Princeton University

Princeton is committed to the safety and security of our faculty, students and staff while on campus and traveling abroad.

It is our standard policy that Princeton University will only fund or sponsor student travel to countries that do not have U.S. Department of State issued travel warnings or alerts. While there have been a few exceptions, each instance has been rigorously scrutininized and evaluated on a case by case basis. Princeton staff monitor travel warnings which are intended to inform U.S. travelers of long-term problems and ongoing, often wide-spread dangers present within a particular country. Travel alerts are usually restricted to a particular event or series of events that may be more restricted in duration or location.

In addition to regularly monitoring State Department Travel Warnings and Alerts, Princeton staff utilize the assistance of International SOS in closely monitoring specific locations on the ground and around the world. International SOS is the world’s largest medical and security assistance company, with over 3,000 professionals in 24-hour Alarm Centers across five continents. All members of the Princeton University community (including the parents and families of Princeton students) can access up-to-date ISOS travel advisories by going to ISOS website and entering the University’s membership number: 11BSGC000022. Additionally, the University’s Travel site contains information about Princeton travel policies, links to the U.S. State Department’s current list of Warnings and Alerts, and links to University Health Services’ travel services and other on- and off-campus resources.

One additional way in which Princeton works to help ensure the safety and security of Princeton travelers (in the U.S. or abroad) is through the University’s Student Travel Database, in which students or program directors enter travelers’ detailed itineraries and emergency contact information. More than 125 Princeton administrators, staff and faculty currently have access to the database and can immediately access information about a traveler’s location, so they can contact the traveler and other concerned parties in case of a natural disaster, political upheaval, or other type of emergency or crisis situation. Princeton staff and administrators carefully monitor all student travel destinations, and may cancel a trip at any point if there is significant deterioration in the safety and security conditions pertaining to travel arrangements, or significant deterioration in the sector of the country or countries where travel is to occur. When travel is part of a course, students will not be penalized if they or their families must cancel plans to participate due to safety concerns.