Parents and Families

What Will Study Abroad Do for My Student?

Study abroad has been identified by the National Survey on Student Engagement as a high-impact educational practice with the potential to drive academic and personal success. More than just a travel opportunity, study abroad fosters skills such as critical thinking, intercultural agility and language acquisition.

IFSA emphasizes the long-term applicability of skills, knowledge, and perspectives gained during study abroad and strives to make the experience as personal and self-designed as possible. We take an evidence-based approach to the learning frameworks which underpin our programs, relying on research to ensure students’ long-term investment is maximized.

Academics

We take our role as educators seriously and consider ourselves a partner in your student’s success. Our Indianapolis-based team helps students with highly prescribed majors find specific courses abroad. Whether your student is an engineering major or has their sights set on journalism, we are sure to find a program that supports your student’s goals. With more than 100 programs, we offer many with global internships, directed research, and other activities which impact your student’s future success.

Health and Safety Abroad

Your student’s health and well-being are our top priority. We offer individualized support, and we are equipped to provide advising information on locations and institutions that can best accommodate those with physical, academic, and mental-emotional needs on-site.

IFSA is recognized as a leader in education abroad for emergency response and crisis management. Our dedicated team works in conjunction with our staff in-country to effectively and efficiently handle any situation that might arise. We maintain comprehensive emergency plans for each location, and our staff is alerted when worldwide security events occur.

Please visit our Health and Safety page for comprehensive details on IFSA insurance, our emergency support services, and IFSA’s initiatives to promote student health and safety abroad.

Reporting an Emergency

Our resident staff abroad cover emergency procedures in detail with your student during orientation. Students receive a list of contact phone numbers and a 24/7 emergency contact number in case of an emergency abroad. If you are concerned for your student’s safety or well-being and need to report an emergency from the U.S., see the instructions in the footer of this website.

Financial Information

We believe that study abroad should be within financial reach for every family. To assist with this, we offer scholarships and grants and help students utilize their federal financial aid for study abroad. For complete details, visit our Scholarships and Financial Aid page.

For payment information, payment due dates, and our refund policy, please visit our Billing, Payments, and Refunds page.