I am doing a master's. Can I transfer to a different university?

Not during your programme, from 15 September 2026, unless the Student and Exchange Visitor Program authorizes an exception for extenuating circumstances — which means an event that stops your school from providing the course, such as a closure, not a preference for another school.

Can I do a second master's in a different subject?

No. After completing a programme you may only enrol at a higher educational level. Enrolling at the same level again, or at a lower one, is prohibited under the final rule.

Can I change my major in my second year of a bachelor's?

The first-year restriction applies below the graduate level, so a change after the first year is not blocked by that provision. Confirm the specifics with your designated school official before you act, because the change also has to work with your Admit Until Date.

OfficialStudy in the States — Final Rule: Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure, Frequently Asked Questions · Last verified 17 Aug 2026

Changing school, major or degree level as an F-1 student after September 2026

The same final rule that ends duration of status also restricts moving between schools, majors and degree levels. For graduate students the restrictions are close to absolute, and they apply from 15 September 2026.

What changed

Transferring schools, changing your major and moving between degree levels were all ordinary things a student did through their designated school official. The final rule the Department of Homeland Security published on 17 July 2026 makes each of them restricted, and how restricted depends on whether you are studying below the graduate level or at it. This is the part of the rule that has had the least attention and the largest effect on people who are midway through a degree.

Source: Study in the States — Final Rule: Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure, Frequently Asked Questions · in effect from 2026-07-17

Transferring to another school

If you are below the graduate level you cannot transfer during the first year of your programme, and must finish that year at the school that issued your first I-20. If you are at the graduate level or above you cannot transfer at any point during your programme. Both are subject to an exception the Student and Exchange Visitor Program may authorize for extenuating circumstances, which the rule defines narrowly as rare, exceptional events outside the control of the school and the student that stop the school from continuing to provide the course of study — a school closing, or a prolonged inability to teach in person after a natural disaster.

Source: Study in the States — Final Rule: Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure, Frequently Asked Questions · in effect from 2026-07-17

Changing your major

Below the graduate level you cannot change your major during your first year of study, unless the Student and Exchange Visitor Program authorizes an exception for extenuating circumstances. At the graduate level or above you cannot change your major at any point during your programme. For a master's student this means the programme named on your I-20 is the programme you finish.

Source: Study in the States — Final Rule: Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure, Frequently Asked Questions · in effect from 2026-07-17

Moving between degree levels

Students below the graduate level cannot change educational level during the first year, absent an authorized exception; students at the graduate level or above cannot change educational level during their programme at all. After finishing a programme you may enrol in one at a higher level, and only at a higher level. Moving to a lower level — a master's graduate starting a bachelor's — is prohibited, and so is moving to the same level again, such as a second bachelor's or a second master's.

Source: Study in the States — Final Rule: Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure, Frequently Asked Questions · in effect from 2026-07-17

What to do before you commit to anything

If a transfer, a change of major or a change of level is something you are considering, raise it with your designated school official now rather than at the point of applying, and ask specifically whether it can be done before 15 September 2026 under the current rules. Where you think an exception applies, the route is through your DSO: the Student and Exchange Visitor Program learns of qualifying circumstances from schools, not from students, so a student who believes they qualify contacts their DSO and the DSO coordinates. Starting a new programme at a higher level after finishing your current one also needs an extension of stay filed with USCIS, with the I-20 for the new programme.

Source: Study in the States — Final Rule: Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure, Frequently Asked Questions · in effect from 2026-07-17

Where people will get caught

The dangerous assumption is that a second master's in a different field is a normal way to extend time in the United States or to switch into a more employable subject. After 15 September 2026 it is prohibited outright — the same educational level twice is not permitted, whatever the subject. The second is treating the extenuating-circumstances exception as a hardship application: it is written for a school that can no longer teach you, not for a student who has changed their mind, found a better programme, or wants to follow a family move. The third is the timing — accepting an offer from another school before checking whether the transfer is permitted at all.

Source: Study in the States — Final Rule: Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure, Frequently Asked Questions · in effect from 2026-07-17

Official

Frequently asked questions

I am doing a master's. Can I transfer to a different university?: Not during your programme, from 15 September 2026, unless the Student and Exchange Visitor Program authorizes an exception for extenuating circumstances — which means an event that stops your school from providing the course, such as a closure, not a preference for another school.
Can I do a second master's in a different subject?: No. After completing a programme you may only enrol at a higher educational level. Enrolling at the same level again, or at a lower one, is prohibited under the final rule.
Can I change my major in my second year of a bachelor's?: The first-year restriction applies below the graduate level, so a change after the first year is not blocked by that provision. Confirm the specifics with your designated school official before you act, because the change also has to work with your Admit Until Date.