Seattle, Washington 

White settlers came to the Seattle area in 1851 and named the city Seattle, honoring a Duwamish Indian leader named Sealth who had befriended the settlers. Seattle, as it was then, relied heavily on the timber industry, shipping logs (and later, milled timber) to San Francisco. Today, with an urban population of over 3.5 million people, Seattle is one of the fastest growing cities in the USA, with Microsoft and Amazon headquartered in its metropolitan areas. Seattle lies on a narrow strip of land between the salt waters of Puget Sound and the fresh waters of Lake Washington. Beyond the water are two rugged mountain ranges, the Olympics to the west and the Cascades to the east. It is a city built on hills and around water, in a mild marine climate. Hiking is a ride away, and UW is located a short distance from Seattle's downtown where you can visit museums, attend a sporting event, take in the futuristic Space Needed - a 1962 World's Fair legacy, or walk around Pike Place Market. 

 

Prerequisites and Language Requirements

Students participating in this exchange program must be nominated by their home university to be accepted.

Every exchange visitor must possess sufficient proficiency in English to successfully participate in the program and function on a day-to-day basis. Federal law requires sponsors use and retain evidence of “objective measurements” to determine the student’s English language proficiency. The following minimum scores required:

TOEFL (IBT): 92 or IELTS: 7.0. You should submit a scanned copy of your TOEFL/IELTS score report. 

Credits

In order to be considered a full-time student for the J-1 visa requirements, you must take a minimum of 10 credits per quarter as a graduate student. Your tuition waiver will cover you through 18 credits per quarter.

Courses

The University of Washington offers a wide variety of courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels each quarter. We suggest that you reach out to the departments you are interested in taking classes with, and ask if they have space available in the courses you want, for Visiting Graduate Exchange Students. 

Students can begin their search for courses right here: University of Washington course catalog

Housing

Exchange students at the university of Washington are offered housing options through Housing and Food Services (HFS). As an incoming exchange student, you are free to make your own housing arrangements. To help you decide which option is best for you, please review the information below.

If you are an undergraduate student and indicated in your exchange application that you are interested in on-campus housing, then you have been included on the priority housing list that will be sent to the HFS office.

Before you can apply to live in the UW residence halls, you must have received your acceptance letter and set up your UW NetID, which will allow you access to the online housing application. Please be aware that it may take several days for your UW NetID information to be transferred to the HFS database.

Students can learn more about their accommodations by visiting University of Washington Housing.

While at the UW, our colleagues in International Student Services (ISS) will be your main point of contact for all items related to your visa and maintaining your immigration status.

As an exchange student you will enter the US on a J-1 visa and should familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations of this visa category.

As part of the exchange agreement, you will receive a waiver of tuition and technology fees. Please note that the following fees are not covered by your tuition waiver:

U-pass (bus pass)
UW International Student Health Insurance Plan (iSHIP)
Course fees – if applicable (Some courses charge additional fees for instructional and/or laboratory costs that are not covered by the tuition waiver.)

At any time during your exchange you may find your current balance and other account activity on your MyUW account.

Our office will pay your tuition-related charges by the tuition due date, which is the third Friday of each quarter. You must pay fees not covered by the tuition waiver in full before this deadline. For more details on how to make payments please visit the Registrar’s Payment of Tuition & Fees.

To see read more about cost of attendance, visit our website.  

Application Process 

To be considered a visiting exchange student you must complete an online application through UW Study Abroad in order to be admitted to the University of Washington. To get access to the application link, you will need to contact your home university coordinator. 

As a graduate student, you will also need to apply to the Graduate School as a 
"Visiting Graduate".

Orientation

Once admitted to the University of Washington, you will need to complete the International Student Services (ISS) Online Information Session.
All new international students are required to complete the ISS Online Information Session. You must complete the ISS Online Information Session before you can register for classes. If you have U.S. citizenship, you are exempt from this requirement. 

Once on campus, you will also attend an in person orientation with FIUTS. 

Disability Accommodations

The University of Washington is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, and education for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation for this program, contact Disability Resources for Students at least 8 weeks in advance of your departure date. Contact info at disability.uw.edu.