Reduced Course Load

Eligibility

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires F-1 status students to be enrolled in a full-time course of study. A full course load is defined as 12 credit hours for undergraduate students, of which at least 9 must be in-person credits, and 9 credit hours for graduate students, of which at least 6 must be in-person credits.

The student must remain enrolled full-time until after the Designated School Official has issued an I-20 with Reduced Course Load approved for a specified period of time. Failing to enroll in a full-time course load or dropping a course resulting in below full-time study before obtaining Reduced Course Load approval on your I-20 may adversely affect your F-1 status immediately or in the future.

Limited exceptions under which an F-1 student may be approved on their I-20 to register part-time:

Academic Reasons
  • First semester in the United States and has English language deficiencies
  • In the first semester of academic studies in the United States and is unfamiliar with the education system.
  • Has initial difficulties with the reading requirement – For first semester or change of academic level
  • Improper course-level placement – Course prerequisites limitations
Medical Illness or Medical Condition
  • Must provide medical documentation from a U.S. licensed medical doctor, U.S. licensed doctor of osteopathy, or U.S. licensed clinical psychologist.

NOTE: To receive a Reduced Course Load for a medical reason, you must provide a letter that meets the following requirements:

  • on medical office letterhead with U.S. address and dated
  • states your full name and either your Marymount ID number or your date of birth
  • states that either Reduced Course Load or zero course load is recommended for you for a specific semester with dates due to a temporary illness or medical condition and specifies mode of delivery, if applicable
  • signed by a U.S. licensed medical doctor, U.S. licensed doctor of osteopathy, or U.S. licensed clinical psychologist
Last Semester
  • The student has less than full-time requirements remaining to complete degree requirements and it is the student’s final semester.

Apply for Reduced Course Load Approval

If you are eligible for an exception (listed in the section above), complete the following steps:

  1. Log into your ISSS portal and proceed to Tab 4
  2. Click on the icon that says “Reduced Course Load Request Add”
  3. Fill in the semester start and end dates
  4. Select the reason that you are requesting a Reduced Course Load. For example, if it is your last semester and you only need 6 credits, then select “To Complete Degree Study”
  5. Confirm you understand and attest to filling out the correct information
  6. If you are submitting your request based on Medical Reduced Course Load, please upload the medical letter. (If you are not requesting Reduced Course Load on medical, you can move on to the next section of the online request form.)
  7. Add your Academic Advisor’s name and email address. This will send an email to your Academic Advisor to request that they confirm your credit load information. This is a required step the ISSS Advisor will review your request.
  8. Click Submit

Once received by ISSS, allow up to 10 business days for review. If we have questions or need more information, we will contact you through your Marymount student email account.

 

 

10/03/2024