Health care services in the U.S. can be costly and unexpected expenses can be disruptive to your academic progress. It is important that you are covered by comprehensive health insurance.

The U.S. does not have comprehensive socialized health care as is available in many countries. In the U.S., health care and health insurance can be expensive. Health care refers to the services one receives from medical providers. Health insurance, largely privatized in the U.S., refers to the policy one purchases that helps to cover some of the costs associated with receiving health care.

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All newly admitted students in F status who are undergraduates registered for 6 credits or more will be automatically enrolled in UMD's Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP). Undergraduate students who already have a US health insurance policy and wish to apply for a waiver can do so by following 8 steps outlined in the Health Center website. Students can complete the waiver after they have registered for classes and must complete the waiver no later than February 15.

Undergraduates must be registered for at least 6 credits for Spring 2023 before they can enroll or activate SHIP insurance or apply for a waiver. Undergraduate F1 students are enrolled in the plan automatically and will be billed for the policy. 

New students can register in order to activate their insurance (and receive their insurance cards) by following the instructions here: https://health.umd.edu/insurance-billing/SHIP. 

Your US address and US phone number will be required when activating insurance and insurance can not be canceled or refunded once you enroll, so enrollment should occur after you enter the US.  

NOTE: For additional information or assistance, please contact Academic Health Plans Customer Service at 1-855-850-4303.

All Graduate students enrolled full-time in a master’s or doctoral program at the University of Maryland, College Park campus must have health insurance coverage. Graduate students are not automatically enrolled in the SHIP insurance plan, for more information on your options see the Graduate School’s web page here. 

Graduate students enrolling in an external plan, or if covered by someone else’s plan (a parent or a spouse), should complete the External Health insurance Reporting Form on the Academic HealthPlans (AHP). 

For Graduate students who are not automatically enrolled, February 15, 2023 is the deadline to enroll in the SHIP insurance plan. Graduate students must be registered for at least one credit for Spring 2023 before they are permitted to enroll in the plan. Your US address and a US phone number will be required when enrolling and insurance can not be canceled or refunded once you enroll, so enrollment should occur after you arrive in the US.

J1 exchange students should keep an eye out for updates from your exchange team regarding the process to enroll in SHIP insurance.

The University of Maryland SHIP insurance plan is a platinum level insurance plan provided by Academic HealthPlans, Inc (Aetna Student Health PPO).

For information about the SHIP plan, please visit their website here.

For undergraduate students, and graduates who elect coverage, SHIP coverage is January 1, 2023 - July 31, 2023 at a cost of $1,356.

SHIP covers most services at the University of Maryland Health Center. At the University Health Center, SHIP patients do not have deductibles and no fee is required for covered services.

On December 15th ISSS launched the “Intent Form” All students who have I-20/DS-2019 with a spring arrival date are required to complete this form. The form was added to ISSS iTerp checklist. If you haven’t completed this form, please login to iTerp. The due date was January 1st.

Ask your questions via our Live Chat, available on our website Monday-Friday from 9-11 a.m. ET.

Schedule a Virtual Appointment with an ISSS advisor. Appointments can be scheduled under newly admitted students Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET.

By email: isss-admissions@umd.edu

For important reminders and updates, and to keep aware of any upcoming events, please follow our office at our social media accounts. We've recently launched our new ISSS Instagram!

We hope that you find these emails informative and helpful. You are receiving

them because you have been accepted to the University of Maryland for the Spring 2023 semester. If you do not intend to enroll at UMD, please inform ISSS via your iTerp checklist, your department, and either the Graduate School (graduate students) or the undergraduate admissions office (undergraduate students) that you decline your admission.