Full Time Enrollment

If you are an undergraduate student, 12 hours is considered full time.

If you are a graduate student and do not have a graduate assistantship, 9 hours is considered full time.

If you are are a graduate assistant, 6 hours is considered full time.

 As an international student, only one online class per semester counts toward full-time enrollment. This means you must be enrolled in mostly traditional classes that require presence in a classroom.

Summer enrollment is not required unless it is your first semester of study.

Exemption from Full Time Enrollment

There are several acceptable reasons for a full time exemption. If you think you qualify for a full-time exemption, you and your academic advisor must complete a Exemption from Full-time Enrollment application (available in the Forms Library) and submit it at the ISS front desk. The following reasons may qualify you for a full-time exemption:

• You are in your first semester, and you have initial difficulty with the English language (1 semester maximum)
• You are in your first semester, and you have initial difficulty with reading requirements or teaching methods (1 semester maximum)
• You are placed in an improper course level (1 semester maximum)
• You have unfamiliarity with American teaching methods (1 semester maximum)
• You are in your final semester and don't need to enroll full-time in order to complete your coursework (1 semester maximum)
• You are a graduate student, your coursework is completed, and you are ABD (all but dissertation)* (6 semester maximum)
• You have a documented medical issue that is so severe that it prevents you from studying full-time (2 semester maximum)

Please note: If you are a graduate student, you also may need to complete a Special Enrollment (Z Status) Form with the Graduate School. Please contact the Graduate School for more information regarding this form.

*If you are ABD, you only need to submit the Full-Time Exemption Form once.