Program Development and Budget Process

A call for new Faculty-led Study Abroad proposals will open on January 1, 2026. The proposal deadline for new faculty-led study abroad programs is March 15, 2026, for programs that will run in Spring 2027, Summer 2027, and Fall 2027. New faculty-led study abroad programs include any programs that have not run before and programs that are running again but have a new location and/or course.

Faculty must submit the Phase I proposal by this deadline. Download and save the proposal form before filling it out.

Prior to the March 15 deadline, we encourage faculty to:

1) Watch the Faculty-led Study Abroad Fundamentals webinar to learn about the faculty-led development process and how to get started. 
2) Meet with your Department Chair and Study Abroad Liaison about your program idea.
3) Meet with RIT Global to share program ideas and get feedback on program feasibility, program model options, best practices, etc.
4) Familiarize yourself with the Faculty-led resources on our website. 

Renewing Programs: Faculty renewing a program need to notify the RIT Global office of their intent to offer a program the following year (Spring 2027, Summer 2027, Fall 2027) by the March 15 deadline. You will then work with the Education Abroad team to submit your Phase I Proposal in a timely manner. However, if you are changing the location and/or course, you must submit the Phase I proposal by this deadline.

If you have any questions about the proposal process, please email faculty-led@rit.edu.

To ensure each program has the support and attention it needs to be safe and successful, at this time, RIT has the capacity to support about 20 faculty-led programs each year. Unfortunately, that means not every proposed program will be accepted. Program selection is a strategic process that evaluates proposals and selects programs that:

• Do not compete with each other or our global campuses, and therefore dilute participation
• Cater to a sufficient student audience that makes the program viable
• Meet strategic goals around location preference, student audiences engaged, and partners utilized
• Maximize college and department resources by being repeatable 2-3 times over the course of 5-6 years
• Have reasonable and feasible costs for students as well as the colleges/departments that might be contributing funding
• Engage new faculty and give others a chance to lead a program
• It meets RIT’s basic health and safety requirements (No high-risk activities, U.S. State Dept. Travel Warnings)
• If it is a renewed program, the success of previous iterations

This means your program may be selected to run one year but may not be selected in following years.

You will need to complete the Phase I form outlining the academic rationale for your program. Present it to your Department Chair and Dean for review and approval. Submit the final document and approval to the Education Abroad office. 

Download the Phase I Form (save it to your computer before filling it out).

Complete the Phase II form outlining the program and travel logistics. Submit the final document to the Education Abroad office for approval by Risk Management and RIT Global. Download the Phase II Form and save the proposal form before filling it out

Use this budget template to help you estimate program costs (the link will download an Excel file to your computer). Once you’ve done some research, you’ll bring this to a meeting with Education Abroad to build the total program budget and student budget.

Successful study abroad programs are a team effort. Here are some important contacts and resources you may need to reach out to:

College Study Abroad Liaisons

Financial Study Abroad Liaisons

View a list of current approved overseas partners and travel operators/tour vendors who might assist you in the development of your program.