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Student looking away smilingPlease do not contact this university directly.
Otago exchange students at Willamette will be of Māori descent with an active interest in whānau, hapū, and Iwi development.
For all enquiries please first contact the Office of Māori Development: maori.development@otago.ac.nz and Exchange Office at exchange@otago.ac.nz.
Last updated May 2022

Academic information

Course Information

Semester Dates

  • Academic Year: August – May
  • Fall Semester: August – December
  • Spring Semester: January – May
  • Academic Calendar

Course Load and Minimum Unit Requirements

Willamette (WU) uses a unit system where 1.0 credit equals 4.0 credits in a traditional semester system. Students must take at least 3.0 credits (=12) to satisfy the U.S. immigration requirement for full-time enrolment. The exchange allows students to take up to 4.5 credits (=18). A normal course load for a WU student is between 3.0 and 4.5 credits.

Accommodation and the cost of living

Willamette Accommodation

Estimated cost of living

Student visa and insurance

Student Visa & Insurance information

U.S. Department of State

The University, city, and region

The University

Willamette University is a private liberal arts college located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and post-graduate schools of business and law. Approximately 2,800 students are enrolled at Willamette between the graduate and undergraduate programmes. The school employs over 200 full-time professors on the 69-acre (280,000 m2) campus located across the street from the Oregon State Capitol.

Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated outgrowth of the Methodist Mission. The name was changed to Wallamet University in 1852, followed by the current spelling in 1870. Willamette founded the first medical school and law school in the Pacific Northwest in the second half of the 19th century.

Willamette University

The City of Salem

Salem is the capital of the US state of Oregon and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the centre of the Willamette Valley. Salem was founded in 1842 and became the capital of the Oregon Territory in 1851.

Salem has a population of 170,000 making it the third largest city in the state after Portland and Eugene. Salem is less than an hour's drive from Portland.

The City of Salem

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