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10 January 2010
Dear Exchange Partner,
Thank you for promoting The University of Connecticut as a student exchange destination. I enjoy meeting and working with your students and truly hope that their experience at UConn is meaningful and rewarding. I am pleased to share information about the UConn exchange process, academic, and non-academic services available to international exchange students. All information for international exchange students can be found on our Office of Study Abroad: Additional information about UConn can be found on our main university website:
UConn Online Exchange Application Process
The Office of Study Abroad manages both outgoing and incoming exchanges at UConn. For easy accessibility, we use our online application system for our incoming exchange students as well as our outgoing students. Your students will still need to apply for the exchange through your office (using your application). Please have your outgoing Exchange Coordinator submit by email the Exchange Partner Student Nomination form with the names of those students your university is nominating for that exchange term. We send out an electronic acceptance letter once we receive the home school nominations and then ask students to complete their UConn exchange application online:
- Students go to click on International Students, and then click on the “Instructions and Applications” link in the box.
- They will be prompted to enter biographical information and then will set up a Study Abroad Homepage for the exchange that lists all necessary materials and required information.
- Students will need to complete their UConn application process by April 15 for fall and academic year exchanges and November 15 for spring exchanges.
Application deadlines
All Exchange Student Nomination forms and student applicationsfrom the home exchange coordinator for the fall semester and academic year must be submitted to UConn Study Abroad by March 1. Applications for the spring semester must be submitted by October 15. Although exceptions can be made, due to increased time constraints with visa issues and documentation, it is necessary to have all applications as early as possible.
Calendar
The UConn Academic Year starts from late-August until mid-December and then recommences mid-January until early-May of the next calendar year. There are 16 weeks per semester, including one week off for Thanksgiving break in the fall, one week off for spring break in the spring, and one week for examinations at the end of each semester. There is a 5-week vacation between the fall and spring semesters.
The University calendar, which shows the semesters, recesses, examinations, vacations and holidays, can be found on:
Students are strongly encouraged to arrive on the day that dormitories become available to exchange students, before Orientation and the semester start date. Please see “Exchange Information - UConn” for specific dates.
Costs
Tuition for exchange students is, of course, waived. Students pay directly to UConn fees for dormitories, meal plan, activity, health screening, and transit accounts. Other expenses may include books, travel, optional health insurance, and laboratory fees for certain science or art classes. Please see the “Exchange Information - UConn” for specific costs. In order to apply for the J-1 visa, international students must submit to UConn a financial guarantee in the amount of at least US$8000 per semester. This guarantee must be no more than three months old, notarized, and from a bank or financial institution as proof of the student’s personal or parental support. Students are required to have health insurance that covers them for accidents and illnesses while at UConn. If they do not have their own insurance, they are required to purchase the Uconn-sponsored program, the Aetna Student Health Plan. More information can be found at Student Health Services,
HuskyMates
The UConn Office of Study Abroad matches incoming exchange students with UConn peer mentors in the HuskyMates program. Returned study abroad participants and other campus volunteersserve as on-campus friends to help with what to bring to campus, arrival, getting around UConn, American slang and vocabulary, shopping, local customs, food, cultural, and social issues. Students meet in planned events and alsoget together as needed for various types of activities both on and off campus. The HuskyMates program is very popular with both exchange and UConn students and helps to make our incoming students become involved on campus and meet American friends immediately.
Campus Housing & Life
Although the Office of Study Abroad reserves rooms for all exchange students, the Department of Residential Life manages student accommodation at UConn. Exchange students are strongly urged to stay in on-campus accommodation in either undergraduate or graduate dormitories. Once prompted, students must submit an online housing application to complete their housing requests. Please see this link for more details about UConn on-campus accommodations:
Students live in undergraduate or graduate dormitories with other students. Undergraduate dormitories available to exchange students are double rooms with shared bathroom facilities. Graduate dormitories are single rooms with shared bathroom facilities and are available to graduate students. Single rooms in undergraduate dormitories are not available to undergraduate exchange students. Graduate dormitories have fully equipped shared kitchen facilities. Undergraduate exchange students are roomed with UConn students and assignments are made based on availability and preference. Students in undergraduate dorms, with the exception of Mansfield Apartments and Charter Oak Apartments, must participate in the meal plan. Meals are taken in cafeterias located in many locations on campus. All undergraduate dormitories stay open during all official UConn break periods (Thanksgiving, semester, spring). Graduate dormitories also remain open for all breaks.
