Stanford is canceling all summer Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP) programming due to worldwide travel restrictions amid the worsening global coronavirus situation, Senior Vice Provost for Education Harry Elam announced on Tuesday.
The cancellations will affect 348 accepted and waitlisted undergraduates across BOSP’s 16 summer quarter, overseas seminar and summer internship programs, according to the announcement.
“Affected BOSP summer quarter programs include Cape Town and Santiago, as well as BOSP overseas seminars scheduled to take place in Cambodia, Ghana, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, and Vietnam,” the announcement reads. “The decision also affects BOSP’s summer internship programs in France, Japan, and Germany.”
Stanford has already canceled all of the BOSP programs scheduled for spring quarter — affecting 234 undergraduates across eight programs — and requested that students return home from winter quarter programs early.
“This University decision extends current restrictions and recommendations pertaining to international travel by Stanford students, faculty and staff, in line with current U.S. State Department and CDC guidance,” Elam wrote.
On March 19, the U.S. State Department issued a Level 4 Health Advisory urging against all international travel. More than 372,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide as of Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization.
Stanford will reimburse costs up to $500 for students to change or repurchase flight tickets, as it did for students affected by the cancellation of spring quarter programs.
On Thursday, Stanford announced that the entirety of spring quarter will be taught online, and on Friday it confirmed that the “traditional” commencement ceremony would not happen in June. Stanford has not said whether spring quarter’s measures will extend to courses on campus in summer quarter.
Stanford has also not made any announcements regarding study abroad programs scheduled for fall quarter, the cohorts for which have already been selected. The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.
“Based on everything I’ve been told, we’re still hoping to do fall quarter [abroad programs] in the same way Stanford hopes to resume [on-campus classes] in the fall,” a student advisor working for BOSP told The Daily.
Contact Daniel Wu at dwu21 “at” stanford.edu.