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F1 Students - Reduced Courseload

Academic Reasons:

Full-time enrollment is REQUIRED. 12 credits for undergraduates; 9 credits for graduates. ISSS advisors may only authorize ONE term of underenollment due to compelling academic reasons per degree program. The underenrollment must be authorized by the IES advisor prior to the 4th week of the term of underenrollment. Full-time enrollment must resume the following term. If you are having difficulties in your courses, talk to an ISSS advisor about your options immediately!

Medical Reasons:

ISSS advisors can authorize up to a total of 12 months of reduced courseload due to medical reasons. This must be supported by documentation from a Medical Doctor, Osteopath or licensed Psychologist. Social workers or alternative medical providers (i.e. naturopaths, homeopathic providers, etc.) are NOT authorized to provide documentation for underenrollment. Medical reasons are valid only if directly related to the student. Medical documentation for F-2 dependents is not valid for course load reduction for the F-1 student.

Final Term of Study:

Students may be underenrolled during the final term of study. The student must notify the ISSS office if it is his or her final term of study prior to the 4th week of classes of the student’s final term.

Graduate thesis/dissertation/project:

Graduate students who have completed all necessary coursework for their degree program may be enrolled for as few as 1 research or project credit per term while working full-time on their thesis, dissertation, comprehensive exams or graduate project. This is considered full-time enrollment. The student's academic advisor must sign Reduced Courseload Form each term during the research period, which must be submitted to the ISSS office by the second week of the term.