National Student Exchange
Priority Deadline: February 15th | Fall Semester Deadline: March 1st | Spring Semester Deadline: September 1st
Location
165+ campuses across the United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Founded
1968
Student Population
Institution sizes vary from 100 - 75,000 students
Requirements
- UIS undergraduate full-time student in good academic standing.
- Minimum 2.5 GPA.
- Students must have successfully completed at least 1 full year (24 credit hours) at UIS prior to exchange.
- Host university’s requirements as applicable.
- Students must demonstrate Spanish language proficiency if selecting a campus in Puerto Rico.
- Students must demonstrate French language proficiency if selecting a particular institution in Quebec, Canada.
Semesters
- Enroll full-time (12+ credit hours) at a NSE member campus.
- Students may select to spend one to two (Fall or Spring) semesters on exchange.
Courses
- Students will enroll into at least 12 credit hours at the host institution.
- When selecting a NSE Institution, use the "majors" search tool via NSE.org.
- UIS course equivalencies are determined by a case by case basis.
- While on exchange UIS students are enrolled into ECCE: Global Experience Exchange – UNI 470. This counts as an ECCE Global Awareness or general electives.
Housing
- Students will be provided with housing specifics from the host institution.
- Some institutions require students to live on-campus during their exchange.
- Students are responsible for housing arrangements and payment.
Program Cost
- Students are charged UIS tuition and fees while studying at Host Pay NSE institution.
- UIS students pay room and meals at the host institution.
- Estimated semester expenses for housing, meals and transportation can range greatly based on the location. In most cases the cost of living at a partner institution will be greater than in Springfield, IL.
- Visit NSE website to view participating universities
Scholarships
- Financial Aid eligibility depends upon student’s financial aid award.
- Travel scholarships are available based on student’s eligibility.
Passport & Visa
- Students do not require a passport to participate on this program if studying in the USA.
- Students will require a passport if studying in Canada.
- For assistance securing a U.S. Passport, visit Travel.State.Gov.
- U.S. citizens do not require a visa in order to participate in this program.
Next Steps
- Read and understand the information listed above.
- Identify what is most important during exchange: cost, academics, location, etc.
- Narrow down host universities to a handful of options.
- Meet with Lauren Roalkvan (lroal@uis.edu), Associate Director of Global Engagement.
- Complete the UIS EngageU application by deadline.
- Complete NSE application.
- Submit all required documents.