Exchange Students
Information for J-1 Exchange Student Participants
We are pleased that you have chosen to join our campus community and we trust that your experience at PSU will be successful and rewarding.
The Exchange Student Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended. The purpose of the Exchange Student Program is “to promote international educational and cultural exchange in order to develop mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.”
The DOS has designated Plymouth State University to serve as Program Sponsor, thereby enabling us to issue Form DS-2020, Certificate of Eligibility, to prospective Exchange Students. Although there are numerous categories of exchange visitors, PSU is only designated to sponsor exchange visitors in the category of student which is defined as:
College and university students — individuals admitted to a degree program at an accredited educational institution for a full course of study leading to, or culminating in, the award of a US degree, or an individual engaged full-time in a non-degree prescribed course of study. (Students may be enrolled in degree programs, English language training, and other non-degree study preparatory to entrance into a degree program or some other non-degree program with a predetermined educational objective.) Degree students are authorized to participate for as long as they are studying at the post-secondary institution listed on their Form DS-2020. Non- degree students are limited to a maximum stay of 24 months.