Who are exchange students?
Exchange students are students pursuing their degree at a college or university outside the U.S. that has an exchange agreement with Portland State University or an exchange consortium to which Portland State University belongs (for example, the IE3 Global program).
Students must be nominated by their home university to participate in the exchange. Nominated students will complete an exchange student application, either through the exchange consortium or through the International Student and Scholar Services office at Portland State. Exchange students typically come to the U.S. in J-1 Exchange Visitor status.
Tuition and fee issues
In most cases, you will pay tuition and fees to your home university, and Portland State students studying at your university will pay their tuition and fees here. This means that you will not typically be required to pay tuition, and sometimes mandatory student fees, during your time at Portland State.
Tuition and fee remission
Each term during your exchange at Portland State, you will receive a “remission”–a payment, using the money collected from Portland State students studying on exchange–for the amount of tuition for a certain number of credits. In some cases, the remission will also include the mandatory student fees.
The number of credits of tuition remission, as well as whether or not your mandatory student fees are paid with the remission, will depend on the specific exchange agreement between Portland State and your home university. This information is included in your exchange admission letter, which is sent after your exchange application is approved. You may also contact your international student advisor with specific questions.
Tuition charges
Beginning around the 16th of the month before the term starts, tuition and fee charges will be added to your account for all courses for which you have registered. If you add or drop classes after that date, the tuition and fee amounts will be adjusted automatically.
You must make sure to follow all registration deadlines, especially for dropping classes. Students who drop classes after the first week of the term do not receive a full refund of their tuition; the exchange student tuition remission cannot pay for non-refunded tuition, so you could be responsible for paying that tuition. It is also important to keep your advisor updated about changes to your enrollment so that we can update your tuition remission, if necessary.
All F-1 and J-1 international students’ tuition is automatically assessed at the non-resident rate. Exchange students’ tuition rates are manually adjusted each term from the non-resident to resident rate.
Until the adjustment is completed, it will appear that the tuition and fee charges are much higher than they should be. However, once the adjustment is complete and the remission is applied, the balance for any remaining fees (including mandatory student fees and/or housing and meal plan fees) will be correct.
Academic Issues
What classes can I take?
You may take many different types of classes at Portland State, either related to your major or outside your major at your home university. While it is always important to make good progress toward completing your degree requirements, it can also be a valuable part of your exchange experience to try something new and take a class that you would not have the opportunity to take at your home institution.
Some Colleges and Departments restrict certain courses–usually “upper division” courses, which are courses numbered 300 or higher–to students who have completed certain fundamental classes and have been admitted to a particular major program within that College or Department. If you wish to take classes in one of these Colleges of Departments (including the School of Business, the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the College of the Arts), you should discuss your enrollment plans with your international student advisor.
In addition to Colleges and Departments with enrollment restrictions, some classes may require that you have completed certain coursework before you can enroll. This kind of restriction is called a “prerequisite”. If one of the classes you wish to take has a prerequisite restriction for enrollment, you may still be able to register for that class if you have completed the equivalent course at your home university. You can contact your international student advisor for assistance in determining whether it will be possible for you to register for that course.
When can I register for classes?
As an exchange student, you are eligible to register for classes as though you were a “continuing Junior” when registering for your first term of study. After your first term of study, you will have registration priority based on your “class standing”, the number of credits you have completed toward a degree (as converted to the Portland State degree system).
In many cases, you will continue to have Junior (3rd year) standing, but your standing and priority may be higher or lower depending on the number of credits completed at your home institution and during their exchange at Portland State. Read more about priority registration dates.
Transcripts
At the end of your exchange program, you will need transcripts from Portland State University in order to receive academic credit for the classes you completed here at your home university. In a few instances, the exchange agreement between your school and Portland State may require that those transcripts be sent automatically at the end of the exchange. In most cases, however, it will be your individual responsibility to request transcripts.
Portland State manages transcript requests through a service called Parchment. Parchment can be accessed through myPSU. You may request your transcripts in two different formats: paper transcripts that are sent directly from Portland State to your home institution or electronic transcripts that are sent directly to your home institution by email (you may specify the email address to which the transcripts are sent; they are sent directly to that email address in a secure format).
It is important to verify with your home institution which transcript format will be required or accepted. Read more about transcript requests.