International Students

Enrollment

Enrollment Requirements

International students in F-1 and J-1 status must complete a full-time courseload each term with certain exceptions, outlined below. The full-time requirement is defined as follows:

  • 12 credits each quarter for undergraduate students
  • 12 credits each quarter for post-baccalaureate students
  • 9 credits each quarter for graduate students
  • 18 clock hours of attendance each week for students taking English classes in the Intensive English Language Program

You must receive permission from an international student advisor to drop below a full course of study before dropping or withdrawing from classes. If you are concerned you may not be able to complete a full course of study, please contact an international student advisor as soon as possible. Failure to do so may result in a violation of your immigration status.

Enrollment in Online Courses

During the pandemic, the federal government temporarily changed guidelines so that international students could take more online classes than usual. These changes continued through the 2022-2023 school year, but in Fall 2023, we will return to those usual enrollment rules.

Resuming in fall 2023, you will again be allowed to take just one fully online class, or 3 credits, as part of your minimum enrollment requirement. Attend Anywhere classes are considered to be online for immigration purposes. This restriction also applies when students are in their final term of study and eligible for a reduced courseload on that basis (see below). Read more about how these restrictions may apply to you, with examples of acceptable or unacceptable course loads.

If you are a sponsored student, you may face additional restrictions based on the rules of your sponsor. Most sponsoring organizations require that you limit your enrollment in hybrid or fully online credits to a maximum of 12 credits over the course of your entire degree program. Read more about individual sponsors' requirements and restrictions on hybrid and online coursework as part of your degree.

Grade modes

You may take classes for letter grades (A-F grading scale) or for Pass/No-Pass marks (P/NP). Not every course will have the option of earning a Pass/No-Pass mark, and many majors will require that students earn letter grades for required coursework for that major.

You may not count courses taken with the Audit (AU) grade mode toward your full course of study, because they do count as completed coursework. Dropping or withdrawing from a class also prevents that course from counting toward a full course of study for the term.

If you drop a course during the first two weeks of the term, there will be no record of the course on your transcript; after the second week, dropping a course results in a Withdrawal (W) being recorded on your transcript. Dropping or withdrawing from a course without approval from an international student advisor may violate the requirements of your F-1 status.

If you receive an F (failing grade), No-Pass (NP), or X (no basis for grade) mark for a course, you should contact your international student advisor as soon as possible. These marks will not immediately affect your status, but could have consequences in the future.

If you receive an Incomplete (I) mark, you should work with your professor to complete the requirements for that course as soon as possible. However, an Incomplete does not immediately impact your immigration status.

If you have a missing (M) mark for any of your courses more than two weeks after the end of the term, you should contact your professor to follow up about the status of your grade.

Co-Enrollment

F-1 international students may be simultaneously enrolled at two SEVP-certified schools for the same term to complete a full course of study. This is called “co-enrollment”. You should consult with your academic advisor to ensure that your co-enrollment will help you make normal progress toward the completion of your degree.

You must complete at least half of your full-time courseload at Portland State University if you have a PSU I-20. In most cases, this means that you will take at least 8 credits at Portland State, because classes are typically 4 credits each.

If you plan to co-enroll, you must report your enrollment at the other school by completing the Co-enrollment Schedule eform in WorldLink to document your enrollment outside of Portland State. You should submit this form no later than the end of the first week of the term in which you are co-enrolling.

After you have co-enrolled for a term, you must report the completion of your co-enrolled courses by submitting the Co-enrollment Grades eform in WorldLink. You should submit this form as soon as possible after final grades are entered at your co-enrollment school.

If you wish to earn transfer credit for your co-enrolled coursework, you must submit an official transcript to Portland State to be evaluated and applied toward your degree. If you plan to co-enroll at a community college for several terms, you may wish to consider applying for co-admission, which will automate the process of transferring credits from several local community colleges.

Exceptions to the Enrollment Requirements    

  Full-time enrollment is required for F-1 and J-1 international students each term. The exceptions to this requirement are described below. I tis important to remember that permission is always required from an international student advisor before you drop below a full course of study.

If you have concerns about your ability to complete a full courseload, please contact an international student advisor as soon as possible and before you drop any classes.

Reduced Courseload

You may be excused from enrolling in a full course of study for very limited reasons.

Reduced Courseload for Academic Reasons

You may be approved for one term of reduced courseload if you are experiencing certain academic difficulties. The academic difficulties that may be used to approve this type of reduced courseload are:

  • initial difficulties with English language or reading requirements
  • unfamiliarity with U.S. teaching methods, and
  • improper course level placement.

If you are approved for this type of reduced courseload, you must complete at least a half-time courseload (at least 6 credits, for undergraduate students, or 5 credits for graduate students).

Reduced Courseload for Medical Reasons

If you are experiencing a temporary illness or medical condition that is impacting your ability to complete a full courseload, you may request permission for a reduced courseload with the recommendation of a medical professional.

If you are an F-1 student, you must provide a recommendation from a licensed medical doctor, psychiatrist, doctor of osteopathy, licensed psychologist, or clinical psychologist. If you are a J-1 student, you must provide a recommendation from a medical doctor (including a psychiatrist).

If you are experiencing an illness or medical condition that is having an impact on your enrollment, please contact an international student advisor to discuss your situation with them and to begin the steps for requesting a medical reduced courseload.

Many times, you might first meet with a nurse, physician’s assistant, social worker, or another healthcare professional. You can share the information on this page with them so that they can help you get a recommendation for reducing your courseload from a healthcare provider that meets the requirements in the regulations.

Reduced Courseload in the Final Term

If you are in your final term of study and are taking your final courses for your degree, you can be considered full-time even if the total number of credits is less than the full-time requirement for your degree level. In this case, you should submit a Reduced Courseload Request in WorldLink by the beginning of your final term of study to document that your enrollment is equivalent to full-time for that term.

Please note that students may not enroll in more than one fully online course as part of their final term reduced courseload. If a student has only one course remaining to complete their degree, the student may not be enrolled only in a fully online course with a final term reduced courseload.

Reduced Courseload during Thesis or Dissertation

If you are a graduate student who has completed the required coursework for your degree and are working full time on your thesis, dissertation, or equivalent culminating project, you are eligible to register for fewer than 9 credits per term while continuing that academic work. You must register for at least 1 credit per term while continuing to work full time on your thesis or dissertation. You should submit a Reduced Courseload Request in WorldLink by the beginning of each term in which you will continue working on your thesis, dissertation, or final culminating project while registering for fewer than 9 credits.

Vacation Term

International students are allowed an annual vacation quarter during each academic year of full-time study. During your annual vacation term, you may remain in the U.S. without enrolling full time (you may either choose to enroll part time or to not enroll in any courses during that term).

You must meet both of the following requirements to be eligible for a vacation term:

  1. You have been full-time enrolled for at least three consecutive terms immediately before the vacation term.
  2. You will be enrolled full time for at least one more term after the vacation term.

You may not take a vacation term in the final quarter of your program of study. However, you may be eligible for a Reduced Courseload as described above.

Summer is automatically considered the annual vacation term for degree-seeking students studying at PSU, unless Summer is your first term at PSU. You are not required to request an annual vacation term in Summer.

If you choose to enroll full time during the Summer term, you may choose to request an alternate Vacation Term for Fall, Winter, or Spring. You must meet the other requirements for a vacation term listed above.

IELP students do not receive an automatic vacation term. You must always request a Vacation Term. You must also meet the eligibility requirements listed above.

Submit the Vacation Term Request in WorldLink.