San Diego State has decided to suspend all university inbound and outbound study abroad exchange programs for the fall 2020 semester due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In a campus-wide email sent Monday morning, the school announced the suspension of multiple programs including the SDSU Bilateral Exchange, International Business Bilateral Exchange, CSU International Exchange Programs and ISEP Exchange.
The suspension is due to uncertainty surrounding both the virus and the agencies that support the study abroad exchange programs, according to the email.
“Given the long-term uncertainty associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as well as the indeterminate status of federal and local agencies whose operations support exchange and study abroad students, San Diego State University has made the difficult but necessary decision to suspend SDSU’s inbound and outbound study abroad exchange programs for fall 2020,” the email said.
Both outbound and inbound programs will be suspended for the fall semester, which means SDSU students will be unable to go abroad through these programs, and international students will be unable to attend SDSU if they are attending for only one or two semesters. However, international students who are studying at SDSU for the entirety of their degree program will be allowed to complete their studies at the university.
The suspension of the fall 2020 exchange programs follows the university’s decision to suspend all spring break and summer study abroad programs earlier this semester after the pandemic began.
Students who planned to go abroad during the fall 2020 semester are encouraged to reach out to the Study Abroad Office to explore other options at (619) 594-2475 or studyabroad@sdsu.edu, as well as visit SDSU’s COVID-19 site.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly said that all study abroad programs for the fall semester were suspended, when the suspension only extends to study abroad exchange programs. The Daily Aztec regrets this error.