Learning Communities: Many exchange students are placed in Global House, a learning and living community located in McMahon Dormitory with 135 beds. Global House is for international students, exchange students, and American students returned from or interested in studying abroad, or studentslearning about global culture, politics, and the arts. Global House is open during breaks if students prefer to stay on campus with other international students. Students love this type of living community and feel the global atmosphere makes their transition to the UConn campus smoother and more interesting. Go to for a complete listingof o other Living/Learning communities including EcoHouse, Community Service, Social Justice, Honors, and Women in Math & Science.
Academic matters
All exchange students are accepted at UConn on the Storrs campus (main campus) as visiting non-degree graduate or undergraduate exchange students within the Office of Study Abroad. All undergraduate students must take a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester, with the average of 3 credits per course. All graduate students must take a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester. An average course-load for exchange students is 4-5 courses for undergraduates and 3 for graduates. Students are able to register for most undergraduate and graduate courses, however, (if they have the proper prerequisites) with permission from the appropriate professor. All business students must submit a current academic transcript via email and with their application.The UConn Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs online provide students and academic advisors with information on the various departments, programs, curriculum, and academic policies at UConn. Interested students can access course descriptions, prerequisites, workload, and credit hours for the academic year at these links:
Students are also encouraged to look at the faculty and department websites for updates on course offerings and syllabi; please find department websites by doing a search on the home page.
Academic Departments
Most courses in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources are available to exchange students. Many of our professional schools and colleges are overenrolled and may be closed to exchange students or offer limited course selections. All students who wish to take courses in these areas would have to meet the prerequisites listed in the catalog. Students in Fine Arts/Studio Arts will have to submit an art portfolio upon arrival.
Limited: Business, Graphic Arts, Allied Health, Education, Fine Arts, Engineering
Closed: Nursing, Pharmacy, Journalism
Notes on Course Registration
In order to find courses offered for the coming semester, students should go to the class directory at click on “Class Schedule,” or View a snapshot of the Class Schedule. Find the appropriate term (fall or spring) for Storrs campus. Course listings are generally posted in early March and October for following semester.
Registration for courses at UConn can be challenging due to our course registration system, PeopleSoft. Exchange students may NOT register online; they must register through Study Abroad and the UConn Center of Continuing Studies with the “Exchange Student Registration Form.” UConn students begin fall 2010 registration March 24, 2010 so exchange students should start obtaining courses and registering at this time also by sending in the registration form as directed, available online, to Lisa () or Susan Heacox () with the appropriate information and course permission numbers where needed. Course permission numbers are necessary for all courses numbered 2000 and above and those which require prerequisites. The permission numbers can be obtained by the students from UConn professors via email. NOTE: we can not register students for a course that requires permission number if they have not obtained it and listed it on the registration form.
Activities & Community Service
All exchange students may participate in over four hundred student clubs and organizations, such as basketball and soccer teams, choirs, martial arts, radio stations, outdoor clubs, religious societies, academic groups and more. The Office of Community Outreach offers many different types of service activities, both near and far on weekends, during the week, and also during breaks. Students can go to or to find out how to begin. During our orientation we review lots of different options for students both on and off campus.
Travel & Arrival
The Uconn Office of Study Abroad and Global House arrange group transportation from Bradley International Airport and the Hartford Train Station on the day that dormitories become available for the semester the student is attending UConn. Students are strongly encouraged to use this transportation and arrange travel so that they may arrive at UConn before 5:00pm on arrival day. Those students arriving after this time may need to make alternate travel arrangements.
Orientation
The Exchange Coordinator, Study Abroad Staff, International Services & Programs, and Global House work together to conduct on-site orientation the first week of arrival, usually the week before the start of classes. We cover safety, customs, academic regulations, campus life, and lots of other information. Group activities and outings are also planned so the students can get to know each other and UConn HuskyMates.
Support
In conjunction with our office, Global House and The International Services & Programs Offices play a significant role in international student life. Consult their websites for important links for incoming international students on services provided by the Office of International Affairs, local information, and general information about medical insurance, travel and immigration matters for international students. The Office of Study Abroad also provides incoming exchange students with Uconn faculty contacts when needed. New in 2010, we will be launching theUconn Friendship Family Program for exchange students to experience dinner or activities with an American family in the UConn community.
I hope that this information helps in advising students to participate on exchange to UConn in 2010-2011. We look forward to hosting your students in the near future.
Kindest regards,
Lisa McAdam Donegan
Office of Study Abroad
Exchange Coordinator