Purpose
This handout is designed for students in F-1 and J-1 status. It will give you a basic understanding of the regulations of the Department of Homeland Security related to (1) the meaning of being a full-time student, and (2) the procedures/implications if you fail to maintain full time status.
Full-Time Status
Students must maintain full-time enrollment and normal full-time progress toward their degree as defined below:
- Undergraduate: 12 credits or more during each academic semester (not including summer vacation)
- Graduate: 9 credits or more during each regular academic semester. Students holding a research or teaching assistantship must also enroll for 9 credits to be considered full-time. Graduate students may maintain their full-time status by registering for the course D999, Maintenance of Matriculation, only after they have enrolled for all of their credits required for their degree but require time to complete their thesis/dissertation. Please consult your academic advisor to determine the precise requirements of your program.
- An F-1 or J-1 student at an academic institution is considered to be in full-time status during the summer vacation if the student is eligible and intends to register for the next fall term.
- A student who is compelled by an illness or other medical conditions to interrupt or reduce a full-time course of study is considered to be in status during the illness or medical condition IF the student can provide medical certificates, and the illness does not prevent the student from taking classes for a total period of more than one year. Please note a medical exemption cannot be requested before the start of the students full semester.
- A student in the final semester of course work is permitted to take only the number of credits required to complete the degree objective even if it is less than the full-time course load.
- A student on post-completion practical training (OPT) is considered to be maintaining status.
- Graduate students taking a Developmental English course are considered full time as follows: DE80 plus 3 credits; DE81 or DE82 plus 6 credits),
- Graduate students are considered full time if they are taking fewer than 9 credits if their academic adviser certifies that there are no other courses available on their study plan during a particular semester.
- USCIS permits only one distance learning course (3 credits) to be credited towards full-time requirements.
If a student has to take less than the number of credits normally considered full time in a particular semester, they must have on file a Certification of Full-Time Enrollment Form (signed by your academic advisor) at the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). This form should be turned in ONLY to the ISSS Office. The ISSS Office Director must also approve in advance all forms before any student is authorized to enroll for fewer than the number of credits normally considered full time, or to drop below full time or withdraw from Stevens during the course of a semester.
Attendance:
We also want to remind all students that they are expected to be attending classes beginning with the first day of the semester. If you miss one or more classes at the beginning of a semester, and you have not made advance arrangements with the course instructor, the instructor may not permit you to take the course. Should this happen, and you are not able to enroll for a full-time course load for this reason, you will not be eligible for a Certification of Full-time Enrollment Form.
WEBCAMPUS: FULLTIME-ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS
FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
With the increasing number of graduate courses offered via WebCampus, international students have begun to take some of their courses in the distance learning mode. Having this option can be helpful in many circumstances. Please be advised, however, that in order to maintain full-time status for immigration/visa purposes, an international student is only permitted to count one online course (3 credits) towards the 9 credits needed for full time status during each regular (fall and spring) semester they attend Stevens. Students in last semester may not enroll for only Web campus courses.
Note to Undergraduates:
With the increasing number of graduate courses offered via WebCampus, some international undergraduate students have begun to take a few of their courses in the distance learning mode. Having this option can be helpful in many circumstances. Please be advised, however, that in order to maintain full-time status for immigration/visa purposes, an international undergraduate student is only permitted to count one online course (3 credits) towards the 12 credits needed for full time status during each regular (fall and spring) semester they attend Stevens. This change brings Stevens policy into conformity with new USCIS regulations governing F-1 and J-1 student visas.
FULL-TIME REQUIREMENTS AND RESEARCH CREDITS FOR INTERNATIONAL PHD STUDENTS
Immigration requires all F-1 and J-1 students to be enrolled full-time in every regular (Fall and Spring) semester. At Stevens, the full-time requirement for all graduate students is 9 credits. This notice advises all Ph.D. students that they are required to enroll for 9 credits in every regular semester until they have enrolled for all research credits permitted at that point in their studies.
For example, a Ph.D. student who has not yet passed their qualifying exam is allowed to enroll for up to 10 research credits. Therefore, if a Ph.D. student is only able to take 3 or 6 credits of other course work in a particular semester, they are required to enroll in research credits sufficient to bring their total enrollment for that semester to 9 credits, unless they have already enrolled for the 10 research credits they are allowed at that point.
Likewise, a Ph.D. student who has passed their qualifying exam is required to have 30 research credits in total. If the student is able to take only 3 or 6 credits of regular course work (or none if they have finished all required courses), they are required to enroll in research credits sufficient to bring their total enrollment for that semester to 9 credits, until they have taken all 30 research credits. Once they have completed all course work and required research credits, they must enroll for D999, Maintenance of Matriculation, to maintain their full-time status until completion of their dissertation and degree.
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