Please 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
Estimated cost of living
Student visa and insurance
Student Visa & Insurance information
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.
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.