How to propose a Wintersession Travel Course

Application Process & Materials

Faculty must submit to their Department Head the following package (this process must be followed for all travel courses including repeat offerings).

Submit your proposal no later than October 15, 2023 at 11:59 PM. As this is a competitive submission process, late submissions will not be considered.

Locations within Africa, Latin America, Asia and South Asia are considered strategic geographies for RISD global academic engagements and a relevant cultural context for student’s global investigation and awareness.

Faculty must complete the following materials:

1. Course proposal form (form for a 6-credit course here) (form for a 3-credit course here) signed by the Department Head and Dean for each faculty
   
2. Draft syllabus (per the syllabus guidelines)
3. Draft itinerary, including details of the type of accommodations and local transport being planned and links to potential accommodation solutions if/as known
4. Draft budget
5. Signed Faculty Terms of Agreement
6. Draft syllabus for an on-campus alternate course (in the event that the travel course is under enrolled or canceled due to risk in the region of the travel course)

The relevant Department Head and Dean must approve the course proposal form and supporting materials (draft syllabus, budget, itinerary) to progress the proposal. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to check in with the Dean's office to ensure the paperwork is approved and sent to Academic Affairs by the deadline. Please note, RISD Global is not involved in these steps.

In addition, faculty must provide a document including: a short abstract/course description, including your familiarity with the proposed location (max 300 words). In this document, faculty must include the potential/preferred dates of the course.

For course proposals for Wintersession 2025, all signed and approved materials must be received by Academic Affairs as part of the regular course tables process and deadlines.

Eligibility

• Full- and part-time faculty are eligible propose to lead a Wintersession Travel Course
• To submit the proposal, the faculty member must have an appropriate TU approval from their Department Head and Dean for the following academic year
• It is strongly recommended that the faculty member proposing the course have a strong familiarity with the location, and preference is given to those applicants with demonstrated experience teaching students in a travel course environment.
• All faculty who lead off-campus global learning courses must comply with RISD’s policy for off-campus teaching. Before submitting your proposal, please review the policy and ensure you are willing to comply with this policy.
• Each travel course must be led by either two RISD faculty or a RISD faculty and graduate student TA. It is preferable that the faculty member partners with another faculty member (full- or part-time) in the Liberal Arts Division and/or a studio department to collaborate and propose a 6-credit Wintersession Travel Course that combines studio and liberal arts, two liberal arts, two studio courses. In this case, for faculty new to leading a WS travel course, we encourage you to collaborate with a faculty who has such experience.

RISD Global's Role

• Advises and supports faculty (upon request) on the location, organization, and details of travel courses and studios during the course preparation stages
• Promotes the course and supports faculty in outreach to students, student advising, and group info-sessions
• Supports faculty and students through the various application, selection, scholarships, and registration processes and steps
• After the course is fully registered and confirmed to run, works closely with the faculty and other offices on campus to support all travel arrangements and confirmations
• Co-develops and leads the pre-departure meetings for faculty and students
• Provides faculty/students with pre-departure materials and student forms, registers all students and faculty for mandatory health and safety insurance
• Ensures that the International Incident Response Team (IIRT), Public Safety, and Student Affairs are prepared to support these courses, students and faculty while off-campus
• Oversees, in collaboration with International SOS, RISD Public Safety and Risk Management issues the response to issues that arise on the course while off-campus
• Presents documentation of the courses, when possible, to further promote and support these unique off-campus teaching and learning experiences

Past Wintersession Travel Courses can be found here.