OU faculty and staff can teach abroad by leading a faculty-led program, by teaching during the semester at our international study centers in Arezzo (Italy) or Puebla (Mexico), or through a limited number of teaching opportunities at a partner university.
Faculty or Staff can lead a short-term program abroad for the Spring Break session, Winter Session, or for 2 or more weeks in the Summer Session.
Stationary | Stationary study abroad programs are typically based in a single location with minimal day trips or excursions away from that location. This ideal for courses requiring specific physical spaces (e.g. labs) or that have ongoing community interaction as part of the program (e.g. internships or volunteer experiences). These programs may be among the least expensive due to the limited travel inclusions.
Study Tour | Study tour programs are travel-intensive, usually with multiple stops related to a particular theme (e.g. a country/culture survey course, regional variations on a specific element of culture, etc.). These programs are typically more expensive due to the increased cost of travel.
Community Engaged | Programs that focus on community engagement are similar to stationary programs, but they place a strong emphasis on partnering with the local community in some way. These can be one-off programs, but they are more impactful as experiences developed over time. OU currently has community engaged programs in Arezzo, Puebla, and in Gulu, Uganda.
Field Study (research, internships, etc.) | Field study programs contain a strong hands-on experience, such as an internship, medical rotation, or undergraduate research component. These programs are typically smaller in size and may or may not require a faculty or staff member to accompany the full program.
There are many ways to organize a faculty-led program. To discuss further or explore other ways to teach abroad, please contact Assistant Director of Operations Kaydee Dyer at kaydee.dyer@ou.edu.
Faculty can teach at OU in Arezzo and OU in Puebla for 4-8 weeks on any number of topics. We prefer that proposed courses be gen ed-designated, and they should be taught in English in most cases. In Puebla, courses can be divided into two sessions if necessary to accommodate research or other commitments in Norman. We can also sometimes pair visiting faculty with local instructors to co-teach or to facilitate research.
Some of OU’s exchange partner universities offer teaching opportunities for faculty. We will post here when these come to our attention through the partner. If you are interested in teaching abroad through a partner university, please email ea@ou.edu to let us know you'd like to be notified of opportunities.
Education Abroad strives to provide transformative learning experiences to all students at the University of Oklahoma. We work in collaboration with program leaders who have expertise in a field of study and/or the physical location in which they want to lead a study abroad program.
The first step in creating a high impact study abroad program is to complete our program proposal. The proposal committee reviews all proposals after the deadline and will send out email notifications with feedback regarding program approvals. Please review the 2025 FLP Call for Proposals (PDF) before submitting a proposal.
If you have a question about developing a faculty-led or other study abroad program for students in your college, please contact one of the College Study Abroad Liaisons.
If you're a current program leader looking for more information about program fees, policies, and more, please explore our Program Leader Resource Page.
Sumbit A Proposal - Deadline is March 1, 2025.
Faculty-led study abroad programs and other sponsored student travel must submit a proposal for review by the Office of Global Engagement. This includes study abroad programs as well as any travel with students (i.e. conferences, research, fine arts groups, etc.). More information on the program proposal process can be found here.
The University of Oklahoma colleges or faculty members on any OU campus who plan to take students abroad on OU sponsored programs must follow the University of Oklahoma’s International Educational Travel Guidelines.
OU Faculty and Staff traveling internationally within the scope of their employment for purposes other than leading student groups abroad are encouraged to communicate the dates and locations of their travel with the Department of Risk Management. This will ensure that the faculty or staff member has access to the insurance services provided by the State of Oklahoma.
If you would like a member of the EA team to come present to your class, please email ea@ou.edu and request a presentation.
In order to better serve our mission of sending OU students on safe, academically relevant and personally transformative study abroad opportunities, Education Abroad works with a number of campus advisory councils and committees comprised of faculty and staff from a variety of administrative and academic units.
Education Abroad also participates in a number of national and international organizations dedicated to setting standards and promoting best practices among study abroad professionals, including:
The University of Oklahoma Study Abroad Safety and Security Council consists of representatives from Student Affairs, Legal Counsel, Risk Management, OU Health Services, the Office of the Provost and the College of International Studies. The Safety and Security Council can also include faculty representatives with relevant regional and country-level expertise.
The purpose of the Study Abroad Safety and Security Council is to:
Travel Warnings are issued by the US Department of State when long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable lead the State Department to recommend that Americans avoid or consider the risk of travel to that country. A Travel Warning is also issued when the U.S. Government's ability to assist American citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a drawdown of its staff. Click here for a current list of countries under a US Department of State Travel Warning.
The University of Oklahoma automatically suspends study abroad programs to these countries unless the Study Abroad Safety and Security Council has approved a program suspension waiver. Waivers apply to one program only, unless otherwise specified by the Council. A waiver for one program in a country does not automatically apply to another program in that same country. A Travel Warning waiver lasts for two years from the time of issue. If during the two-year waiver period there are significant changes to the program's itinerary, a new waiver request must also be made.
If a Travel Warning is issued when a study abroad program is underway or less than 30 days prior to the start date of a program where a petition to conduct programming has not been approved, the Council may immediately suspend the program.
A waiver request should be made in writing to the Director of Education Abroad at least 60 days prior to the start date of the proposed program.
Once the Director of Education Abroad has received a waiver request, the Safety and Security Council will convene to consider the petition at the earliest date available to a majority of Council members. The Council will then formulate a ruling and communicate this to the individual who submitted the waiver request.
The petitioner should include the following as part of the waiver request:
Should a petition be denied by the Safety and Security Council the program would not be eligible for OU credit or assistance.
If the Safety and Security Council approves a petition and grants a waiver for a study abroad program scheduled to take place in a country under a Travel Warning, participants are required to take the following steps:
