Thank you for your interest in pursuing an exchange opportunity with Western Michigan University. Exchange at WMU provides short-term options for international students to enroll at Western Michigan University. WMU has active exchange agreements with over 20 international partners and highly values the mutual benefit drawn through student mobility and faculty exchanges.
Undergraduate students—Cumulative GPA of 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale).
Graduate students—Cumulative GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).
One of the following English proficiency test scores:
Unrestricted admission to WMU courses.
Restricted admission* to WMU courses.
Undergraduate
TOEFL: 71+ iBT IELTS: 6.0 PTE: 48 Duolingo: 100
TOEFL: 61-70 iBT IELTS: 5.5 PTE: 46 Duolingo: 95
Graduate
TOEFL: 80+ iBT IELTS: 6.5 PTE: 54 Duolingo: 115
N/A
Exceptions can only be made with prior approval from the WMU Haenicke Institute for Global Education.**
*Restricted admission: students must consult with WMU academic advisor regarding their course options.
**Exchange students from the following countries are exempt from the English proficiency requirement: Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Germany.
Tuition and Fees
Western Michigan University exchange agreements provide for 12 to 15 credit hours per student per semester at the undergraduate level or 6 to 9 credit hours per student per semester at the graduate level. Should your students wish to take more than this number of credits, they will pay non-resident tuition cost per credit.
There are certain standard WMU registration fees that are automatically assessed to all students, including exchange students. Although these fees will appear on your student’s initial invoice, they will be removed early in the semester based on our exchange agreement. Read more about exchange tuition and fees.
Housing
International and domestic students connect during one of our many programming options.
Undergraduate
Undergraduate exchange students are required to live on campus. Students should apply online for campus housing as soon as they have been accepted to Western Michigan University and have received their Bronco NetID and password.
WMU's residence halls are home to nearly 5,000 students who enjoy the friendships, living-learning focus, and diversity of campus life. Residents can take advantage of hall activities, leadership opportunities, high-speed Internet, staff available 24 hours a day, close proximity to the dining halls, and many other campus conveniences designed to support busy college students.
Graduate
Graduate exchange students are strongly encouraged to live in University-sponsored (on-campus) housing during the program period. Although on-campus residency is not mandatory for graduate exchange students, please be advised that graduate students who opt to reside off campus bear sole responsibility for finding off-campus housing, contracting with private management companies and others, and abiding by conditions and terms. They may also find it difficult to lease an off-campus apartment for one or two semesters since most off-campus apartment leases are for a one-year (12-month) period. Breaking a lease is costly.
Please see above for more information on on-campus housing.
All incoming exchange application materials and routine student-questions should be addressed to Yumi Takahashi-Ede at yumi.takahashi@wmich.edu or at study-abroad-incoming@wmich.edu.
Incoming exchange students must be nominated by their home institutions. Please work closely with the international office in your home institution to secure a nomination and to prepare your application materials, which will be submitted to our office through our secure online application system. Incoming exchange students must be nominated by their international office to be considered for exchange.
