Just like degree-seeking UW-Madison students, international exchange students can enroll in courses during the semester directly preceding their stay in Madison. Assuming the application process has gone according to schedule, this means that exchange students planning to study at the University of Wisconsin in the fall will be able to enroll in early April, and students coming for the spring semester will enroll in November.
Enrolling for UW Engineering courses is a relatively simple procedure that you can do on the internet from anywhere in the world. All you need is your MyUW student internet account and your enrollment date and you are ready to enroll in courses.
Instructions for selecting courses, activating your MyUW account, and enrolling online are listed below.
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First: Understand UW's course numbering system
Please read this first.
Understand the UW-Madison course numbering system
Every course at UW has a six-digit number.
The first three digits are the department number. Sometimes the department abbreviation is used instead of the number. For example, the Mechanical Engineering Department is numbered 612. Sometimes instead of using the number 612, the abbreviation 'ME' is used.
The second set of three digits is the course number. It is very important that you choose courses appropriate to your level.
Courses numbered 100-299 are open to undergraduate students only.
100-level courses are first-year undergraduate courses
200-level courses are second-year undergraduate courses
Courses numbered 300-699 are open to all students
300-level courses are third-year undergraduate courses
400-level courses are fourth-year undergraduate courses
500- and 600-level courses are advanced courses open to both undergraduates and graduate students
Courses numbered 700 and higher are open only to graduate students.
Note that courses with a number of 300 or 700 are introductory classes. Therefore, if you have already taken a course in that field at home, you should not choose a course numbered 300 or 700. For example, a student interested in chemical engineering who has already had an introductory course should not take CBE 300 or CBE 700.
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Consult the timetable
The timetable is the list of courses that will be offered during a particular semester. If a course is not listed in the timetable, it is not offered that semester and you must choose a different course. The online timetable is continuously updated and shows the meeting time for a course, how many spaces are available, who is teaching, what prerequisites are needed, and whether or not the course is full and therefore closed to enrollment.
The online timetable is available at
http://timetable.doit.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/TTW3/TTW3.navigate.cgi?20061+colleges.html.
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Review course descriptions
Most of the courses offered have their own web page presenting the syllabus, some of the material covered in class, and projects done during previous semesters. Feel free to visit course descriptions on the College of Engineering website. Also feel free to E-mail the professors to ask them more detailed questions about the courses they offer.
We recommend that you contact the advisor in the department of your major interest for help in choosing courses.
Amanda Hammatt
can assist you with the name(s)/addresses of departmental advisors.
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Check for availability
If you find that the course(s) you want to take are full to capacity, "closed," or for some reason you just can't enroll, ask the instructor's permission to enroll you or place you on a "waiting list." Many exchange students have been successful in gaining access to the courses of their first choice by pursuing these options.
You may or may not be able to enroll in courses outside the College of Engineering, depending on whether or not those courses require "prerequisites," or certain UW preparation courses. In the case where you are blocked from enrolling in a course outside the College of Engineering, it is your responsibility to e-mail the course's professor for individual authorization. You may be asked for evidence of course pre-requisites.
Search the
University's directory for professors' email addresses and let us know if you have questions.
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Make your course selections and check them
Make sure to ask yourself the following questions before you enroll …
Did I check the timetable to be sure all the courses I selected are offered the semester I will attend UW-Madison?
Is there space available in the course?
If I'm an undergraduate student, did I select courses numbered 699 or lower?
Did I avoid courses that meet at the same times?
Do the courses I've selected match my degree requirements at my home university?
Do I have the required prerequisites, background, and knowledge to take this course?
Please note that you cannot take more than 18 credits if your status is undergraduate student. This limit is 12 credits if your are a graduate student. A course will usually count as 3 credits. Although it is not recommended for exchange students, you can talk with your academic advisor if you want to try and take more credits than are allotted to you.
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Activate your MyUW account
Before enrolling, you must
activate your MyUW internet account. Activation is easy and requires only access to the internet and a UW student identification number, which will be provided by our office after your application has been processed. Please see the
step-by-step instructions for activating this account.
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Finally: Enroll
After your MyUW account is activated, you are ready to enroll online in UW Madison courses. You have merely to wait for the designated enrollment date and time that will be provided you by the International Programs Project Assistant.
Instructions for online enrollment are here.
Text-only instructions can be found here.
