We are
boldly committed
to education abroad.
Why do we exist? We spark growth. We envision a more connected and compassionate world transformed through individuals who have traveled, lived, and learned abroad.
How do we do it? We provide U.S. university students with the best value in education abroad, considering affordability, academic relevance, cultural immersion, and support. We are boldly committed to providing the highest quality service to students, their families, and their home institutions as a trusted education partner.
What makes us tick? Our Values. Whatever the answer to the Who, What or Why questions you have about us, we believe you’ll find a company full of passionate, mission and value driven staff who are committed to providing you with the best possible study or internship abroad experience.
OUR VALUES
🏡 AT HOME
We’ve all had experiences abroad that have impacted our lives and we want you to have similar opportunities to learn and grow. We also have hobbies, interests, and talents outside of the office that we are passionate about and we regularly present our Passion Projects to our colleagues so they get to know us better.
✈️ ABROAD
We, the on-site staff of CIS, are proud of the place that we call home, whether we are from the country in which we serve or an immigrant here. We know the journey and the work it takes to participate in another culture away from home. We help students get to know our home and help them see life “like a local” and learn to explore and adapt.
🏡 AT HOME
Dogs in the office. Shuffleboard and Giant Jenga contests. All Company E-Gatherings with Core Value Awards and plenty of laughs. Cooking together in each others’ homes. Our Amazing Places Race with US University partners.
✈️ ABROAD
From scavenger hunts in London to surfing in Australia to making empanadas in Argentina, students engage with their surroundings and have a blast. Yes, higher education is a serious business, but to achieve balance, to truly find a post-university career that is the right fit, learning to find joy & laugh every day is essential.
🏡 AT HOME
We regularly operate in 13 time zones, more than 30 countries and with people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, faiths and languages. Through these daily interactions, we keep an open mind and learn from our cultural similarities and differences. We openly examine our biases and try to understand how different cultures and identities (including our own) inform how we think, feel, and act.
✈️ ABROAD
From cooking green curry from scratch in Thailand, to pressing olives into oil in Italy, to living with a Costa Rican host family, our programs are filled with opportunities for students to engage with local life. We even have a co-curricular program called exactly that: The Local Life! Through their experience abroad, our students not only explore and engage but grow their cultural understanding of the world. Cultural curiosity also means adapting, not making assumptions, and being respectful of a local culture’s rules and expectations.
🏡 AT HOME
We pitch in. From helping our colleagues with meals when a new baby is born, to working with students to make sure credit transfers back home, to consulting with US study abroad offices to help improve business processes, our staff go the extra mile (or kilometer) for each other and for those we are serving. We have each others’ back.
✈️ ABROAD
We are responsive and caring professionals in our approach, but we aren’t hand-holders. When incidents happen abroad ~ from a lost passport to a major emergency ~ we work with students, parents and universities in a clear, thoughtful manner, building on the relationship, our expertise, and best practice.
🏡 AT HOME
Change a process to make it easier for a staff member? Will do. Try out a new excursion that we think students will love? Yes. Methodically evaluate your feedback to continuously improve ourselves and our company? Always.
✈️ ABROAD
It’s our job to expose students to amazing places and ideas, teach them new concepts and help them explore their boundaries and develop as people. It’s their job to accept new ideas, change their perspectives and grow into world citizens. We grow from challenge, not from comfort.
🏡 AT HOME
We’ve all had experiences abroad that have impacted our lives and we want you to have similar opportunities to learn and grow. We also have hobbies, interests, and talents outside of the office that we are passionate about and we regularly present our Passion Projects to our colleagues so they get to know us better.
✈️ ABROAD
We, the on-site staff of CIS, are proud of the place that we call home, whether we are from the country in which we serve or an immigrant here. We know the journey and the work it takes to participate in another culture away from home. We help students get to know our home and help them see life “like a local” and learn to explore and adapt.
🏡 AT HOME
Dogs in the office. Shuffleboard and Giant Jenga contests. All Company E-Gatherings with Core Value Awards and plenty of laughs. Cooking together in each others’ homes. Our Amazing Places Race with US University partners.
✈️ ABROAD
From scavenger hunts in London to surfing in Australia to making empanadas in Argentina, students engage with their surroundings and have a blast. Yes, higher education is a serious business, but to achieve balance, to truly find a post-university career that is the right fit, learning to find joy & laugh every day is essential.
🏡 AT HOME
We regularly operate in 13 time zones, more than 30 countries and with people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, faiths and languages. Through these daily interactions, we keep an open mind and learn from our cultural similarities and differences. We openly examine our biases and try to understand how different cultures and identities (including our own) inform how we think, feel, and act.
✈️ ABROAD
From cooking green curry from scratch in Thailand, to pressing olives into oil in Italy, to living with a Costa Rican host family, our programs are filled with opportunities for students to engage with local life. We even have a co-curricular program called exactly that: The Local Life! Through their experience abroad, our students not only explore and engage but grow their cultural understanding of the world. Cultural curiosity also means adapting, not making assumptions, and being respectful of a local culture’s rules and expectations.
🏡 AT HOME
We pitch in. From helping our colleagues with meals when a new baby is born, to working with students to make sure credit transfers back home, to consulting with US study abroad offices to help improve business processes, our staff go the extra mile (or kilometer) for each other and for those we are serving. We have each others’ back.
✈️ ABROAD
We are responsive and caring professionals in our approach, but we aren’t hand-holders. When incidents happen abroad ~ from a lost passport to a major emergency ~ we work with students, parents and universities in a clear, thoughtful manner, building on the relationship, our expertise, and best practice.
🏡 AT HOME
Change a process to make it easier for a staff member? Will do. Try out a new excursion that we think students will love? Yes. Methodically evaluate your feedback to continuously improve ourselves and our company? Always.
✈️ ABROAD
It’s our job to expose students to amazing places and ideas, teach them new concepts and help them explore their boundaries and develop as people. It’s their job to accept new ideas, change their perspectives and grow into world citizens. We grow from challenge, not from comfort.
AND THE RESULT?
I wanted to go abroad with a program that I knew was going to make it the best experience possible and guide me through the process. I had two friends travel abroad last spring to London with CIS Abroad and they both had the time of their lives. That made me certain I would go abroad with CIS Abroad.