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International Student & Scholar Services

Full-time Enrollment and Reduced Courseloads

F-1 regulations require all undergraduate students to enroll for at least 12 credit hours per semester. 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.

Reduced Courseload

Each semester, ISSS must report to the Department of Homeland Security to confirm if students are full-time enrolled. Those who do not maintain a full course of study will be considered out of legal status and face serious consequences. Students must be full-time each fall or spring semester. Enrollment during the summer is not required for the purpose of status maintenance unless it is your first semester in F-1 status – in which case, full-time enrollment is required.

In a few very specific situations, F-1 students may be authorized to enroll part-time. They are the following:

  1. Academic reasons: These can only be used during a student’s first year of study, and only once per academic level.
    • Initial difficulty with the English language or reading requirements
    • Unfamiliarity with American teaching methods
    • Improper course level placement
  2. Last semester of study (if you do not need a full courseload to finish)
  3. Concurrent enrollment at both Vanderbilt and another U.S. institution (total combined enrollment at each institution must be full-time)
  4. Illness or medical condition: limited to 12 months per degree level. Documentation from a licensed medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, or licensed clinical psychologist is required before this can be approved.

If any of the above exceptions apply to you, you MUST see an ISSS advisor to get permission prior to the start of the semester or as soon as you know you will not be enrolled full time at Vanderbilt University. You are not permitted to enroll part-time unless and until you have authorization from ISSS.

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.

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