National Student Exchange

Priority Deadline: February 15th | Fall Semester Deadline: March 1st | Spring Semester Deadline: September 1st

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.