Pre-Arrival

https://isss.temple.edu

Visa Questions

The page below will help you prepare for arrival, secure housing and health insurance, and be aware of orientation events. For questions about obtaining an I-20, visa, or crossing the border, please refer to the ISSS website.

Visa Questions

Housing Options Health Insurance & Immunizations Orientation & Advising Pre-Arrival Webinar What to Bring International Tuition Payments Airport Pick-Up

Student Housing

All new international students are highly encouraged to arrive on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. If you arrive outside of these dates, you must confirm your arrival date with our office via intl@temple.edu. Please confirm with us if you will be living in on-campus housing and will need to move in on Saturday, January 13, 2024. New graduate students may have different arrival dates; please check with your program administrator in your school/college for additional details.

On-Campus Housing

On-campus housing is managed by the Office of University Housing and Residential Life. We encourage new students to explore options and utilize the virtual tours available on their website. New incoming students can manage their housing selection via the "MyHousing" application on their TUportal homepage. ISA recommends all new students live on-campus. For specific questions or inquiries regarding on-campus housing, please email housing@temple.edu.
Our Global Living Learning Community facilitates a cross-cultural experience for domestic and international students in Morgan Hall. Students live with other globally-minded students and learn from each other through monthly programming and a required one-credit First-Year Seminar. This is a great opportunity for first year international students to make long-lasting friends and build connections that can lead to future leadership development opportunities.

Off-Campus Housing

The University Housing & Residential Life office maintains a listing of available off-campus apartments for students to review, accessible at offcampus.temple.edu. If you are looking to live off-campus, this is a great resource to explore options throughout Philadelphia.
We encourage all students seeking to lease an off-campus apartment that is not managed by Temple University to fully read and review the leasing agreement prior to signing. Please note that leases in the U.S. are typically a legal contract and do not allow for early move-outs or subleases. If you have questions about the details of your lease, we advise you to discuss the details with the leasing manager or owner of the property.
The ISA office works closely with the following off-campus buildings. In each of these buildings, we have International Resident Coordinators (IRCs), international student leaders who live in these buildings and help our international students. IRCs plan fun programs and events in their buildings, connect international students to resources as needed, and answer questions and help residents navigate any challenging situations. If you have questions about this program, please email our office at intl@temple.edu.
The View
The Vantage
University Village
Oxford Village
Beech International

Health Insurance & Immunizations

Protect yourself and others throughout the duration of your study in the United States. Temple University requires all international students with F1 or J1 visa status to maintain health insurance that meets certain minimum standards as determined by the United States Department of State.

Minimum Standards

Learn more about Temple University's health insurance plan options and rates. Enroll in Temple's health insurance plan or complete a waiver for health insurance. For more information about student health insurance, please email studentinsurance@temple.edu.

To learn more about required immunizations and COVID-19 related questions for all incoming full-time students, visit Temple University's Student Health Services.

Orientation & Advising

For Spring 2024, the International Student Affairs office will host two welcome sessions:

Thursday, January 11, 2024: International Graduate Student Welcome Session from 9 am - 11 am in room 110 AB at the Science Education and Research Center (SERC) located at 1925 N. 12th Street, Philadelphia, 19122.
Friday, January 12, 2024: International Undergraduate Student Welcome Session from 9 am - 11 am in room 110 AB at the Science Education and Research Center (SERC) located at 1925 N. 12th Street, Philadelphia, 19122.

Undergraduate Students

Each new student is required to complete their "Next Steps" process on TUportal. Following completion of these steps, students are able to register for a required Orientation/Advising session. More details may be found on the orientation website. Additionally, all new international students are required to attend a virtual International Student Welcome Session prior to the start of the semester. This session is mandatory for all new undergraduate students.

For Fall 2023, our welcome session is scheduled to take place on Friday, January 12, 2024. Note that you must attend both an official orientation provided by the University as well as our special international welcome session prior to the start of classes. A RSVP link with location details will be sent by email to all new students who have submitted their enrollment deposit.

First-Year Students:

New first-year students will register for an Orientation session that includes academic advising after completing the required "Next Steps" on TUportal. Academic advising involves students meeting their academic advisor in their school or college and selecting courses for the coming semester. For Spring 2024, new international students can attend any First-Year Orientation session offered for their school/college. Please contact Orient@temple.edu with any questions about times/dates.

Transfer Students:

New transfer students will register for an academic advising session after completing the required "Next Steps" on TUportal. Academic advising involves students meeting their academic advisor in their school or college and selecting courses for the coming semester. There are multiple sessions offered and students can select an open date on TUPortal. Visit Transfer Orientation for more details about Transfer Advising and steps to sign-up.

For additional registration questions, please email orient@temple.edu.

Graduate Students

All new graduate international students will receive information from their school or college about specific departmental orientation sessions. All graduate international students who have submitted an enrollment deposit will also be invited to the International Students Welcome Session event. This session is not mandatory, but highly encouraged as it will cover expectations, resources, and tips for success. For Spring 2024, this session will take place on Friday, January 12, 2024. An RSVP link with location details will be sent by email to all new students who have submitted their enrollment deposit. Additional questions can be sent to intl@temple.edu.

Pre-Arrival Webinar

Prior to the start of the academic term, new, deposited students are invited to a virtual Pre-Arrival webinar. During this session, both the ISA team and other campus partners will introduce helpful Temple resources and provide information regarding arrival processes. This session is not mandatory, but highly recommended for new students.

New students will be invited to pre-register to the event via email. For questions, please email us at intl@temple.edu.

What to Bring

While each student's packing list will look different, we encourage you to consider bringing the following items to your new home in Philadelphia.

International Tuition Payments

Temple University has partnered with Flywire which provides a fast, convenient and secure way for international students to send funds for tuition payments only. Students can make international payments with real-time currency conversion. This service offers 24-hour support in multiple languages.

Getting to Main Campus

The Philadelphia International Airport is located 13 miles/20.9 kilometers from Temple University. You may also view the Philadelphia International Airport website for more information. To get to Main Campus from the airport, students are encouraged to use airport taxis or ride sharing apps such as Uber or Lyft. If you fly into another airport such as Newark Liberty in New Jersey or JFK International in New York City, we recommend arranging an airport transfer shuttles to Philadelphia ahead of time.

International Student Affairs

Pre-Arrival

Contents

Student Housing

Health Insurance & Immunizations

Orientation & Advising

Pre-Arrival Webinar

What to Bring

International Tuition Payments

Getting to Main Campus

Go back to International Student Affairs More in Arriving to the US

International Student Affairs

Contents

Student Housing

Health Insurance & Immunizations

Orientation & Advising

Pre-Arrival Webinar

What to Bring

International Tuition Payments

Getting to Main Campus

Go back to International Student AffairsMore in Arriving to the US

Go back to International Student Affairs More in Arriving to the US