Welcome! Each year the University of Connecticut hosts visiting scholars from around the world who are advanced students, faculty, scientists, researchers and other experts in their field, to perform research, teaching, or other scholarly activity at the University.

We also host student interns – current students in their home countries who are coming to the University to conduct an internship required for your degree.

If you have been invited by a UConn department, school, or institute to be a visiting scholar or student intern, International Student and Scholar Services is here to help you navigate the visa process and other aspects of life at the University.

Your hosting department at UConn will initiate the visa process on your behalf by requesting a Form DS-2019 for you and any accompanying dependent family members through the ISSS Scholar Portal. You must meet all the criteria for visiting scholars at UConn in order to receive a Form DS-2019. 

• After your hosting department begins this process, you will be sent an email prompting you to login to the ISSS Scholar Portal and complete your sections of the online DS-2019 request form.
• You will be asked to upload your passport, CV, and financial documentation into the request form.  
• Once your DS-2019 is issued, ISSS will send you a pre-arrival email providing you information from the form that you can use to start the J-1 exchange visitor visa process.
• Your hosting academic department at UConn will mail the paper document to you.
• Review the complete J-1 Scholar DS-2019 Request Procedures for hosting departments here.

Student/Exchange Visitor Applicants Privacy Notice:
For information on the University’s privacy policy and how it relates to international students and exchange visitors, please visit here.