Every international student must be enrolled full time every semester. Dropping below full time without prior authorization from OGI is considered a serious violation of your status and can be cause for termination of your SEVIS record.
You must have at least one in-person class in your final semester, even if your final semester is a summer term.
Undergraduate students: Enroll in 12 credits every spring and fall semesters. Enrollment in the summer is optional. You do not need to be full-time during that term.
Limit on online courses: Only 3 credits per semester may count towards full-time enrollment. This means you must have at least 9 credits in person every semester.
Graduate students: Enroll in 9 credits every spring and fall semesters. Enrollment in the summer is optional. You do not need to be full-time during that term.
Limit on online courses: Only 3 credits per semester may count towards full-time enrollment. This means you must have at least 6 credits in person every semester.
Undergraduate students: You may drop below 12 credits only if:
- You are in your last semester and you do not need 12 credits in order to graduate. You must request to be Full-Time Certified online through the Highlander Pipeline.
- You have medical or academic reasons that warrant dropping below full time. You must submit the Adviser Form for Reduced Course Load or the Reduced Course Load for Medical Reasons Request Form. Medical documentation from a U.S. based doctor is required for a medical reduced course load.
- You are still limited to only 3 online credits and you must have at least 1 in-person class. Exceptions may apply for medical reduced course load. You must have prior authorization from OGI to drop below full time.
Graduate Students: You may only drop below 9 credits if:
- You are in your last semester and you need fewer than 9 credits in order to graduate. You must request to be Full-Time Certified online through the Highlander Pipeline.
- You are taking fewer than the required number of credits due to a co-op/internship. You must request to be Full-Time Certified online through the Highlander Pipeline.
- You have medical reasons that warrant dropping below full time. If you are a Doctoral student you must request to be Full-Time Certified online through the Highlander Pipeline. If you are a Master's student you must submit the Reduced Course Load for Medical Reasons Request Form. Medical documentation from a U.S. based doctor is required for a medical reduced course load.
You are still limited to only 3 online credits and you must have at least 1 in-person class. Exceptions may apply for medical reduced course load. You must have prior authorization from OGI to drop below full time.
For example, master’s students typically follow this sequence of number of credits per semester:
- Option 1: 9-9-9-3 (in this case the student will graduate at the end of the 4th semester)
- Option 2: 12-12-6* (in this case the student will graduate at the end of the 3rd semester)
Ph.D. students can have multiple semesters of below full-time enrollment due to dissertation work only. Master's thesis students can be Full-Time Certified twice when enrolled in only 3 master's thesis credits.
* Students cannot take 6 thesis credits at once. Thesis credits have to be combined with other courses.
There are 5 different modes of instruction for NJIT courses
Face-to-face and hybrid are considered in-person. All other modes are considered online.