University of Washington College of Engineering International Exchange Opportunities

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Tuition Waivers are given to international students during all or part of their exchange period at the UW.

The UW's primary objective in allocating Tuition Waivers is to facilitate exchange activity with major research universities abroad with whom we do not have existing agreements, or with whom we cannot meet our reciprocal arrangements.

When allocating tuition waivers, the College of Engineering Dean's office gives priority to visiting exchange students who will receive their degree from a foregn institution.

Tuition Waiver recipients must be enrolled full time and cannot hold other types of University support, such as teaching or research assistantships, for the quarters their tuition is waived under this program. Waivers cannot be used for Summer Quarter.

• During the first part of December, the UW Vice Provost for International Education sends us an invitation to submit a proposal for tuition waivers to be used during the next academic year.
• The CoE asks the engineering departments for their tuition waiver needs after receiving the invitation from the Vice Provost.
• The departments' and the CoE Dean's office tuition waiver requests are included in the proposal, which is sent to the UW International Programs & Exchanges (IPE) office by the end of January.
• The Legislature authorizes a total of 100 tuition waivers University-wide for each academic year. The IPE office authorizes a small percentage of these waivers to the CoE usually around March 1. In allocating the waivers, the IPE gives priority to those requests where evidence of a reciprocal exchange exists.
• The CoE allocates the tuition waivers to the engineering departments, based on their requests that were included in the proposal to IPE. This happens during the first or second week of March. If there are any tuition waivers left after the initial allocations to the engineering departments, they are given to the departments as the requests are received.

Home Tuition Program for Reciprocal Exchange

In 1997, the Legislature authorized the "Home Tuition" program as the primary means to fund international student exchanges. Under this program, UW students pay an amount equal to their regular tuition and fees at the UW, then study at the foreign host institution tuition-free. The funds paid by the outgoing UW student are then used to cover the tuition costs of the incoming international exchange student.

The Home Tuition program only works if it is reciprocal, and if equal numbers of students are exchanged. This model is designed to increase the number of overseas study options available to UW students at a tuition cost equal to what they pay at home. In 2004-05, more than 1,600 UW students participated in an institutional exchange or learning experience.

The UW recognizes that not all student visitors can be part of a Home Tuition-funded exchange program. Therefore, a limited number of tuition waivers are made available each academic year through their annual competition.

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