>>US Department of State or
>>UCB Recreational Sports Facility
>> Financial Aid information (UCB only)
>> Country-Specific Information
>> Lonely Planet Guidebooks
>> Study Abroad During the Academic Year
