International Students Studying at Harvard Summer School 
 
International students seeking to enter the U.S. to study at Harvard Summer School typically apply for an F-1 Student Visa at their local U.S. embassy or consulate. As part of your application for a visa, you will be required to obtain a Form I-20 from Harvard Summer School. A Form I-20 is only issued to students enrolled full-time in courses for academic credit. 

To meet the requirement for “full-time” study, you must remain enrolled for a total of 8 undergraduate (UN) or graduate (GR) credits in a seven-week session, or 4 undergraduate (UN) or graduate (GR) credits in a three-week session, in courses held on the Harvard campus.  

Harvard Summer School is unable to sponsor F-1 student visa applications for the 4-week summer term. A Form I-20 will NOT be issued by Harvard Summer School for students registered in the 4-week summer term.  

You may not enroll in Study Abroad programs, online only, web-conference, or hybrid courses. If you do not comply with this requirement, you are considered out of status and are subject to removal from the United States. 

More information on obtaining the Form I-20 required to apply for an F-1 Student Visa can be found on our International Student Guidelines page. 

Pre-College Program Students: Although Pre-College Program courses are 30 course hours and taught at the college level by Harvard affiliated instructors, they are non-credit and will not qualify for F-1 student visas. Typically, students will apply for an ESTA or B-2 Visa in order to travel to the U.S. for this short course of study. However, it is completely up to the U.S. embassy or consulate to grant such a visa.