International Programs > Exchange Students > Courses

Courses

Just like degree-seeking Madison students, international exchange students can enroll in courses during the semester directly preceding their stay in Madison.  Assuming the application process is on 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 Business 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.

Please be aware courses fill up or may not be available during all semesters. We can not guarantee you will be able to register in a particular course. Be prepared to be flexible with your course choices.

Please read this first.

The Course Guide is a catalog of courses and it will have links to a public access Class Search which has schedule details for each semester. The information is also part of a student's MyUW pages through Class Search. Information 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. It also includes the scheduled time of the final exam. If a course is not listed in your Class Search, it is not offered that semester and you must choose a different course. The timetable in .pdf format is not updated and should be used with caution. It does include the scheduled time of the final exam.  You MUST remain in Madison through the time of your last final. Exam schedules may not be changed.

The timetable for fall 2009 is now available. It can be viewed as a pdf file from our Registrar's page.

Course syllabi are available. You can also read brief descriptions of undergraduate level business courses and MBA level courses.

Before selecting your Business courses, check here to see if there are any restrictions. If a course is "restricted," international exchange students are not allowed to enroll in it. If you do manage to enroll online, the International Programs office will contact you and you must drop it. Please do not email Business professors about restricted courses. Our office will help you with other enrollment problems. You may take no more than three courses in the same department during a semester. Be aware that upper level courses, finance courses in particular, have pre-requisites. We will be checking your trancripts carefully. If a course has filled, please contact us. Business professors may not admit any students before the first day of class.

You may or may not be able to enroll in courses outside the School of Business, 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 School of Business, it is your responsibility to e-mail the professor for individual authorization. You may be asked for evidence of your course pre-requisites.

Search the University's directory for professors' email addresses and let International Programs know if you have questions.

 

Ask yourself the following questions before you enroll…

·    Did you check Class Search and then make a wish list i nyour MyUW to be sure all the courses you selected are offered the semester you will attend UW-Madison (step 2)?

·    Did you check the list of restrictions (step 4)?

·    Is there space available in the course?

·    If you're an undergrad, did you select courses number 699 or lower (step 1)?

·   Did you avoid courses that meet at the same times?

·    Did you check the exam date and time? Please try to avoid scheduling courses with exams at the same time. In addition, exams may not be changed for any reason other than conflict with another exam and some professors refuse even then. You must stay in Madison until after your last exam. No exceptions will be made.

 

 

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 International Programs after your application has been processed. Please see the step-by-step instructions for activating this account.

You will be able to activate your MyUW account beginning in March or April for fall students and early November for spring students. International Programs will send an email with the necessary information.

(Activating your MyUW account establishes your university email account. Please send an email to internationaladvisor@bus.wisc.edu telling us of your new email address at UW Madison. All university communications will go to this email. Please check it regularly.)

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. Students enrolling for spring 2010 courses will be allowed to enroll beginning on November 12, 2009.  Instructions for online enrollment are here at Accessing web enrollment. If you encounter closed courses, contact our office, not the professor. Business professors may not admit any students before the first day of class. You may have to check the timetable regularly through the period before you arrive to note when a space opens up - then enroll immediately. Please remember we can never guarantee that a course you need will be available to you. You must be flexible in your choices.

If you have any questions at all about this process, please contact the International Programs Project Assistant at internationaladvisor@bus.wisc.edu for assistance.