Full Course of Study Requirements and Exceptions

• Exceptions to the full-course-of-study requirement
• Concurrent Enrollment

You are admitted to the United States for "duration of status (D/S)," defined as the period during which you are pursuing a full course of study in a bachelor's or master's degree, doctoral or post-doctoral program, and any periods of authorized practical training, plus 30 days within which to depart from the U.S. If you fail to comply with the immigration regulations that apply to J-1 status, you may be liable to expedited removal from the U.S., and your eligibility for employment authorization will be seriously affected.
An J-1 visa and J-1 student status may be granted to an alien "who is a bona fide student qualified to pursue a full course of study" at an academic or language institution authorized to admit international students. When applying for an J-1 visa, the individual must prove to a U.S. consular official that he or she wishes to enter the United States temporarily and solely for the purpose of study and that the applicant has a permanent residence in a foreign country which he/she does not intend to abandon.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires that you be enrolled full-time (12 credits, if undergraduate; 9 credits (8 credits with UM Assistantship) or 800 level course, if graduate; 11 credits for all Law programs) each academic semester, except during the semester you are graduating, when you need enroll only for the credits still needed. Completing an "Incomplete" does not count towards enrollment. In order to be enrolled part-time during an academic term, you must have valid justification such as illness.

International students can count no more than one online class or 3 credits, whichever is less, towards full-time enrollment requirements each semester. Students may enroll in additional in-person or online courses, as long as they meet the minimum enrollment requirements.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires that international students be enrolled full-time (12 credits, if undergraduate; 9 credits (8 credits with UM Assistantship) or 800 level course, if graduate; 11 credits for all Law programs).

Valid exceptions to full-time enrollment are limited to the reasons listed below.

Please note that with authorization to drop below full-course, you will still need to enroll in in-person classes and may not enroll in more than one online course or 3 credit equivalent during that semester.

In order to withdraw from full-time enrollment, you must complete the Authorize to Drop Below Full Course Request for Students in F-1 and J-1 Status. After logging in to complete the form with your Cane ID, you will be asked for your academic advisor's contact information. Your advisor will receive an email asking them to review and electronically sign the form.  You will receive email notification on the status of your application.  If eligible for an authorized drop below full course load, you will be notified that your new DS-2019 will be mailed to you within 3 business days.  

Valid exceptions to full-time enrollment:

• Current semester is student’s last semester prior to graduation.
• Student has suffered an illness or medical condition which affected his/her academic work (Student must upload medical documentation from a licensed medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, psychiatrist or licensed psychologist).
• Student has difficulty with the English language (applicable only to first-year students).
• Student is unfamiliar with American teaching methods or reading requirements (applicable only to first-year students).
• Student was placed at an improper course level.

If the student withdraws from a full-time course load or registers for a part-time course load without a valid reason, he/she is considered to be out-of-status for immigration purposes.

Summer Sessions

Most international students are not required to enroll for the Summer Sessions. However, students graduating in the Summer are required to enroll for at least one in-person class in the Summer Session in which they will complete their program requirements. Students beginning a new program in the summer must be enrolled full-time and in person in the session they will begin their studies.

1. You are currently in J-1 status and will continue to maintain J-1 status; and
2. You will continue to be enrolled at UM for the program of study specified on your Form DS-2019; and
3. The combined credits for which you will enroll at UM and at a second school in the U.S. amount to a full course of study (i.e., 12 credits for undergraduate students, 9 credits for graduate students, 11 credits for all Law programs during fall and spring semesters); and
4. Course work at the second school must not be vocational and must be accepted as credits transferable to UM and applicable to the degree you are pursuing at UM.

1. Concurrent Enrollment Application completed by you and your UM academic advisor; and
2. Letter of Certification Application completed by you. The letter of certification is for you to give to the SEVIS-approved school in order to register.