An exchange student is a student who is coming to NMSU to study for one to two semesters from one of our partner institutions or via the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC), or the National Student Exchange (NSE) program. Exchange students are admitted to NMSU as non-degree students. If you are not sure if you are an exchange student, please contact globalvl@nmsu.edu.

We recommend that all students, regardless of immigration status, apply as early as possible. Course registration opens mid-late April for fall applicants and late November/early December for spring applicants. Until students have been fully admitted to NMSU, they will not be allowed to register for courses or apply for housing. For all students attending NMSU on a J-1 visa, the application dates are as follows:

Deadlines for International Exchange Students

Fall Applications

1. Program Materials Deadline (uploaded into NMSU Education Abroad Portal)
   1. Applications Open: March 15
   2. Deadline: April 15
2. NMSU Admissions Application 
   1. Applications Open: April 1
   2. Deadline: May 1
3. DS-2019 creation and mailing
   1. End of May

Spring Applications

1. Program Materials Deadline (uploaded into NMSU Education Abroad Portal)
   1. Applications Open: September 15
   2. Deadline: October 15
2. NMSU Admissions Application
   1. Applications Open: October 1
   2. Deadline: November 1
3. DS-2019 creation and mailing
   1. Mid-November

Deadlines for National Student Exchange Students with a U.S. Passport

Fall Applications

1. Program Materials Deadline (uploaded into NMSU Education Abroad Portal)
   1. Applications Open: March 15
   2. Deadline: June 1
2. NMSU Admissions Application 
   1. Applications Open April 1
   2. Deadline: July 1

Spring Applications

1. Program Materials Deadline (uploaded into NMSU Education Abroad Portal)
   1. Application Open: September 15
   2. Deadline: November 1
2. NMSU Admissions Application 
   1. Application Open: October 1
   2. Deadline: December 1

Note: In order to provide the best selection of classes to exchange students, deadlines are non-negotiable.

International Exchange: Home university nomination – all students that are nominated are contacted personally by the NMSU Incoming Advisor. If you have not been contacted, please check that your home university has nominated you.

National Student Exchange: Placement confirmed within the NSE portal. Once you have been nominated and approved to proceed, the next step is to upload the required documents to your Education Abroad account.

Select one of the following incoming exchange programs and click on “Create Account”:

1. International Exchange Students
2. National Student Exchange Students

Once you have successfully logged into your study abroad portal, you will see the required signature documents and questionnaires.  You need to read and sign the signature documents and complete the questionnaires.  You will also need to upload a current transcript that has been translated into English, a current passport photocopy, and recent TOEFL/IELTS test scores if you are not a native English speaker. 

NMSU will only accept the following tests/minimum scores:

Undergraduate

TOEFL iBT:  68

TOEFL PBT: 520

IELTS:  6

Cambridge Test (CAE/CPE): C2

Duolingo: 95

Graduate

TOEFL iBT:  68-79

TOEFL PBT: 549-550

IELTS:  6.0-6.5

Cambridge Test (CAE/CPE): C1

Duolingo: 104-105

Once you have finished all the application materials, email globalvl@nmsu.edu to move on to the next step. Once your application has been approved, you will then be instructed to apply for admission to NMSU.  Do not apply for admissions prior to verification of a completed application. 

After your application is created, you can continue accessing your application by logging in to the Education Abroad Application portal using the “log in with Portal Account” button.