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F-1 students are permitted to work up to 20 hours per week on the campus while school is in session and full-time in the summer (if summer is a vacation term for your academic program) and during recognized vacation periods like Winter Break. If summer is the first or final term of your program, it is not considered a break and on-campus employment is limited to 20 hours per week. No special work permission is needed to begin employment.  Acceptable on-campus employment includes:

  • most positions on any campus of the Johns Hopkins University, including Carey, Homewood, JHMI, Peabody, and SAIS.  If you are being paid by Johns Hopkins University, that would be considered on-campus employment.  Consult an OIS advisor if you’re unsure whether the position is considered “on-campus”.
  • work required by a scholarship, assistantship or fellowship, work in the library, computer centers, administrative offices, and work performed on Hopkins’ premises for an outside contractor or firm as long as the employer provides direct services to students (i.e., the university bookstore, cafeteria, etc.), or where there are contractually funded research projects at the post-graduate level.  Students should speak with their OIS advisor before they engage in any employment with these other entities to determine whether these provisions may apply to them.

Please note OIS has identified several positions that may seem eligible for on-campus employment, but ultimately do NOT qualify and would require Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or other documentation, including positions with the following employers:

  • Kennedy Krieger Institute
  • Johns Hopkins Health System (including Community Physicians and all hospitals, including the Johns Hopkins Hospital on the JHMI campus)
  • Johns Hopkins Home Care
  • Phone-a-thon
  • Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures
  • Space telescope and Azafran Café
  • Hopkins Club
  • Applied Physics Lab

This list is NOT exhaustive of all the potential opportunities across all JHU divisions. If you’re unsure whether a position is considered on-campus, it is your responsibility to reach out to an OIS advisor for further guidance.

If you would like to continue your employment with your Johns Hopkins on-campus/departmental employer after you complete your academic program, you will need to seek employment permission through Optional Practical Training (OPT).

Graduate Students Paid by Stipend

Graduate students paid by stipend do not fit neatly into many of the F-1 employment rules. While not considered employees in the traditional sense, students receiving a stipend are required to pass an I-9 validation and are paid through the university’s payroll system. In the absence of a clear distinction, as provided by the appointing department or division in the appointment letter, between the time students provide services to the university versus the time devoted to a student’s personal academic advancement, OIS considers international students who have full graduate stipends to be providing an effort equal to 20 hours of on campus employment. Thus, no additional work is allowed under F-1 on campus employment rules.

Students receiving a stipend who wish to undertake additional on-campus employment during fall or spring semester would only be eligible to do so if the position qualifies for Curricular Practical Training (CPT).  

On-Campus Employment at an off-Campus Location

USCIS has expanded the definition of on-campus employment to include jobs with employers that are educationally affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, provided that the job is associated with Johns Hopkins’ curriculum or related to contractually funded research projects and provided that the job is an integral part of students’ academic programs (For example, research work at a Hopkins affiliate may be acceptable). Final permission is granted by an advisor at the OIS.