Last Updated on November 26, 2022 by Anda Malescu
In this article we discuss the new STEM majors list updated in January 2022, specifically the new 22 STEM designated degree program list.
Recognizing its need for foreign talent, the United States government has launched a series of policies to attract and retain international STEM students in the United States, and one of these several actions is the addition of 22 new majors to STEM Designated Degree Program List.
What are the updates for the new STEM Designated Degree Program List?
On January 21, 2022, the US Department of Homeland Security announced that it updated the STEM Designated Degree Program List to add 22 qualifying majors.
This change impacts qualifying F1 students who seek a 24-month extension of post-completion OPT (STEM OPT). The STEM Designated Degree Program List is used to determine whether a degree obtained by certain F1 students qualifies as a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree, as required for the F1 student to be eligible to apply for a STEM optional practical training (OPT) extension.
The STEM OPT extension is a 24-month extension of OPT available to F1 students who have completed 12 months of OPT and received a degree in an approved STEM field of study as designated by the STEM list.
The updated list includes the following additional 22 majors or fields of study with a corresponding Department of Education Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code for each:
- Bioenergy (03.0210)
- Forestry, General (03.0501)
- Forest Resources Production and Management (03.0510)
- Human-Centered Technology Design (11.0105)
- Cloud Computing (11.0902)
- Anthrozoology (30.3401)
- Climate Science (30.3501)
- Earth Systems Science (30.3801)
- Economics and Computer Science (30.3901)
- Environmental Geosciences (30.4101)
- Geobiology (30.4301)
- Geography and Environmental Studies (30.4401)
- Mathematical Economics (30.4901)
- Mathematics and Atmospheric/Oceanic Science (30.5001)
- Data Science, General (30.7001)
- Data Analytics, General (30.7101)
- Business Analytics (30.7102)
- Data Visualization (30.7103)
- Financial Analytics (30.7104)
- Data Analytics, Other (30.7199)
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology (42.2804)
- Social Sciences, Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods (45.0102)
The US Department of Homeland Security will continue to accept for consideration suggested additions or deletions to the STEM list going forward.
Members of the public can nominate a field of study to be included on or removed from the list by emailing the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) at SEVP@ice.dhs.gov, subject line “Attention: STEM CIP Code nomination.”
SEVP evaluates nominations to determine whether the nominated degree is generally considered to be a STEM degree by recognized authorities, including input from educational institutions, government entities and non-governmental organizations. SEVP also reviews the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) definition of the CIP code and the supporting material submitted by the nominator.
If you need assistance with F1 visa or STEM OPT, contact our immigration lawyers in Miami, Florida USA or schedule a consultation.
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