Enrollment Requirements and Reduced Courseloads

Federal regulations require J-1 students to be full-time enrolled each fall and spring semester. The summer term is considered a vacation term, so enrollment is not required unless it is your first semester in J-1 status (in which case full-time enrollment is required).

For undergraduate students, 12 credit hours is required to be considered full-time. In general, graduate students must enroll for at least 9 credit hours per semester. Graduate students should confirm with their academic program the minimum full-time hours per term, as this can vary by academic program.

Graduate students in PhD programs who have completed all their coursework only need to enroll in the zero-credit research course, which is considered full-time.

There are very few exceptions to full-time enrollment, and any exception must be authorized by ISSS (or the program sponsor that issued your DS-2019) in advance. The exceptions include:

• Bona fide academic reason (such as improper course placement or another compelling academic reason)
• Illness or medical condition
• Final semester of your program

Please consult your ISSS advisor if you are in any of the above situations or have questions about enrollment.

International Student Hold

What does the hold mean? This means that you will not be able to drop below a full course of study without permission from ISSS.

What is the purpose of this hold? The purpose of the hold is to prevent you from dropping below full-time and unknowingly putting your immigration status in jeopardy.  Remember that, as an international student, you are required to maintain a full course of study each semester.

What if I want to add or drop a class? Submit an add/drop form to your Office of Academic Services (or equivalent for your program). If the change is approved, they will forward your form to the University Registrar’s Office (URO) for processing. If you are requesting to drop a class and the drop will put you below full-time, approval from ISSS will be needed before the change can be processed.

How do I get authorization to drop below Full-Time from ISSS? Reducing your course load below full-time can only be approved by ISSS in certain circumstances.  Since there are very few circumstances in which this can be approved, it is best to discuss your situation with an ISSS advisor to see if you qualify. After you speak with your ISSS advisor, you may submit a  Reduced Course Load Authorization (RCL) Request on the ISSS Portal.