Supporting International Activities and Initiatives
Your passport to the world
Have an idea for an international project? Want to invite an international researcher or a visitor to campus? Thinking about how to connect students to international activities and study abroad?
Communication, coordination, and support enable our faculty community to carry an idea through to implementation. We provide logistical support and connections to resources international initiatives moving forward.
The University of Calgary welcomes international visitors to campus every day -- including guest speakers, visiting researchers, business visitors, technicians, and interviewees. Any time an international visitor is invited to campus, steps must be taken to give them information they need, facilitate their entry to Canada, mitigate risk to the University, and, where appropriate, grant system access.
Immigration advice and assistance is provided free of charge by HR Immigration. You can the Faculty of Science International Specialist for support and assistance: sciinternational@ucalgary.ca.
Collaborations can take many different forms, but sometimes an agreement or Memorandum of Understanding is needed to take a partnership to the next level, or access funding.
Agreement requests are reviewed and approved at multiple levels, and are signed by the Provost or their authorized delegate - not by individual faculty members or departments.
The Faculty of Science International Specialist can assist you throughout the agreements process, from development to signing and implementation.
A full list of current institutional agreements is available, and we can advise you on previous agreements.
Meeting with a delegation? Visiting colleagues and giving a presentation about the University of Calgary? We can provide you with background information and research, risk assessment, briefing and protocol notes, and strategic advice in advance of meetings and travel.
Support for developing presentations, preparing grant and award applications, and meeting follow-up is also available.
International undergraduate and graduate students can be valuable additions to your research program, and we welcome their contributions to our campus.
All visiting students must be registered under the visiting student researcher program, administered by Enrolment Services for undergraduate students or the Faculty of Graduate Students for master's and doctoral students. Students pay an application fee and nominal service fees (UPASS, campus recreation, student service fees) and carry the equivalent of a full-time load, but do not take any courses or pay tuition fees.
Regardless of the length of a research placement, all international students must have appropriate immigration authorization to conduct research in Canada; a visitor visa or eTA is not sufficient as research is considered work. Because processing time can vary depending on your student's citizenship, where they are studying, and funding sources, we recommend preparing for a visiting placement at least 4 months in advance.
Advice and comprehensive support from regulated immigration advisors is available from International Student Services and HR Immigration to ensure that your student has a smooth arrival to Canada.
International learning opportunities can provide students with transformational experiences, and can take many different forms:
- Exchange programs offer individuals one to two semesters of credit study at a partner university, with credit transferred back to the UCalgary degree program without the need to pay international tuition fees.
- Group study programs are immersive, short course programs led by a UCalgary faculty member in an international location.
- Volunteer and service learning opportunities through Leadership and Student Engagement offer valuable and meaningful experiences.
- Summer school programs and international research placements for specialized learning.
- i@Home programs pair classrooms with international partners for shared lectures, projects, and idea exchange between students.
Funding is available through the Global Learning Office, Mitacs (for research placements), and the IDEAS fund in the Faculty of Science.
If you have ideas for a program or want to explore opportunities, let us know!
UCalgary Risk Management provides comprehensive services for faculty, staff, students, and volunteers travelling abroad.
If you’re travelling on university business, you must register your travel with Risk Management. Registration ensures that we can communicate with you in the event of an emergency, and connect you with resources to help you find medical assistance, replace a passport, obtain travel advice or access advisories.
You’ll need your travel dates, passport number, and emergency contact information to register.
Prepared by Risk Management, the handbook includes important instructions about trip preparation and crisis management while travelling abroad.
There are many ways to support travel and international initiatives. Often, small grants and awards can be used as seed funding to apply for larger amounts. Grant writing and application support is available from the Faculty of Science International Coordinator, as well as advice and funding searches.
Building collaborations
Fulbright awards for Canadian scholars (United States)
UCalgary student mobility
International student mobility
International development