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Your students’ well-being is our number one priority. With our 55+ years of experience, our extensive global presence, and our collaboration with U.S. and international authorities, we lead the charge on traveler safety abroad. Whether it’s a worldwide pandemic or a sprained ankle, a missed flight or a lost passport, we’ve seen it all—and we have the resources to handle it.
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Health and safety abroad
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Unmatched global presence
With 600 schools and offices in 50 countries worldwide, including regional offices dedicated to on-program support, EF’s global presence is truly unmatched. Our 50,000+ staff members around the world provide a local presence and are able to react quickly and in person where necessary. All travelers automatically enjoy the support provided by our Safety First Program, which includes 24/7 access to our Emergency Service & Support Team in addition to our worldwide presence.
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Dedicated
support network
There’s a whole crew of people who work around the clock all over the world to help keep travelers as safe as possible before and during their programs. This network includes:
Comprised of industry experts, our Emergency Safety and Support Team is ready to spring into action 24/7. These highly trained, dedicated EF staff members are equipped to solve problems and answer questions—even outside of regular business hours. They also facilitate communication between travelers and families in the event of an emergency at home and maintain direct communication with our Safety and Incident Response Team to jointly solve issues as needed. And when they aren’t directly helping travelers, they’re innovatively shaping the worldwide standards on operational safety and risk assessment.
With deep knowledge of each group they assist, EF Representatives provide comprehensive support and offer personalized solutions. Our dedicated operations teams source and book on-program accommodations as well as academic field visits and cultural excursions, ensuring all program components align with our health and safety standards.
In EF Hubs, full-time Site Directors work with partners and facilitate academic immersion. On every program, Field Directors help groups navigate new experiences, make connections, and maximize discovery. Each of these experts works with EF to address challenging situations and respond to emergencies.
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Travel with confidence
EF evaluates the health, safety, and security aspects of all program destinations, taking the necessary steps to help keep travelers as safe as possible. This includes assessing the destination’s current health, political, and social risks, and its seasonal or weather-related risks. EF collaborates with international organizations, local law enforcement, travel boards, and suppliers, and closely monitors the U.S. Department of State Travel Advisories and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Travel Health Notes to assess a destination’s safety.
Travelers may enroll in a Global Travel Protection Plan to enjoy pre-departure and on-program benefits, including medical expense coverage that may apply to the program and program cancellation for designated covered reasons.
New travelers who enroll at least 120 days prior to departure can cancel for any reason up to 30 days after enrollment for a full refund of 100% of the money paid to EF.
The well-being of travelers is always our priority. That’s why, in addition to our global support network and incident-ready response teams, we offer virtual emergency mental health support for students on all of our programs. On semester-length programs, we also offer a full-service virtual healthcare practice that uses an integrated care model to deliver mental and physical healthcare to students. Their network of qualified doctors, nurses, and therapists is available 24/7 via unlimited chat, phone, and video visits. In addition to answering questions and providing mental health and wellness tools, virtual care teams can connect students to specific healthcare services.
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"Our twin daughters experienced their first trip abroad on an EF Study Abroad program. I must say that the trip was flawless. Not only did it combine the perfect mix of study and pleasure, but our girls felt safe and secure the whole trip. It was their first trip with EF but not their last. Because of the great time they had on this trip, we allowed them to go on another."
Parent of Student Travelers,
North Carolina