Last revised: 2009 Aug 10

After being accepted by SIL-UND, most students need to submit some documents and information to the University of North Dakota before the summer begins. There are forms for applying for admission to UND, special requirements for international students, and a form for Student Health Services. The specific items that you need to submit are listed in your letter of acceptance, but just in case you need it, here is a complete explanation of who needs to do what before they arrive in Grand Forks. Actual registration for classes is normally done after you arrive on campus on the first Monday of the SIL-UND session.

This page only describes what you do after you have been accepted by SIL. Every student (including UND degree students) needs to apply to SIL every year that they want to take classes. If you haven't been accepted yet, see our application information (www.und.sil.org/apply.htm). Also, the information below only covers the materials that you submit to UND. SIL also needs some further information from you to prepare for your arrival and you must pay certain fees to SIL before your application is considered complete. These matters are handled in stage 2 of your SIL-UND application; if you have not completed this stage, see the information for accepted participants (www.und.sil.org/participants.htm).

A. Applying for admission to UND

Before you can register for SIL classes, you need to apply for admission to UND. We recommend you do this right away, but definitely do it by May 1. (International students should submit their application to UND by March 1, and preferably earlier, along with other special requirements described below.)

There are different forms to use depending on what category of student you fit into. First, you must decide if you will register as an undergraduate or a graduate student. Basically, the difference is that graduate students have completed a 4-year college or university degree at an accredited US institution (or equivalent degree in another country); undergraduate students have not. You don't have to be in a graduate degree program to be considered a graduate student at UND; all that counts is whether you have completed a 4-year accredited degree.

This means that graduate credit is only available for students who have actually completed a 4-year accredited degree; if you have not done so yet, you must enroll as an undergraduate student and take all your courses for undergraduate credit (even if they are graduate-level courses). On the other hand, even if you are eligible to be considered a graduate student, you can, if you wish, register as an undergraduate student (and receive undergraduate credit for your classes).

What if you don't have an accredited undergraduate degree now but will finish one before the beginning of SIL? If your degree is from a U.S. institution, go ahead and apply as a graduate student. If your degree is from outside the U.S. and you need a student visa, you should apply now as an undergraduate student so you can receive an I-20 on time (see below). Bring evidence of your degree (transcript and diploma) with you to campus this summer and you will be able to change to non-degree graduate status at that time.

Once the graduate vs. undergraduate question is settled, there are some finer distinctions to make; read the options below to decide what you need to do. If you're not sure which application form to submit, contact us for advice.

• Undergraduate students who have never before enrolled at UND: Submit the special SIL version of UND's undergraduate application for admission, which should have been sent to you with your acceptance letter. (If you need a copy, contact us.) Mail it to UND Admissions, ATTN: Mary Austreng, 205 Twamley Hall, 2264 Centennial Dr. Stop 8357, Grand Forks ND 58202-8357. The regular UND undergraduate admissions fee is waived for SIL students.
• Undergraduate students who were enrolled at UND previously (including a previous summer at SIL) but not during the immediately preceding spring semester: Submit the SIL version of the UND Request for Readmission, which should have been sent to you with your acceptance letter. (If you need a copy, contact us.) Mail it to UND Admissions, ATTN: Mary Austreng, 205 Twamley Hall, 2264 Centennial Dr. Stop 8357, Grand Forks ND 58202-8357.
• Undergraduate students who are enrolled at UND during the immediately preceding spring semester: There is nothing further that you need to do; you are automatically eligible to register for the summer. We suggest you wait to register for classes until SIL begins, so that you can receive advising from the SIL faculty. If for some reason you need to register earlier, please contact us for instructions. See also the Information for Regular UND Students (www.und.sil.org/guideUNDstudents.htm).
• Graduate students who have never before enrolled as a graduate student at UND and are not planning to enter the MA program at this time (see discussion below): Apply to UND as a non-degree graduate student. You can apply online or on paper by going to www.graduateschool.und.edu/html/landingpage-connect.html. (Be sure to read all instructions; when it asks for “Proposed Graduate Program”, choose “SUMMER INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS”.) There is a $35 application fee payable to UND. You do not need essays, a statement of purpose, letters of recommendation or test scores to enroll as a non-degree student. Some students may need to submit a transcript of undergraduate work; see below.
• Graduate students who have enrolled as a non-degree graduate student in the last five years and want to do so again this summer: Notify graduate school admissions that you will be returning this summer so that they can enable your registration; include your full name and EmplID number. That's all you need to do unless you want to apply to the M.A. program in linguistics (see discussion below).
• Graduate students who want to enter the MA program in linguistics immediately (see discussion below): Submit the regular application for admission to the graduate school. You can apply either online or on paper at www.graduateschool.und.edu/html/landingpage-connect.html. (For your degree program, do not choose “SUMMER INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS” but instead scroll down the list to “Linguistics (M.A.)”.) There is an application fee of $35, plus special requirements such as transcripts and letters of recommendation. (GRE scores are not required.) It is best if the application is complete before the beginning of the summer session.
• Graduate students who have applied to or have been accepted into the M.A. program in linguistics or another UND graduate program: If you are not enrolled at UND during the immediately preceding spring semester, notify graduate school admissions that you will be returning this summer so that they can enable your registration; include your full name and EmplID number. If you are on campus year-round, you may find it helpful to read the Information for Regular UND Students (www.und.sil.org/guideUNDstudents.htm). We suggest you wait to register for classes until SIL begins, so that you can receive advising from the SIL faculty. If for some reason you need to register earlier, please contact us for instructions.

