Covid-19 Information for International Students

If you are unable to obtain an entry visa or travel to the U.S. for the start of the spring semester, you have some options. 

• Remote Courses – Under certain conditions, you may be able to enroll and take courses remotely while you are outside of the U.S. The applicability of the remote course option will depend on the availability of courses from a particular academic program and restrictions on Office of Foreign Assets Control-sanctioned countries.
• International Campuses – Under certain conditions, you may also take courses at one of our two international campuses — Georgia Tech-Lorraine or Georgia Tech-Shenzhen.
  • Georgia Tech-Shenzhen (Shenzhen, China): For the Spring 2021 semester, new or current MS ECE (Electrical and Computer Engineering) students who do not need a visa to enter China can study at GT-Shenzhen. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accommodate other types of students at GT-Shenzhen during Spring 2021. Inquiries can be sent to gtshenzhen@ece.gatech.edu. 
  • Georgia Tech-Lorraine (Metz, France): For the Spring 2021 semester, both the undergraduate and graduate programs will run with a modified calendar (students will arrive several days early to allow students to be tested and receive PCR test results prior to departure). International undergraduate and graduate students who are unable to get a visa for the U.S. may be able to obtain a visa to study in France. Students are advised to review Georgia Tech-Lorraine’s course schedules for Spring 2021. (See  Undergraduate Schedule or Graduate Schedule) If transferring to the Lorraine campus, students may only enroll in those courses listed on the Lorraine course schedule. (Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis by contacting the Academic Program Director (Catherine Bass for undergraduate students and Bertrand Boussert for graduate students). All interested students should email GTL-France@gtl.gatech.edu as soon as possible for more information.
• Late Start to Spring Semester – The current Department of Homeland Security Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s guidance allows F-1 students to arrive in Atlanta up to 30 days after the start of the semester. New students who cannot arrive at the start of the spring semester and are enrolled full-time should complete the iStart "Arrival Confirmation" e-form to request support with the late arrival approval process.
• Deferral – Graduate students may request a deferral of an admission decision for up to one year. Graduate students who were offered financial support must contact their academic program office to determine if their financial support package can be deferred, as well. To request approval for either of these options, graduate students should contact their academic program coordinator who will make the final determination. 

We understand that the current environment has created a great deal of uncertainty, and we hope that you will be able to join us in Atlanta for Spring semester 2021. 

Need Help?

• Please reach out to your academic program to discuss your individual situation and to discuss next steps.
• Please consult the Office of International Education’s list of frequently asked questions for international students on immigration updates for F and J visa holders. The FAQs will continue to be updated as new information is received.
• You can also attend virtual drop-in advising or a 1:1 appointment with OIE advisor. More information is available at https://oie.gatech.edu/isss/home.

Whether you are traveling to Atlanta from an international or domestic location, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends (but does not require) the following:

• 1-3 days before departure: Get tested for Covid-19.
• Within 3-5 days of arrival: Get tested for Covid-19 again.
• Self-isolate for 7 days. Note that the CDC recommends you stay isolated for the full 7 days, even if your test results are negative.
• Self-isolate for 10 days if you cannot get tested.

Visit the CDC site for recommendations around testing and international travel, as well as considerations before domestic travel. Do be aware that public health guidance is subject to change.

Georgia Tech is encouraging students to get tested for Covid-19 through the free surveillance testing program upon arrival to campus, and then again 5-7 days after arrival. Additionally, there are resources available to you should you develop symptoms of Covid-19 or think you may have been exposed to Covid-19. Please visit the Stamps Health Services site for campus testing hours, locations, and options. Testing information and registration can be found at mytest.gatech.edu.

• If you develop symptoms of Covid-19 or think you may have been exposed to Covid-19, refer to the Decision Tree for information on next steps.
• Follow the health and safety Campus Guidelines, including wearing a face covering, social distancing, and washing hands regularly.
• Download the Daily Self-Checklist. Complete this checklist each morning before leaving your residence.

Georgia Tech will proceed with hosting incoming exchange students for Spring 2021. The relatively small number of incoming exchange students will be required to live in on-campus housing and to purchase student health insurance. 

More information is available from the Office of International Education.

As in the fall semester, classes will be offered in one of three modes — residential, hybrid, and remote.

In all modes, instructors are asked to provide clear communication regarding course delivery and expectations. For the spring, however, we will take the opportunity to improve on the hybrid mode by substantially increasing the clarity of the in-person engagement that is expected within each offering.

Hybrid course instructors will clearly outline, in the syllabus and Course Description Tool, the expectations for regular and pre-scheduled in-person engagement and be explicit about details regarding assessments, attendance expectations, and other pertinent course details. Please note: Attendance policies are set by individual instructors.

