Graduate students may seek approval from the Graduate School for Degree Only registration; however, based on the Graduate Student Handbook and U.S. federal regulations below, I-20s or DS-2019s cannot be extended for Degree Only registration.
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Federal Regulation
8 CFR 214.2(f)(6)(iii)(C)
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“If the student already has entered a schedule or has completed registration for thesis/dissertation hours or a course, the student must drop their schedule before the Graduate School can enter them as Degree Only. Hence, the student will not be considered an enrolled student once their Degree Only registration is completed.”
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"If the student is not required to take any additional courses to satisfy the requirements for completion, but continues to be enrolled for administrative purposes, the student is considered to have completed the course of study and must take action to maintain status."
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What does this all mean?
- U.S. Immigration regulations require F-1/J-1 students to enroll in coursework and/or dissertation hours to maintain their non-immigrant status.
- Per the Graduate Student Handbook, "the student will not be considered an enrolled student once their Degree Only registration is completed."
- U.S. Immigration views "Degree Only registration" as an institutional administrative function and therefore considers the student's program of study as "completed" in the semester the student was last enrolled in credit hours (whether coursework or thesis/dissertation hours).
An example: Student "Mike Tiger" completes all program requirements in Fall 2025 but misses the Application for Degree deadline for December 2025 degree conferral and seeks approval for “degree only registration” for Spring 2026 with the Graduate School. From a U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s perspective, Mike’s program end date in SEVIS (on I-20 or DS-2019) is 12/19/2025 since he was last enrolled for Fall 2025. As an international student, Mike is granted a grace period from the completion of his program requirements and can use the grace period to finish "degree only" requirements and pursue other options to maintain his status. Those other options can be found at Program Completion Grace Period Options.