Overall Admissions Process
1. Nomination by Home Institution
Home institutions will select the students for which they will be nominated to apply to Pitt as an exchange student. Guest students will not require a formal nomination. However, guest students should inform their home institution of the intent to study abroad at Pitt.
2. Pitt Application
For exchange student applicants, once Pitt has received the formal nomination from the home institution, Pitt will send instructions for the application via email. Guest student applicants should contact Pitt directly for application instructions. See the Eligibility page for a list of the required documents. Pitt will inform applicants of the admission decision after the respective application deadline by email. This will be the official means of notification and no hardcopy admission letter will be sent. Admitted students will be required to commit to the admission offer before any further action will be taken for the visa, registration and on-campus housing application processes.
3. Visa Application
After committing, admitted students will be notified by Pitt's Office of International Services on how to initiate the visa application process. Students must log into myOIS in order to begin the process. Generally-speaking, students without a U.S. passport studying abroad at Pitt will be issued a J-1 visa status. For general information, please see the U.S. Government's J-1 student visa program website.
4. Pre-Departure & Arrival
Committed students should regularly check the assigned Pitt email inboxes for important information related to course registration and housing options. Upon arrival, incoming students should attend OIS's International Student Check-in as well as the New Student Orientation events.
5. Return
Departing exchange students should check-in with the Pitt Study Abroad Office to make sure that the appropriate paperwork has been completed to send the official transcript to the home institution. Departing guest students should check-in with the Transcripts Office for procedures on how to obtain copies of the official transcript for transfer of credit back to the home institution.
Studying abroad at Pitt requires multiple steps. It is especially important for incoming exchange students to understand that an application is first submitted to the home institution, followed by a separate application to Pitt.
Incoming students, both exchange and guest, must also be prepared to navigate the academic catalog at Pitt, handle course registration and often organize their housing situation, be it on-campus or off-campus.
FALL SEMESTER/FULL YEAR
SPRING SEMESTER
NOMINATION DEADLINE
MARCH 1
OCTOBER 1
APPLICATION PERIOD
MARCH
OCTOBER
APPLICATION DEADLINE
MARCH 25
OCTOBER 15
DECISION
Mid-APRIL
Mid-NOVEMBER
VISA PROCESS
MAY – JULY
DECEMBER
REGISTRATION
MAY
DECEMBER
ORIENTATION
Mid-AUGUST
Early JANUARY
CLASSES BEGIN
Late AUGUST
Early JANUARY
CLASSES END
Early DECEMBER
Mid-APRIL
EXAM PERIOD
Mid-DECEMBER
Late-APRIL
TRANSCRIPTS SENT
(Exchange Students Only)
Mid-JANUARY
Mid-MAY
Students are expected to proactively contact and meet with the Study Abroad Office's Exchange Program Manager, Shawn Alfonso Wells, and prepare to work through any challenges that they may face in enrolling at Pitt. For further details, please review the individual steps below. For additional information, download the 2022-23 Spring Fact Sheet.