Full-Time Status

Full-Time status may be important to you to be eligible for loans, scholarships, etc.

Enrollment Status (Full-time, Half-time etc.):

• Full-time U.S. citizens and permanent residents
  • To be considered full-time for tuition purposes, students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents must register for at least 8.5 credit hours in both fall and winter semesters or at least 4.5 credit hours in a term.
• Full-time international students
  • International students are required to be registered as full-time students. To be considered full-time for tuition and immigration purposes, international students must register for at least 9.0 credit hours in both fall and winter semesters or at least 4.5 credit hours in a term.
• Half-time U.S. citizens and permanent residents
  • A student enrolled in between 4.5 hours and 8.0 hours fall or winter semester or between 2.5 hours and 4.0 credit hours a term is considered a half-time student.

Petition for Graduate Full-Time Status:

• Part-time graduate students who are enrolled for at least 2.0 hours of acceptable credit per semester or one hour per term can be certified by their department as being engaged full-time in pursuit of their degree and can petition for graduate full-time status using ADV Form 2a. Acceptable credit may include thesis, dissertation, project, research, or internship hours.
• Full time pursuit of a degree means the student is devoting 40 or more hours per week to fulfilling graduate degree requirements during the semester in question. To be eligible for Graduate Full-Time Status:
  • The student is not working at a full-time job.
  • The department limits the student’s enrollment to less than full time because of a required TA/RA assignment. The combination of TA/RA assignment and registration must be equivalent to a full-time load.
  • The student has completed all the required course work for the degree and is working full-time on the dissertation, thesis, project, or internship.