Department of Homeland Security adds to STEM OPT list

The US Department of Homeland Security has added another academic subject to the list of programmes eligible for STEM OPT (Optional Practical Training) extended post-study work rights.

Environmental/Natural Resource Economics has now been designated as a field of study that can receive the STEM OPT extension, according to an update published on the Federal Register this week.

The Optional Practical Training (OPT) scheme allows graduates of all university degrees in the USA to take paid work in a job related to their field of study for 12 months.

Students graduating from programs on the STEM OPT list can then qualify for an additional 24 months.

The Department of Homeland Security described Environmental/Natural Resource Economics as, “A program that focuses on the application of economic concepts and methods to the analysis of issues such as air and water pollution, land use planning, waste disposal, invasive species and pest control, conservation policies, and related environmental problems.”

The full list of STEM OPT eligible programs can be accessed here.

The STEM extension for OPT was first introduced in 2016 and has been credited for a large increase in the uptake of the scheme by international students, who remain registered with their institution during OPT.

In the 2022/23 academic year, 198,793 international students were enrolled on OPT, according to the most recent Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education (IIE), a 7.6 per cent increase over the previous year and more than double the 94,919 enrolled a decade earlier.

At the beginning of 2022, the Department of Homeland Security announced a large expansion of the STEM OPT list with the addition of 22 academic fields and added a further eight study fields at the beginning of last year.

The Department of Homeland Security has also launched an annual call for submissions of additional ‘Classification of Instructional Programs’ (CIP) codes for consideration for the STEM OPT list, with a deadline of August 1st.

DHS said that it received a total of 133 nominations from the 2023 Federal Register notice, covering 68 unique fields of study. Nominations can be resubmitted with additional supporting views and evidence, DHS said.