UW-Madison has a very short exam period compared to many universities across the world. Our exam period is a week long and occurs immediately at the end of the semester. You are not required to stay for the entire exam period if all of your work is complete. So, if all of your exams are in the first 3 days, you are finished and free to leave campus. You are allowed to say goodbye to friends, pack, and travel within the United States for up to 30 days after the end date on your DS-2019 form.
Your final grades are usually posted to Student Center about a week after the end of the exam period. Once your final grades are posted, you will need to make a request online to send an official transcript to your home institution.
Transcripts are free for all exchange students. You may choose from the following options:
- The Office of the Registrar will send a paper transcript to your home institution. Regular first-class mail is no cost. Express/courier mail is an extra fee.
- The Office of the Registrar will email a secure link to an official downloadable PDF transcript to a contact of your choice at your home institution.
If your home institution accepts PDF transcripts, we recommend this option. It will take just a few minutes for the request to process and your home institution will have immediate access to your official transcript!
Exchange students must log in to the Office of the Registrar’s transcript order system to request their official transcript. Your official transcript will not be sent to your home institution if you do not complete this step.
If you need verification that you were enrolled at UW-Madison, you can print out an official enrollment verification through Student Center. This includes the term you were enrolled, term dates, and a signature and stamp from the Office of the Registrar.
Orientation
Together, your online and on-site orientation will set you up for success at UW-Madison. We recommend that you watch our online orientation video modules a few weeks prior to your arrival on campus.