The primary components of our spring plan include a revised academic calendar and refined course delivery mode expectations that promote meaningful and regular face-to-face interactions for students with faculty, academic staff, and peers.

Visit the Registrar’s Office to learn more about the course mode definitions and for detailed instructions on accessing specific course information in OSCAR.

Students can access course mode designations in OSCAR. Course mode definitions are available on the Registrar’s website.

If you cannot travel to the U.S., contact your faculty members, explain your situation, and discuss the potential for taking hybrid or residential courses in remote mode.

In some cases, there may be compelling educational or instructional reasons a hybrid or residential course cannot be taken remotely. If this is the case, your faculty member will explain, and you and your academic advisor should work to find a suitable alternative.

If you will be attending synchronous classes remotely from overseas, be aware that time zone differences may make it difficult to attend synchronous sessions.

Guidelines for in-person undergraduate research for the Spring 2021 semester are available on the Research website.

A recording of class activities may be shared with enrolled students. Students may not share the recording with persons outside of the class.

More information about class recordings are on the Office of the Provost website.

Yes. Digital proctoring refers to controlling the test-taking environment and the real-time audio and video surveillance of test-takers to detect unauthorized behavior. Starting in Fall 2020, faculty members had access to Honorlock for digital proctoring  at Georgia Tech. However, we strongly recommend that faculty review the decision diagram for assessment approaches and technologies before selecting digital proctoring for assessments.

For information and instructions for using Honorlock, please see the Honorlock Student Guide and the Honorlock FAQs for Students.

Georgia Tech has several academic buildings with larger open spaces designated for our community to gather, including:

• Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons
• Crosland Tower
• Price Gilbert Memorial Library
• The atriums of West Architecture
• Klaus Computing
• IBB
• Scheller

These buildings will be open to the Georgia Tech community following USG guidelines.

Study spaces, reading rooms, collaboration and rehearsal rooms, recording studios, and group study spaces will be reviewed on an individual basis to determine capacity and whether social distancing can be achieved. Most reservable rooms have the revised capacity listed in the Event Management System and can be reserved per the guidelines outlined on that site. Some small rooms or spaces may be limited to individual study.

Effective July 15, 2020, University System of Georgia (USG) institutions will require all faculty, staff, students, and visitors to wear an appropriate face covering while inside campus facilities/buildings where 6 feet social distancing may not always be possible. Face covering use will be in addition to, and is not a substitute for, social distancing.

Information and answers to questions about co-ops, internships, and career advising from the Career Center in Spring 2021 are available in the Career Center FAQs.

Advisors are meeting with students virtually. Advisors also are creating online resources for students and posting those resources in Canvas. Incoming students will meet with an advisor during your virtual FASET. For current students, Find Your Advisor.

Georgia Tech-Lorraine and Georgia Tech-Shenzhen will be open and operating in Spring 2021.

Please see the Academic Restart FAQs.

Financial aid eligibility is always affected by enrollment status. Students should contact OSFA directly via email and consult with an OSFA advisor about their specific situation.  

Because students do need to apply for aid for each academic year, it is important to make sure you have applied for the 2021-22 year so that you will be prepared for returning. 

Even in our “new normal,” there are plenty of opportunities on campus. Details are included in the Campus Life section of the Student Guidebook.

Georgia Tech is taking an aggressive, multi-pronged approach for limiting the spread of the coronavirus on campus, a strategy that will depend heavily on support and participation from members of the campus community.

• Asymptomatic Surveillance Testing Program – Relying on saliva to obtain samples used to detect the virus, this program employs a pooled testing approach that combines samples from multiple individuals and tests them as a group in an on-campus lab. Pooled testing dramatically increases the number of community members that can be sampled with a single coronavirus test. All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to undergo frequent testing as part of this program. Several testing sites are offered for asymptomatic Georgia Tech students, faculty and staff: Covid-19 Testing Locations and Hours.
• Tests for Symptomatic Students – Testing for currently enrolled students with Covid-19 symptoms is available at the Stamps Health Center.
  • Make an appointment at health.gatech.edu.
  • Let them know you are experiencing Covid-19-related symptoms when scheduling.
  • Weekend testing also is available by appointment: Covid-19 Testing Locations and Hours.

More details and FAQs are available on the testing web page.

Each member of our community must take responsibility for their actions and adhere to the guidelines of the Georgia Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as guidelines issued by the University System of Georgia and Georgia Tech, to protect themselves and others while helping to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Adherence to these new measures is vital, so the Institute has established new formal and informal processes and recommendations for incorporating accountability into safety guidelines.

