University’s COVID-19 Policy on International Travel
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Updated November 9, 2021

This policy applies to all faculties, staff, residents, scholars, and students at the university regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. This policy does not apply to international travel for personal reasons. However, given the health risks that travel continues to pose, we recommend anyone considering personal international travel the CDC travel advice.

Effective November 9, 2021, MUSC has adopted a less restrictive stance on permitted international travel related to universities, emphasizing a traveler’s personal responsibility for understanding complex border restrictions, entry requirements and public health concerns.

International travel requirements

Regardless of the COVID-19 vaccination status, different rules apply to different travelers. The MUSC designation and US State Department travel advisory and CDC travel health advisory for the destination determine which rules apply. To determine the needs of MUSC travelers, consult the International travel map (PDF).

While certain categories of international travel may no longer require approval from the International Travel Oversight Committee (ITOC), additional travel restrictions may apply to each college or faculty.

Faculty, Staff, Fellows, and Residents

  • Faculty, staff, fellows, and residents may travel to destinations that are subject to State Department travel advice level 1, 2, or 3 without approval from the university’s International Travel Oversight Committee (ITOC).
  • Faculty, staff, fellows, and residents must petition for an exception by the university’s International Travel Oversight Committee if the trip is to a destination that is classified as high risk by the US State Department and / or CDC. This contains:
  • State Department Level 4 Travel Advisory; or
  • CDC level 3; or
  • CDC COVID-19 risk level 4 or level unknown.

students

All international travel requests from students continue to be subject to an exception petition process by the International Travel Oversight Committee.

Petition process for international travel

Petitions must be submitted four (4) weeks prior to departure.

1. The faculty and employees must first obtain the approval of the respective department chair (for faculty) and the head of department (for employees). Students and residents must first obtain the approval of the respective course director and the dean.

2. The traveler must petition to itoc@musc.edu. The traveller’s college or faculty must verify that the international travel requested is essential and cannot be postponed.

* Faculty and staff travel petition
* Petition for resident and student travel

3. The ITOC transmits the travel data to our global emergency and security service for a risk assessment

  • ITOC will review the travel petition and risk assessment report and consider host country-specific indicators including, but not limited to:
    * US State Department travel advisory level.
    * CDC travel health advisory level.
    * International SOS risk assessments.
    * US Embassy operational status.
    * Border conditions to neighboring countries.
    * Quarantine conditions for visitors.
    * Domestic restrictions on business, movement, etc.
    * Reports of violence or aggression against foreigners.
    * Local health indicators – COVID rates, access to health care, etc.
    * Flight availability.
    * Quarantine requirements for re-entry.

4. After the examination, the ITOC makes a recommendation. If the ITOC does not recommend a trip or only under certain conditions, it notifies the dean and the provost to discuss the concerns. ITOC informs requesters about approval, rejection or the need for a change.

5. Once approved, all faculty, staff, residents, and students must participate in their international university-sponsored trips. Log In International SOS, (Member ID: 11BCAS084634) Global assistance provider from MUSC.

Approved trips can be canceled if conditions change prior to the departure date.
* If students cannot return to campus in time due to travel changes, their study planning may be affected, resulting in a later graduation date.

COVID-19 travel resources