Who Are International Students?
Approximately 1,900 international undergraduate students from over 130 countries attend the University of Minnesota.
For ISSS, international students are defined as students who are in the United States on non-immigrant visas and their primary purpose for being in the United States is to study full-time.
To learn more about the incoming international student class, view OTE’s international student snapshot “Tell Us About Yourself” pre-orientation survey.
ISSS Support
Global Gopher Experiences
The ISSS Student Engagement Team runs our Global Gopher Experiences (GGE) program. This is a series of webinars and in-person events that aims to prepare students for their transition to the University of Minnesota, prepare them to succeed academically, learn important career skills, and most importantly, meet other Global Gophers! While optional, we highly encourage students to participate!
Webinars are hosted throughout the summer with a different topic at each webinar.
In-person events will be held in the weeks leading up to the start of classes.
ISSS Welcome Session
The ISSS Welcome Session is a recurring GGE event held in late August. At these in-person events, new students will learn about key action items they need to complete before classes begin, meet ISSS staff and learn about our services, connect and socialize with peers, and have the chance to ask questions about their ISSS new student requirements.
- All first-year students will be required to attend an ISSS Welcome Session at their mandatory on-campus orientation on August 19, 20, or 21.
- Transfer students are encouraged to attend an optional ISSS Welcome Session as part of a GGE event on August 27.
- While attendance at an ISSS Welcome Session is required for freshmen as part of their orientation schedule, attendance will not be required for removal of the AI “Determine Current Visa Status” registration hold. Only the New Global Gopher Required Tasks will be required for hold removal.
New Student Communications
ISSS keeps students informed in a variety of ways:
- New Global Gopher Required Tasks: Available in students’ MyISSS portal. Guides students through pre-arrival and post-arrival tasks they must complete to satisfy visa requirements and prepare for arrival at the UMN.
- Undergraduate Timeline and Checklist: Provides a visual for what students need to do at each point in the new student process
- ISSS Arrival Guide: Includes post-arrival information and outlines campus resources
- ISSS New Student Emails: ISSS sends a series of monthly emails to new international students throughout the summer. You can sign up to receive copies of these messages (click the link for “joining the group”) as well as copies of the ISSS Weekly Update, which is sent throughout the year.
Deferrals (NHS only)
If a first-year student has decided to defer their enrollment, the gap request form must be completed. The deadline to request a gap semester or gap year is July 1. Admissions is willing to work through deadline extensions on a case-by-case basis
