Pre-Arrival Activities

Pre-arrival webinars are designed to prepare you for your upcoming journey to Maryland. Meet online with an International Student Advisor and learn everything you need to know as a newly admitted international student. 

• Document creation & Immigration Overview - This live webinar will focus on your I-20/DS2019 application, an overview of the F-1/J1 visa process, and introduction to services provided by the ISSS office. You will have an opportunity to meet an pre-arrival advisor and ask any questions you may have as a newly admitted student to UMD.   Join Us!  Click here to register. 

• Pre-Arrival Engagement with ISSS - This live webinar will help you learn about the various ways ISSS will be communicating and connecting with you as you prepare for the upcoming semester. Meet a pre-arrival team member to learn details about ISSS Welcome Activities, Tips of the week, and ask your pressing questions. Registration details coming soon.

Starting two months before arrival, we send a weekly Tip of the Week to all new students. These emails are meant to help prepare you for coming to the U.S. and adjusting to life at the University of Maryland. Look for them in your inbox. 

All F-1/J-1 international students who are new to UMD should complete the online International Student Orientation. This online course will open around June 15, 2023.

ISSS offers a modular orientation to fit the varying needs of all students. The general orientation is offered via CANVAS/ELMS and is self paced.  

How to Access the online  International Student Orientation
Starting in June you can self-enroll. ISSS will notify you via email and provide a link to your orientation. You will receive direct communication from our office. 

The online modular orientation session covers critical information to facilitate your transition to UMD. You will learn about:

• campus resources
• tools to adjust to a new educational environment
• what current students love about being a Terp
• the ISSS team and how we're here to support you, and
• your immigration responsibilities. 

UMD Orientation

ISSS’s International Student Activities are not the only orientation students will attend. There are also orientations given by a student’s school and/or department.

UMD orientation is different from the ISSS orientation and is offered by the  Office of Orientation for undergraduate students or your academic department and Graduate School Orientation for graduate students.  Undergraduate freshman and undergraduate transfer students should visit the following website to schedule your required in person undergraduate orientation. It is through this orientation that undergraduate students will meet with an academic advisor to register for classes. 

Newly admitted students will have an opportunity to talk with IOLs in small group virtual sessions. You can ask questions about what it is like to study at UMD, get tips and advice on how to make the most of your time, and get to know current and newly admitted students ahead of the Spring semester! You can register for these sessions via Tips of the Week emails. 

• Dates with more information coming soon

This series of virtual recordings cover topics that are relevant to your transition to living in the U.S. and attending UMD. Please note these recordings are from Fall 2022. Information and dates will be updated with your Tip of the Week. 

• Leasing in the U.S. 
• Off-Campus Housing
• Introduction to On-campus residential living   
• Graduate Student Life 
• Career Services
• U.S. Healthcare
• University Student Insurance & University Health Center
• Family Orientation Session

Before classes begin ISSS hosts optional in-person sessions.  Registrations will open a month prior to the start of the semester.  Check your Tip of the Week emails.​