Upon successful completion of coursework, WorldStrides' Curriculum and Academics Department will issue transcripts for high school credit directly to the student by mailing it to the address on file. All college preparatory credit transcripts are issued through our university partner, University of California - San Diego Extension. Click here to view full details on WorldStrides' Discovery for Credit Program.

One of the many benefits of choosing WorldStrides is that educators can earn free professional development points. Both the educator leading the trip and the educator chaperones are eligible to receive this credit. Details and number of points vary by program, so please contact your Account Manager for full details.

Teachers leading middle and high school programs may enroll in our 3-credit graduate course, "Instruction and Management for Increased Learning." This course is designed to serve teachers across all content areas and is run on a semester schedule. The course is taught by Director of Curriculum and Academics Wendy Amato. For information and to register, contact discovery@worldstrides.org.

LEAP stands for Learning through Exploration and Active Participation. It is the WorldStrides educational philosophy that embodies a hands-on, exploratory approach to travel and learning. This means students won’t be passive tourists, but rather, active participants in experiential learning with high levels of engagement, guided discussion, questions and answers, and personal connections. Learn more about our exciting LEAP program.

The good news is our status as an accredited educational travel organization and our partnerships with colleges and universities allows us to issue credit directly to participants in our programs. Acceptance of credit at any institution is always at the discretion of the receiving school. Click here to view full details on the WorldStrides Discovery for Credit Program.

The Curriculum & Academics team is comprised of highly credentialed educators with years of classroom and field teaching experience. Our  Director of Curriculum & Academics, Wendy Amato, holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Virginia. All courses are designed to meet the specific developmental and educational needs of the learners on the travel programs. Coursework is evaluated by the WorldStrides team with personalized feedback, differentiated assignments, a range of product options, and a mastery learning approach to assessment. Click here to view full details on the WorldStrides Discovery for Credit Program.

WorldStrides' Curriculum & Academics team is fully credentialed and responsible for all aspects of the online coursework of Discovery for Credit. Program Leaders are not required to grade, write curriculum, or collect assignments related to credit issued by WorldStrides. Program Leaders are encouraged to introduce the opportunity to earn credit as a valuable element of the program they are leading.

Upon successful completion of coursework, WorldStrides Curriculum and Academics Department will issue a transcript directly to the student by mailing it to the address on file. Click here to view full details on WorldStrides' Discovery for Credit Program.

Registering for coursework through Discovery for Credit is easy. First, the student must be actively enrolled in a WorldStrides travel program and must have created a student account on MyTrip. Once on MyTrip, students can click on the Discovery for Credit link to begin the registration process.  If you encounter any questions along the way, our Curriculum and Academics Department will be happy to help you out and can be reached at discovery@worldstrides.com.

Does your tour code contain your teacher's last name and numbers (e.g. Smith-1234)? If so, please access academic credit from your tour home page HERE!

The opportunity to earn three free college preparatory credits is included for all of our Perspectives international travel programs. Other programs may offer credit options for a small fee. Check with your WorldStrides representative if you aren’t sure what type of program you are doing.

The workload of the course is determined by the number of credits being earned. Fortunately, the majority of our course hours are satisfied in the field during travel programs, leaving a manageable portion of coursework for the online learning environment. Students are encouraged to register for and explore the coursework to anticipate their personal timeline. Upon returning from travel, all coursework must be completed within 6 months of the return date. Click here to view full details on WorldStrides' Discovery for Credit Program.

Yes! We love when students get credit for learning. This helps them get a step ahead, whether its for a college application or for a future career. All middle programs include the opportunity to earn free high school credit. Our Perspectives programs offer high school students the opportunity to earn three free college preparatory credits. Most of our higher education programs include credit from the academic institution of record. Our online courses make it easy to earn credit at a student's own pace. WorldStrides offers coursework that has been carefully designed to combine the field experience with online assignments that demonstrate achievement of learning objectives. Acceptance of credit is always at the discretion of the receiving institution.  Click here for more information. Or, you can contact our Curriculum & Academics Team at discovery@worldstrides.org

Being accredited means that WorldStrides has been evaluated and approved by external educational agencies. In fact, WorldStrides is accredited by multiple agencies including AdvancED, MSA-CESS, and WASC. These are the same accrediting bodies that evaluate traditional brick-and-mortar schools like yours. We were the first organization of our kind to achieve this accreditation. Our voluntary participation in the accreditation process demonstrates our unrivaled commitment to the learning experience of our travelers. Every program is custom built to meet students’ age-appropriate needs and standards-based goals of the curriculum. Our accreditation allows us to issue academic credit for students and professional development for educators.

Our approach to educational travel for higher education is immersive and customized, focused on providing hands-on experiences such as company visits, factory tours, cooking classes, or service learning experiences. For groups learning about the economy of an area or studying in a professional field, our Global Academic Team works directly with contacts from all over the world to source executive speakers, factory tours, hands-on volunteer opportunities, embassy visits, consumer field studies, and more. Each program is assigned a Global Curriculum Coordinator who consults with faculty to customize a thematic approach to your course curriculum and align with the student's level of education. For programs in the humanities, social sciences, or other STEM fields, our program development team takes a collaborative and creative approach to identifying opportunities to bring your syllabus to life. Our experienced team has worked on broad themes such as art or history, and very specific themes that illuminate higher-level courses. We work closely with our local teams on the ground to organize immersive experiences including culinary or dance classes, experiments, and service opportunities, and can suggest a variety of options for your destination or accommodate special requests.

Yes, we are flexible in arranging course content for your program. We can arrange all of the content, none of the content, or just some of the content at your request. We like to set clear expectations and define our role at the beginning of the program to avoid duplicating efforts.