Students and Student Groups

Led by the Division of Student Life and the Office of the Provost, the Georgia Tech Covid-19 Student Educational and Response Team (GT CO-SERT) is a temporary collaborative team charged with reviewing reported questions and concerns related to students or student groups and adherence to Covid-19 health and safety guidelines.

The CO-SERT will review reported concerns or questions regarding students or student groups and Covid-19 health and safety guidelines, communicate with individuals or groups, and determine further response or referrals, as necessary. Its actions may include follow-up with campus community members; clarification of current guidance and campus expectations; additional informational or educational efforts; and if necessary, referral to applicable campus resource or office to consider enforcement processes. CO-SERT does not to alter or supersede any existing campus enforcement processes; the team will be disbanded as circumstances related to Covid-19 dictate.

Note: Georgia Tech’s student code explicitly prohibits behavior that endangers any person(s), including self. Hosting on- or off-campus events of any size that do not allow for social distancing or don’t take precautionary measures, such as additional hand sanitation stations and disinfecting protocols, and required face coverings, will be considered violations of the Non-Academic Misconduct Policy. 

Questions and concerns from faculty, staff, and community members related to students and Covid-19 health and safety guidelines may be submitted to cosert@gatech.edu.  

Faculty and Staff

Equally important to helping to contain the spread of the coronavirus at Georgia Tech is ensuring that faculty and staff adhere to the guidance around preventive practices and cloth face coverings provided by the Institute.

Communicating with your co-workers – Keeping campus safe means recognizing that simple, individual actions affect everyone, and so responsibility also lies with individuals. The key to this guidance is recognizing that feelings and comfort levels vary.

A few recommendations for employee interactions:

• Be mindful that your colleagues may not feel the same way you do about returning to campus. Some people will be eager to return, while others may be nervous and hesitant.
• Be respectful of others’ feelings as you return and in your interactions with others.
• Reinforce and remind other Yellow Jackets and visitors of the requirements and guidelines, where they can access face coverings in buildings, and to follow best practices to the extent you are comfortable.
• Be mindful of language when addressing social distancing. Using words like “us” or “we” in the request to distance may help keep the situation from escalating. For example, “Let’s put a little more space between us at this table.”
• Please step away from others or leave any situation if you feel uncomfortable.
• Building signage should also be clearly displayed to assist other students, faculty, and staff in following expectations in different scenarios.  

If you are not comfortable speaking to any person directly, remove yourself from the situation and contact your supervisor and/or HR Business Partner/HR Director.

If the situation becomes a workplace dispute requiring conflict management, please work with your HR Business Partner/HR Director. You can also visit hr.gatech.edu/employee-relations/workplace-disputes for tips, recommended next steps, and resources.

Georgia Tech’s staff disinfect door handles, railings, countertops, and other frequently touched surfaces at least once daily. They have also increased restroom cleaning, targeting four cleanings per day.

If you start to feel sick on campus, you should notify your faculty members and contact Stamps Health Services for guidance on medical evaluation.

If you’re at home and start feeling sick, or if you answer “yes” to any of the questions on the Covid-19 Daily Self-Checklist before coming to campus, stay home. Please notify your faculty members and contact Stamps Health Services for guidance on medical evaluation.

Please also refer to the Covid-19 Exposure Decision Tree to help you plan your next steps.

First, download the NOVID app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Enter the community code “JACKETS” when prompted, or at the top of the Settings page. 

• NOVID anonymously detects nearby users to build a web of people connected to you. If any of them reports an exposure or positive test result, you will receive a notification through the NOVID app. 
• NOVID captures no personally identifiable information from users.  
• The app exchanges information with other phones also running the app. It records a frequently changing code to other devices so they can be alerted if necessary — but without sharing any personally identifiable information.  
• Pairs of code interactions are stored on the NOVID server for a limited period of time. 
• If a student receives a positive Covid-19 test at Stamps Health Services, they will be given a one-time code that they can enter into the app, which will send a notification to other phones the app has recorded as potential exposures. 
• If a student has been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and is contacted by a contact tracer, they will be given a one-time code that they can enter into the app, which will send a notification to other phones within their network. 
• Community members who have received positive tests elsewhere on campus or off campus are required, as part of public health regulations, to report this to Stamps Health Services. They will also receive an app notification code after they have contacted Stamps. 
• Researchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Software Assurance Branch evaluated NOVID for privacy protections to make sure it doesn’t record personal information that could identify users — and for cybersecurity issues to make sure it protects the device. 
• More details about the NOVID app are available on the Covid Central portal and at novid.org. 

