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Information and Instructions for New International Students Welcome to the University of Minnesota! We hope that you will accept our offer of admission, and if we can do anything to help make this possible, please contact the Graduate School Admissions Office, University of Minnesota, 309 Johnston Hall, 101 Pleasant Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455-0421, U.S.A. Our telephone number is 612-625-3014 (fax 612-625-6002). If you contact us, be sure to give us your ID number and complete name as typed on your letter of admission. Steps To TakeIf you are able to accept the offer of admission for the term indicated in your admission letter, you should: 1. Inform your major field directly that you plan to come. This is especially important if you have been awarded an assistantship or fellowship. 2. The International Student Financial Certification Statement must be completed and returned before the form I-20 (for an F-1 visa) can be prepared. Please see the instructions in your letter of admission for submitting this form. You are expected to enter the U.S. on an F-1 visa unless your source of funding (e.g., home government, U.S. government, international organization, etc.) requires you to enter on a J-l visa. Regulations do not allow the issuance of a J-1 visa when the source of funding is primarily personal or family funds. The University of Minnesota does NOT require students holding assistantships to enter the U.S. on J-1 visas. The University of Minnesota DOES require a J-1 visa if your program is a formal exchange program between your institution and ours. If you are requesting a J-1 visa, it will be issued by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services go to If you need an IAP-66 (for a J-1 visa) prepared, you must submit the completed form even if you have an assistantship. J-1 visas are generally issued to persons who receive all or most of their funding from their government or from a U.S. government agency. Please note that family members coming with you on F-2 visas may not work in the United States. We recommend that you do not enter the United States on a B-2 tourist visa or any visa other than the Fl or J-l. If you must do so, make certain that the visa is marked “Prospective Student” by the U.S. embassy or consulate. Otherwise it may be difficult to change to a student visa in the United States. If you are on an F-1 visa and are transferring to the University of Minnesota from another school in the United States without first leaving and re-entering the United States, you need to make a request to International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to process a school transfer notification with the Immigration & Naturalization Service. If you are on a J-1 visa, contact ISSS immediately regarding your school transfer. 3. Make your travel arrangements so you arrive in Minnesota at least three weeks before the first day of classes. The approximate registration period for each term is as follows:
You must register before the first day of class to avoid a late fee. Official registration dates will be published in the Class Schedule, which is only available on the Web at OneStop. You must be registered by the end of the registration period. If you plan to register for classes with limited enrollment (these are identified in the Class Schedule), we recommend that you register as early as possible. All international students,including those admitted for the summer, must be registered full time each semester. (Note: Registration in the College of Continuing Education or in another college in graduate-level courses, e.g., in the College of Education and Human Development does not constitute Graduate School registration.) Preliminary class schedules and other registration information are available on the Web at OneStop. Registration information for the summer term is contained in the Summer Session Catalog. If you wish to register between the close of the summer term and the opening of fall term (between approximately mid-August to early September) or during the winter recess (mid-December to mid- January), you should contact your department to determine if faculty advisers will be available. 4. When you arrive on campus, your first stop should be International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS), University of Minnesota, 190 Hubert H. Humphrey Center, 301 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-626-7100). Check their web site for current office hours 5. Visit Boynton Health Service, 410 Church Street S.E. Bring with you proof of health insurance (or a check to buy health insurance) and your University of Minnesota Student Immunization Record (unless you mailed it to the University already). Check in at the front desk and ask to see the nurse to have your immunization record verified and to have a Mantoux (tuberculosis) test. You will need to return to the nurse within 48 hours to have this test read before you may register for classes. 6. If at the time of your admission, we requested credentials (official transcripts, etc.) of you, and if there is a hold on your registration because we have not received that material, come to the Graduate School in room 309 Johnston Hall (third floor) on the Minneapolis campus. The Graduate School is open from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. All official credentials must be mailed directly from your school to our office. The Graduate School’s address is listed above. To continue, choose one of the following two registration options:
