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 or last semester of study. If summer is your first semester or last semester of study, full-time enrollment is required. If summer is your final term, then you are welcome to apply for a reduced course load.
ISS recommends that you refrain from starting during the summer term if at all possible
because of difficulties you may encounter with the full-time enrollment requirement.
Reduced Course Load
There are several acceptable reasons for a reduced course load. If you think you qualify for a reduced course load, you and your academic advisor must complete a Reduced Course Load Request Form (available in the ISS Forms Library) and submit via email to iss@sc.edu. The following reasons may qualify you for a reduced course load:
- 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 working on your dissertation (You will also need to complete a Special Enrollment (Z Status) Form with the Graduate School. Please contact the Graduate School for more information regarding this form.)
- 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 have a documented medical issue that is so severe that it prevents you from studying full-time (see here for more details--you will need to complete a separate form and obtain a doctor's note)