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ARTICLE · 09 AUGUST 2023

DHS Adds Eight Qualifying Fields To STEM Designated Degree Program List

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DHS noted that "[i]nterested parties, including members of the public, may nominate a CIP code for inclusion on, or removal from, the STEM list."

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has amended the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List by adding eight qualifying fields of study and a corresponding Department of Education Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code for each. No CIP codes from the existing list are being removed.

The eight added fields and CIP codes are:

  • Landscape Architecture (04.0601)
  • Institutional Research (13.0608)
  • Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering Technology/Technician (15.0407)
  • Composite Materials Technology/Technician (15.0617)
  • Linguistics and Computer Science (30.4801)
  • Developmental and Adolescent Psychology (42.2710)
  • Geospatial Intelligence (43.0407)
  • Demography and Population Studies (45.0501)

The list is used to determine whether a degree obtained by certain F-1 nonimmigrant students following the completion of a program of study qualifies as a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree as determined by DHS, as required for the F–1 student to be eligible to apply for a 24-month extension of post-completion optional practical training (OPT).

DHS noted that "[i]nterested parties, including members of the public, may nominate a CIP code for inclusion on, or removal from, the STEM list." Nominations may be submitted by email to the SEVP Response Center at [email protected], with the subject line '"Attention: STEM CIP Code Nomination."

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