Registration RequirementTo maintain active student status, all Graduate School students will be required to register in the Graduate School every fall and spring term. Tuition The current tuition and fee rate information are available on the Web at OneStop). You must pay tuition and fees by the date printed on your bill or pay a fine; check the Class Schedule for late fees, installment payment plans, and other special payment plans. Student Accounts Receivable, 20 Fraser Hall (612-624-1111), handles all questions about day school tuition and fee billing statements. If your application for admission was received in the Graduate School by the deadline date, but your formal letter of admission reaches you after the first day of classes, you may be eligible for a waiver of late fees. Please check in 309 Johnston Hall for assistance. Changing the Term of AdmissionIf you wish to be considered for a term earlier or later than the one specified in your letter of admission, you must notify the Graduate School at least six weeks before the opening of the term you wish to begin (individual departments may require earlier notification). The application for admission fee is valid for one academic year (e.g., fall 2005 through summer 2006). Approval of such a change is not automatic. Financial AidYou need to make careful arrangements for finances. Unless you have been offered an assistantship at the University, you should not plan to meet any of your financial needs by employment, because U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service regulations do not allow students on F-l visas to seek off-campus employment authorization until they have been in the United States for at least 12 months. Graduate assistantships and fellowships are generally administered through individual departments. If you have filed an application for a departmental fellowship or assistantship and have questions about the award decision, you must contact directly the department or major to which you applied for assistance. Neither the Graduate School nor International Student and Scholar Services is able to assist you in locating such funding. If you are a graduate assistant, information on tuition is available from the Graduate Assistant Employment Office In regard to financial aid, international students are expected to take full responsibility for financing their education. First-year students are not eligible for financial aid. ISSS co-administers a funding program for students in the latter stages of their degree program; to be eligible, students must demonstrate severe financial hardship. Therefore, if you anticipate not being able to meet the cost of your education and living expenses without financial aid or employment, we advise you to request a postponement of your enrollment until you have secured adequate funding. Note: If you have been awarded an assistantship, you need to be aware that state and federal taxes have not yet been withheld from the total dollar award shown on your 1-20 or IAP-66 and/or on your letter of award from the department. Tax rates vary depending upon the size and type of your award. English ProficiencyIf your letter of admission indicates that you must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), IELTS (International English Language Testing System), or MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Battery), you should arrange to take the test as soon as possible. If you are residing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, you should contact Therese Ganglghassemlouei (t-gang@umn.edu) at ISSS to arrange for appropriate testing. The operational standard for admission to the Graduate School is a TOEFL score of 550 on the paper based test, 213 on the computer-based test and 79 on the internet based test with minimum scores of 21 for writing and 19 for reading. We will also accept a MELAB score of 80 or an IELTS score of 6.5. Individual departments may have a higher requirement. Scores must be under two years old. If you are appointed to a Teaching Assistantship, you must also be tested for oral proficiency through the SPEAK test given on campus before classes begin. Language and teaching support is available for all international Teaching Assistants. However, coursework is required if you score under 55 out of 60 on the SPEAK. For more information, contact the Center for Teaching and Learning on the web at International TA Program or by phone at 612-625-3041. Please note that graduate assistants can receive full or partial tuition benefit and health insurance depending on the level of appointment. For further information on graduate assistantships and other sources of financial aid, see the Graduate Student Handbook Health InsuranceAll students registering for 6 or more day-school credits at the University are required to have health/ hospitalization insurance. Information on insurance can be obtained from: Boynton Health Services Please note that graduate assistants can receive full or partial tuition benefit and health insurance depending on the level of appointment. Graduate assistants who hold an appointment of at least 25% time, and some graduate fellows and trainees, may be eligible to enroll in the Graduate Assistant Healthcare Plan. Depending on the level of appointment, the University pays all or part of the student’s health insurance premium for this plan. For more information, contact the Graduate Assistant Insurance Office, University of Minnesota, N-323 Boynton Health Service, 410 Church Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-625-6936). Boynton Health Services U CardThe U Card identifies you as a student, staff or faculty member on the Twin