During the semester, some students may be required to quarantine or self-isolate to avoid the risk of infection to others. Quarantine occurs when a person has been exposed to the risk of contracting the virus but has not tested positive; self-isolation is when they have tested positive. If you are required to quarantine or self-isolate, you may feel completely well during this period, ill but able to work as usual, or you may be too ill to work until you recover. 

Remote courses and remote class sessions during hybrid courses

Unless you are too ill to work, you should be able to complete your remote work while in quarantine or isolation. 

In-person courses and in-person class sessions during hybrid courses

When in isolation or quarantine, you will be unable to attend in-person course sessions, but your instructor may require you either to participate in the course remotely, complete some complementary work that parallels what you are missing in class, or make up some classwork when you return. 

If you are ill and unable to do coursework while in isolation, you will be treated the same as any other time a student is ill. The Dean of Students will have been contacted when you report your positive test or are told that it is necessary to quarantine and, with your permission, will notify your instructor(s) that you may be unable to attend class events or finish your work as the result of a health issue. Your instructor(s) will not be told the reason. 

We have asked all faculty to be lenient and understanding when setting work deadlines or expecting students to finish work, so you should be able to catch up with any work that you miss while in quarantine or isolation. Your instructor(s) may make available any video recordings of classes or slides that have been used while you were absent and may prepare some complementary, asynchronous assignments that compensate for your inability to participate in class sessions. Ask instructors for details about how they will handle this situation. 

Campus Events Frequently Asked Questions

Whether you are traveling to Atlanta from an international or domestic location, the CDC recommends (but does not require) the following:

• 1-3 days before departure: Get tested for Covid-19.
• Within 3-5 days of arrival: Get tested for Covid-19 again. 
• Quarantine for 7 days. Note that the CDC recommends you stay isolated for the full 7 days, even if your test results are negative. 
• Quarantine for 10 days if you cannot get tested.

Visit the CDC site for recommendations around testing and international travel, as well as considerations before domestic travel. Remember that public health guidance is subject to change.

Georgia Tech is encouraging students to get tested for Covid-19 through the free surveillance testing program upon arrival to campus, and then again 3-5 days after arrival.

Additionally, there are resources available to you if you develop symptoms of Covid-19 or think you may have been exposed to Covid-19. Please visit the Stamps Health Services site for campus testing hours, locations, and options.

Please visit the Housing and Residence Life FAQs for more information.

For questions not addressed through the Housing FAQs, please email information@housing.gatech.edu or call 404.894.2470.

Yes. Here is how the quarantine, isolation and potential exposure process is working for our on-campus residents.  

• If a student is tested and diagnosed with Covid-19, the individual has to isolate. These students are given the option to return home to isolate or to take advantage of the isolation housing Georgia Tech Housing and Residence Life provides. The student must remain there until medically cleared to return to campus housing and normal campus activities.
  • Georgia Tech’s isolation housing – for people positive for Covid-19 – is located at an off-campus hotel and overflow is in a student apartment building at 10th and Home streets used only for this purpose. Housing and Residence Life helps with transportation to the off-campus location and provides meal delivery during the isolation period. 
• If a student has not tested positive, but is still worried about exposure or illness, that student is directed to get tested through surveillance testing (if asymptomatic) or Stamps Health Center (if symptomatic). 
  • If the student becomes concerned about exposure or illness after hours, the individual should remain in place and away from others until tested. 
  • In these cases, there are two options:
    • They may be allowed to stay in their room if they do not share a bedroom or bathroom.
    • They may be placed in temporary housing as a precaution until they can seek testing the next business day
      • The temporary housing may be an empty, apartment-style space with its own bathroom in on-campus housing. This apartment space may be in a building where other residents may also live.
    • In both cases, meals are delivered to them so they do not have to leave the room until testing reopens or they can be moved to one of the designated isolation/quarantine locations. 
• If a student is exposed to a person who has tested positive, the exposed student must quarantine for 14 days from last contact with the positive person. The student may choose to return home to quarantine or move to the off-campus hotel or overflow space in the empty building at 10th and Home streets.

Some social media posts have suggested that Georgia Tech has knowingly placed individuals who have tested positive for Covid-19 into empty dorm rooms that are next door to or share common space with healthy residents. To be clear, that is not taking place. 

For questions not addressed through the Housing FAQs, email information@housing.gatech.edu or call 404-894-2470. Due to high call and email volume, we will respond within 24-48 hours at the latest. For Georgia Tech communications regarding the coronavirus pandemic, please visit health.gatech.edu/coronavirus.