International Student Eligibility

International Student Eligibility FAQ

The online application for Jayhawk Global will ask you a series of questions to help determine whether the university would qualify you as a domestic applicant or an international applicant. The university will qualify you as an international applicant if:

  • You are not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and live outside the U.S.
  • You are an international student at another U.S. institution and you are currently in F-1 status (including OPT) or J-1 status (including Academic Training).
  • You are currently on an H1B visa.
  • You are currently on a dependent visa — e.g., F-2, J-2, or H-4.

Note: Applicants to fully online programs are not eligible for a visa. Visit International Support Services for more information about visas.

  • Undergraduate: Undergraduate international applicants are ineligible to apply for fully online degrees.
  • Graduate: Graduate international applicants who intend to reside outside the U.S. are eligible to apply for fully online degrees.
  • Student visa status: Online students are ineligible for student visas, and students currently residing in the U.S. on a visa are not permitted to apply for fully online degrees.

All international applicants applying to fully online programs are required to go through the Restricted Party Screening (RPS), which is an essential component of the University of Kansas Export Compliance Program. See more about RPS in the next FAQ option.

Additional information about application requirements is listed on the Graduate Admissions website.

The Restricted Party Screening (RPS) checks persons or entities against various U.S. government lists of individuals, companies, and organizations, both foreign and domestic, where export regulations or sanctions block or restrict any export or prohibited transaction. Regulators and enforcement authorities have made it clear that all organizations are obligated to conduct RPS on applicants prior to any export or prohibited transaction, which includes enrolling in online courses.

U.S. law requires government authorization for exports of goods, data, and services to certain countries. Activities with countries requiring authorization are regulated by two U.S. government agencies. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) publishes the Entity List and the Unverified List. Entities on these lists are subject to U.S. license requirements for the export or transfer of specified items. Additionally, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposes sanctions and embargoes on transactions or exchanges with designated countries, entities, and individuals. Faculty, staff, and students are required to comply with BIS and OFAC regulations. Violations of these laws and regulations may result in civil or criminal penalties. To ensure KU is complying with U.S. laws and regulations, the university has a policy dealing with “Transactions with Restricted Parties." In accordance with this policy, KU will not engage in such activities.

BIS and OFAC restrictions also apply to taking online courses, especially for heavily sanctioned countries. These countries change over time but currently include Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, and certain regions of Ukraine. Under some circumstances, KU can request an export license to provide services to restricted entities and sanctioned countries. There may also be licensing requirements for software and other items. However, the license application process can be lengthy, taking six months or more to be reviewed by BIS or OFAC. There is no guarantee a license will be approved.

The necessary information to run the Restricted Party Screening (RPS) is collected within the online application for graduate study. Once you fully submit your application, including paying the application fee, your application will be routed to the Office of Global Risk and Security to run the RPS before moving to the department for your application review. This process adds an additional 5-7 business days to the application review process. Applicants who pass the screening will then be reviewed for admission by the program. Once the full review process is complete, all applicants will receive an official notification with a link to their admission decision.

As of May 2022, software and app providers (i.e., Duo and Zoom) are banning their services in heavily OFAC sanctioned countries. KU students based in or traveling to these countries or regions will not be able to access or communicate via most university-provided technology resources. We assess the most significant impact is on international students who may need to use Duo or Zoom if traveling to sanctioned countries.

Duo is KU's dual-authentication system used to confirm your identity when logging in to campus systems. Duo is not legally able to offer any official exceptions to customers who wish to support multi-factor authentication in U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) restricted countries or regions. Duo is bound by U.S. economic and trade regulations as a U.S.-based company, which prohibits KU from providing services in these locations.

A list of these counties and regions can be found on Duo’s webpage.

Other software and encryption services are also banned and it may be an export violation to use or provide these services. Visit the Office of Global Risk & Security website for more information or email gos@ku.edu with questions.