Graduate students: Non-degree or degree?: Most graduate students should plan to register as non-degree students. You do not need to enter the M.A. program in linguistics to take SIL classes for UND graduate credit. Non-degree status makes the most sense for people who do not want an M.A., or who plan to pursue an M.A. elsewhere (in which case you might also want to read the separate information about transferring UND courses to another university). Even if you are interested in eventually pursuing an M.A. at UND, you can postpone application to the degree program until after your first summer of classes at SIL; any courses you take for graduate credit during that first summer can still count toward the degree.

There are two main reasons you might want to submit the regular application for the M.A. program in linguistics instead of the non-degree application:

• If you have already taken one summer of graduate (500-level) SIL courses as a non-degree graduate student, you will need to apply and be accepted to the M.A. program before the beginning of the summer session if you want to use your previous credits towards a degree at UND.
• Even if you have not taken previous graduate courses from SIL-UND, if you are sure you want to do an M.A. in linguistics at UND, go ahead and submit the degree application now. (You can save paying the application fee twice if you apply immediately to the degree program, but that should not be the deciding factor if you are not yet sure you want to do an M.A. at UND.)

If neither of these two reasons apply, you should probably submit the non-degree application. It's simpler (especially if your undergraduate degree is from outside the U.S.) and it will give you a chance to check out linguistics and SIL before committing yourself to a degree program. (If you have questions about special circumstances you may have, contact us.)

Transcripts required for certain graduate students: If you want to register as a non-degree graduate student and your undergraduate work is from outside the U.S., the Graduate School needs to evaluate your undergraduate degree to see if it is equivalent to an accredited U.S. degree. In this case, you must submit an official copy of your transcript which lists the undergraduate courses you took and your diploma. Generally, you should ask the school that issues the transcript to send a copy directly to the Graduate School. If the transcript is not in English, then the graduate school may ask you for a translation at a later date (although the translation does not need to be officially-certified for non-degree students). If there are problems in providing a transcript (or a translation), please contact us immediately.

If you want to apply to the M.A. program instead of enrolling as a non-degree student, you will be required to submit official transcripts of all previous college or university study plus certified translations of any documents that are not in English. Because of these extra requirements for enrolling as a degree student, we strongly recommend that students with foreign degrees apply to UND as non-degree students unless they are absolutely certain they want to pursue an M.A. at UND.

B. Special requirements for international students

There are special requirements to pay attention to if you are not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.A.

It is best to submit your application materials to UND by March 1. Applications after that date may not allow enough time to process all the documents required, or may require you to pay fees for express delivery. If the process of getting a visa in your country is particularly lengthy, you may need to apply to UND even earlier than this.

Most international students will need an I-20 form from UND in order to obtain a student (F-1) visa. (Canadian citizens do not need a student visa, but they still need an I-20 to show to immigration officials when they enter the United States.) If you need an I-20, you should note the following on your application form: "Please issue an I-20 form for my student visa."

Also, if you need an I-20, you will need to fill out a "Certification of Finances" form for SIL-UND, which should have been sent to you with your acceptance letter. (If you need a copy, contact us. Do not use any Certification of Finances form that is available on the UND website.) Submit it along with your application to UND.

Graduate international students must demonstrate proficiency in English before they can be issued an I-20. This can be done in various ways, such as:

• By citizenship and education in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, or New Zealand.
• By earning a degree from a U.S. college or university.
• Through test scores from the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language, www.ets.org/toefl): minimum 550 on the paper-based test, 213 on the computer-based test, or comparable scores on the Internet-based test (reading 19/30, listening 19/30, speaking 23/30, writing 15/30).
• Through test scores from the IELTS (International English Language Testing System, www.ielts.org): minimum 5.5 composite score.
• Through classes in the ELS (English Language Service, www.els.edu): completion of level 112.

If you want to apply as a graduate student but cannot pay the application fee through UND's online graduate application (which requires a credit card or electronic check), and cannot provide a U.S. dollar check with a paper application, contact us so that we can work out alternative arrangements.

C. Student Health requirements

If you have never attended UND before, you should submit the Student Health form available at www.undstudenthealth.com/PDFs/health_history.pdf. The only required parts of this form are your name, address, and your immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), which you must complete in order to register for classes. Everything else on the form is optional but can be helpful if you need to be treated by Student Health Services while on campus. Mail it to Student Health Services at the address indicated on the form so that it will arrive there well before June 1, or bring it with you to campus. If you have questions, see www.undstudenthealth.com/requirements.html or contact the Student Health Service at 701-777-4500.

D. Registration and payment for classes

Actual registration for classes is normally done on Monday of the first week of classes (see the SIL-UND calendar at www.und.sil.org/dates.htm). There will be an orientation to the SIL-UND program at 8:30 that morning in which detailed instructions will be given. Academic advisors will be available to answer any remaining questions you may have about what courses to take.

Even if you are enrolled at UND during the immediately preceding spring semester, we suggest you wait until this orientation session to register for classes. If for some reason you must register earlier, please contact the SIL-UND director for advising and permission to register.

All tuition and fees for SIL classes are paid directly to SIL, not to UND. If you receive a bill for SIL classes from UND, please do not pay it, but bring it to the attention of the SIL director or registrar so it can be cancelled.