Can international students be enrolled in two universities at the same time?

International students may find courses that they would like to take from nearby colleges/universities that the home university does not provide. In this case, the student is not necessarily interested in transferring out but would like to take just one or two classes.

Can international students be enrolled in two different universities at the same time? The short answer is “yes.” International students can be concurrently enrolled in two different universities. The immigration regulation “concurrent enrollment” can be attractive when international students cannot register for the required course for graduation but found available one in other universities. Or students can take English courses from other institutions while taking degree-related programs from their home universities.

International students who are interested in taking classes from two different universities at the same time are encouraged to read this blog post carefully to be aware of concurrent enrollment rules such as full-time requirements. This blog post will also discuss how students can transfer back the credits.

Contents

• Concurrent enrollment
• How to transfer credits back to the home university

Concurrent enrollment

The immigration regulation 8 CFR 214.2(f)(6)(iv) allows international students to take classes from different institutions but there are two conditions;

• the school that the student plans to take classes should be a SEVP-certified school; and
• the student needs to register for the full course of study.

(iv) Concurrent enrollment. An F-1 student may be enrolled in two different Service-approved schools at one time as long as the combined enrollment amounts to a full time course of study. In cases where a student is concurrently enrolled, the school from which the student will earn his or her degree or certification should issue the Form I-20, and conduct subsequent certifications and updates to the Form I-20. The DSO from this school is also responsible for all of the reporting requirements to the Service. In instances where a student is enrolled in programs with different full course of study requirements (e.g., clock hours vs. credit hours), the DSO is permitted to determine what constitutes a full time course of study.

8 CFR 214.2(f)(6)(iv)

Let’s take a look at it one by one below.

SEVP-certified school

How can a student know if the school is SEVP-certified? If the institution’s website outlines the Form I-20 process for international students, it is safe to assume that the school is SEVP-certified as only SEVP-certified schools can issue Form I-20s. To check the information, international students can use the search keywords by putting as simple as ‘the school name’ and ‘international.’

One of the top search results will have a direct link to the Office of International Student Services (commonly called ISSS or ISS) and students will be able to find I-20 related information there. Please note that the language can be slightly different depending on the college- for example, it can be Visa and Immigration Services, the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, or Global education, etc.

Or the easiest and safest way to make sure that the school is SEVP-certified is by simply asking! On the official webpage of the International Services of the school, go to the Staff Directory or Contact page. Find the email address of the contact person from there and write a polite email stating that you are an international student with an F-1 student visa and that you are interested in enrolling during the break and asking if the institution is SEVP-certified.

A full course of study

Secondly, the full course of study rule, which applies to all international students except for a few occasions, comes into play for concurrent enrollment as well. In other words, just like you were required to take a full course of study in your home institution, an international student who…

• plan to take all classes from the different SEVP certified college/university, the number of credits that the student plans to take should satisfy the full-time requirement.
• plan to take some classes from the different college/ university as well as the home university, the total number of credits that the student plans to take should satisfy the full-time requirement.

Attending two SEVP-certified schools is called concurrent enrollment. F-1 students might want to take advantage of concurrent enrollment if their current school does not offer a class they need to help them complete their program or degree however, their combined enrollment at both schools must equal a full-time course of study.

CAN F STUDENTS ENROLL AT TWO SEVP-CERTIFIED SCHOOLS? BY STUDYINTHESTATES.DHS.GOV

To learn more about how many credits are considered as “full course of study” for undergraduate and graduate students and exceptions to the full-time status, click each following related blog post.

Related blog post 1: International students, be aware not to go “out of status”
Related blog post 2: Can’t take full course load? Apply for the Reduced Course Load!

It is worth mentioning that the school that you are interested in enrolling in might have a different full course of study requirements. For example, your home university is semester-based but the college that you are interested in taking classes during the breaks might have a quarter-based academic calendar. Likewise, classes in your home university may have credit hours whereas the school you are interested in has clock hours.

In these cases, you should work with your home university DSO (commonly holds the position title named International Student Advisor) to determine “what constitutes a full-time course of study.”

How to transfer credits back to the home university

Students who are interested in taking classes from different universities should communicate with their academic advisors in their home universities. Note that international students should reach out to academic advisors, not international/immigration advisors to see if credits can be articulated.

Additionally, it is worth noting that students who are enrolled in different institutions should remember that the home university DSO is responsible for all of the reporting requirements for them even when they are enrolled in different colleges or universities. This means that if there’s any change to the name, address, phone number, email address, etc, all the information should be reported to the home university’s DSO.

In summary, international students can take classes from different SEVP-certified schools as long as they are enrolled in a full course of study and that they communicate with an Academic Advisor for the credit articulation and International Student Advisor (DSO) for SEVIS reporting requirements.