Cities campus. Your first U Card is free and can be obtained at the U Card Office Bring your driver’s license, state ID or passport and be prepared to have your picture taken. The U Card is your key to all sorts of campus services and facilities. Your U Card can also be used as your ATM card and your calling card! Please check the U Card Office web site for more details. Since the U Card never expires, you should hold on to it even after you leave the University. If you ever return as a student, staff or faculty member, your card will still be valid. HousingAlthough the Twin Cities campus is generally considered a commuter campus, only about half of its students live far enough away to be bona fide commuters. The other half live on or near campus, within easy walking or biking distance. Many commuting students live on express bus lines, which offer direct access to campus (see Transportation). Housing & Residential Life (612-624-2994, fax 612-624-6987, housing@umn.edu, www.umn.edu/housing/), located in Comstock Hall-East on the Minneapolis campus and in Coffey Hall on the St. Paul campus, provides information about on-campus and off-campus housing and about leases and other housing issues. Also check listings in the Minnesota Daily and other local newspapers. You might also check with your department. The University guarantees housing to freshmen who apply before May 1. Graduate and professional students can be housed in individual student housing, usually during spring semester, and may renew for the following year. University-sponsored housing provides accommodations for about 15 percent of Twin Cities campus students. Although none of the halls is specifically reserved for graduate students, Centennial, Middlebrook, University Village (apt. style), and Wilkins (apt. style) tend to have larger upper level and graduate student populations. Application for residence hall housing is separate from application for admission to the University. Applications are available from Housing & Residential Life in October. Apply early. Family/Partnered HousingFor students who are married or same-sex partnered or who have children, there are two cooperative housing communities Como Student Community, 1024 27th Avenue S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55414 (612-378-2434, cscc@umn.edu), is between the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses and is on a bus line; Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative, Inc., 1250 Fifield Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108 (651-646-7526, ctc@umn.edu), is adjacent to the St. Paul campus. Both have day care centers. You may wait for up to two years to get in, depending on the size of the unit. All units are unfurnished. For more information, see www.umn.edu/housing or contact the cooperatives. Off-Campus Listing ServiceHousing & Residential Life Housing & Residential Life, located in Comstock Hall-East (612-624-2994; www.umn.edu/housing/offcampus.htm), has listings for rooms, apartments, duplexes, houses, cooperatives, and mobile home parks. Information is available about shared units, subsidized housing, temporary housing, sublets, work opportunities related to housing, bus routes, nursery schools, and day care centers. Because the turnover rate is rapid, listings are changed daily and are not sent by mail. The best time to begin looking is at least two months before you want to move. For fall term, begin looking by late July. In most cases, rentals begin on the first of the month. The office provides a mediation service to help students in resolving landlord/tenant disputes. A station computer is available in Coffey Hall on the St. Paul campus. Disability ServicesThe office of Disability Services (DS) promotes environments free of physical, program, information, and attitudinal barriers. DS works to ensure access to University employment, courses, programs, facilities, services, and activities by documenting disabilities and arranging reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, auxiliary aids and services, training, consultation, and technical assistance. In general, University policy calls for accommodations to be made on an individualized and flexible basis. It is the responsibility of students to make their needs known. For more information, contact Disability Services at Suite 180, McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak Street SE, 612-626-1333 (V/TDD). Further InformationFor further information, you are encouraged to consult the Graduate School Catalog. The Graduate School Catalog describes Graduate School policies, majors, and degrees offered, and lists the graduate faculty. There are two options for requesting a paper copy of the catalog, at a cost of $5 for shipping and handling: Online from the University of Minnesota Bookstores (you will need a credit card for the shipping and handling charge). Order the Graduate School Catalog Telephone the University of Minnesota Bookstores at 800-442-8636, and place your order, again paying the shipping charge by credit card. Catalogs will be sent only to US Zip Code addresses, Canada, and Mexico. They are sent at bulk rate and may take 2 to 4 weeks to reach you. Catalogs will not be sent overseas. The Catalog is also available in electronic form. A paper copy of the Graduate School Catalog is available at The Graduate School, 309 Johnston Hall, 101 Pleasant St SE, Minneapolis, MN. This brochure is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact the Graduate School, 302 Johnston Hall (612/625-1514; lucas001@.umn.edu). The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. rev. 06/05 |
