International Students

Most information for international students should be obtained directly from the Office of International Students and Scholars.  The OISS web site has information about how to obtain your Visa, Social Security Card, where to check in upon arrival, tax information, immunization requirements, and other important information.  

Please note:  OISS is in charge of processing your VISA paperwork, not the department. 

 Funding

All international students are eligible for funding through the History Department and the Graduate School.  Be aware that all students, international or U.S. residents, are only eligible for ten semesters of tuition waiver.  This rule has more of an impact on international students because you will not qualify for in-state tuition.

If you are awarded a funding package, your tuition will be covered (for up to 10 semesters).  We will confirm your funding package with OISS and this will appear on your Visa papers.

International students are also required to have health insurance and our funding packages include health coverage. If you do not have funding, you can purchase health insurance through the Student Health Services.

Fees are not covered by our funding packages.  International students pay the same fees as domestic students.

 No Funding?

If you are accepted without funding, you will need to satisfy the funding requirements for the purposes of your Visa. To learn how to do this, contact the OISS.

 Enrollment

U.S. Student Visas require that you maintain full time status (9 credit hours a semester).  Failure to maintain fulltime status is a violation of your visa status.

 For your first semesters, you will be taking classes and this will not be an issue.  Once you have completed all course work, this becomes a bit more complicated.  Often, students will enroll in independent studies while working on comprehensive exams or they will take language courses (which count as credit hours for purposes of enrollment).  Please speak with the DGS if you run into this problem.

For ABD International students who remain in the United States, you must maintain full time enrollment at UNC (and therefore pay tutition and fees) even if you take up external funding.  In the past, students who have received outside funding have successfully petitioned the graduate school to cover tuition and health insurance costs.  Please note: any semester of tuition remission will count towards your ten semesters.  If you are awarded an external grant from another institution, please talk with the DGS about these options.

 Travel

You should always travel with your supporting documents even while traveling within the United States.  You should also obtain a letter from Violet Anderson that confirms your enrollment in the department.  If you have department funding, you should ask Violet to include this in your letter.  You should get an updated letter every time you travel. 

 Housing

While UNC-CH has housing for graduate students, there is no housing set aside for International Students.  For information on on-campus housing, go to http://housing.unc.edu/.   This web page also has excellent resources on finding housing off-campus.   Also, try the hist-grad list serve because there will be no better experts on housing than your fellow graduate students.