Professional Student Exchange Program
WICHE's Professional Student Exchange Program enables students in 12 western states to enroll in selected out-of-state professional programs usually because those fields of study are not available at public institutions in their home states.
Benefits
Students enrolled in WICHE Profefssional Student Exchange Program receive preference in admission. They pay reduced levels of tuition: for most students, resident tuition in public institutions or reduced standard tuition at private schools. The home state pays a support fee to the admitting school to help cover the cost of students' education. Fields supported by your state are listed below. State support and program participation affecting students are subject to change by legislative or administrative action. The number of students supported by each state is determined through state legislative appropriations.
How WICHE Determines which Applicants Receive Support
Professional Education in 10 Healthcare Fields
Click on each for a list of states that support students in that field and a complete listing of participating professional schools. (Years shown in parentheses are the normal maximum for WICHE support.)
- DENTISTRY (4 Academic Years)
- MEDICINE (4 Academic Years)
- OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY (2 Academic Years)
- OPTOMETRY (4 Academic Years)
- OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (4 Academic Years)
- PHARMACY (Varies)
- PHYSICAL THERAPY (3 Academic Years)
- PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT (Varies)
- PODIATRY (4 Academic Years)
- VETERINARY MEDICINE (4 Academic Years)
For current information and application materials for the Professional Student Exchange Program, contact your State Certifying Officer. If your field of interest does not appear on this list, we encourage you to look at our Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) offerings. WRGP offers more than 200 distinctive high quality programs, many of which are in the health professions.
Look here for more information on How to Apply for WICHE PSEP support from your state.
Download the ADMISSIONS REPORT form for participating schools
Professional Healthcare Fields Support, By State
See the chart below to determine if your state supports students through WICHE’s PSEP in your field of study. Please note that residents of California, Oregon and South Dakota are not eligible to enroll through PSEP; however, many healthcare programs in these states do enroll (receive) WICHE PSEP students from other WICHE states.
FIELD
|
SENDING STATES
|
|
Allopathic Medicine |
MT, WY |
|
Dentistry |
AK, AZ, HI, MT, NM, ND, WY |
|
Occupational Therapy |
AK, AZ, HI, MT, WY |
|
Optometry |
AK, CO, AZ, HI, ID, MT, NV, ND, UT, WA, WY |
|
Osteopathic Medicine |
AZ, MT, WA, WY |
|
Pharmacy |
AK, HI, NV |
|
Physical Therapy |
AK, HI, WY |
|
Physician Assistant |
AK, AZ, NV, WY |
|
Podiatry |
AK, MT, UT, WY |
|
Veterinary Medicine |
AZ, HI, MT, NV, NM, ND, UT, WY |











