What Is a STEM Degree? Meaning, Full Course List, and Why It Matters for OPT

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. A STEM degree is a program in one of these fields, officially defined in the US by the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List, which assigns every recognized field a CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) code. Only programs with a code on that list count as STEM for immigration purposes, regardless of how technical the subject sounds.

Answering “what is a STEM degree” comes down to two things: the acronym itself and the CIP-code definition that makes it enforceable for visa purposes.

Get My university Shortlist in 60 Secs

0%

Choose your dream country

Please select a country

UK

USA

Germany

Australia

Ireland

New Zealand

Canada

UAE

France

Sweden

Italy

Other

When do you want to study abroad?

Please select an option

Recommended Jan 2027

Sep 2027

2028 or later

2028 or later

What's your highest level of education?

Please select an option

Bachelor's

Master's

MBBS / MD

Diploma

12th Grade

10th Grade

Have you completed Class 12th?

Please select an option

Yes

No

What was your Class 12 CGPA/percentage?

Please enter a valid CGPA/percentage (0-100)

Are you a student or a parent/guardian?

Please select an option

Student

Parent/Guardian

Other

What do you want to study?

Please select a course

Select your current city

Please select your city

 

Please Enter Your Name

 

IN +91 UAE +971 QA +974 SA +966 KW +965 OM +968 BH +973

Please Enter a Valid Number

 

Please Enter Your Email

How Leap will help you

Personalised University Shortlist

Express Applications with Quicker Admits

End-to-End Application Support

Continue

• Bachelor's degree: 3 to 4 years
• Master's degree: 1 to 2 years, similar to most non-STEM postgraduate programs

• Computer science and data science
• Mechanical and electrical engineering
• Biotechnology and biomedical sciences
• Mathematics and statistics
• Physics and applied sciences

• United States: most globally ranked STEM universities, plus the OPT advantage
• United Kingdom: strong engineering and computing, including Imperial College London
• Germany: low-cost or tuition-free public universities with solid engineering
• Canada: strong STEM offerings paired with a post-study work permit
• Switzerland: home to ETH Zurich and a research-heavy STEM culture
• Singapore: a fast-growing STEM hub in Asia with strong industry ties

The actual list runs far wider than this shortlist, as the next few sections show.

• Stronger salary outcomes, covered later in this guide
• Eligibility for extended US work authorization after graduation

This second reason is what most Indian applicants are actually trying to confirm when they search this term, so knowing the acronym is only step one.

My insight: In counseling sessions, students almost never ask what the letters stand for. They ask whether their specific course counts, which comes down to a CIP code on the I-20, not the subject's name or department.

Once you know what is a STEM degree and which fields qualify, the next step is choosing where to study. Not every STEM college with a strong course carries the same entry bar, cost, or scholarship access. Here's a snapshot of well-established options across different regions and budgets.

Read more:MIT Scholarships for Indian students, Stanford University Scholarship, ETH Zurich Excellence Scholarship.

My insight: ETH Zurich's fee jump is recent and easy to miss if you're reading an older blog post. Tuition tripled for international entrants starting Autumn 2025, so any STEM college comparison still quoting the old CHF 730 figure for non-Swiss applicants is out of date.

Most people picture engineering, computer science, and physics when they hear "STEM courses." The real list is broader than that, and it's the full answer to “what is a STEMdegree” straight from the source that decides it.

Demography and Population Studies is a useful example of how this list actually moves. It joined the list alongside seven other fields in 2023, based on public nominations, so this isn't a static list frozen since 2016.

My insight: Students sometimes assume a course is STEM just because it has "science" or "technology" in the title. The program name means nothing here. What matters is the CIP code printed on the I-20, assigned by the university based on the actual curriculum.

Computer science and data science both sit inside the Computer and Information Sciences CIP series, one of the STEM list's core categories. For these two fields, “what is a STEM degree” has an unambiguous answer: yes.

If you're weighing a computer science route specifically, it's worth understanding how it differs from computer engineering before you commit, since the two get confused constantly despite leading to fairly different day-to-day work.

Our comparison of computer science and computer engineering breaks that down.

If data science is the direction you're leaning toward instead, the MS in Data Science in USA guide covers universities and costs specifically for that path.

My insight: Students rarely ask me whether CS or data science counts. They already know. What they actually need help with is choosing between the two, which usually comes down to whether you want to build systems or extract insight from them.

Political science and health science don't have a simple yes-or-no answer. This is exactly where “what is a STEM degree” stops being a straightforward question.

Political science:

• Generally not on the STEM Designated Degree Program List
• The closest overlap is Demography and Population Studies, a narrow, quantitative field
• Political science broadly stays outside the list

Health science:

• Health Professions appears as one of the STEM list's related CIP series
• Only specific, named programs within it qualify, not the whole category
• A health informatics or health information management degree may be STEM-designated
• A general health science or public health degree often is not

Sources: DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List

My insight: This is the single most common mix-up we untangle. A student hears "health science is STEM" from a friend and assumes their specific program automatically qualifies. It doesn't work that way. Always confirm the exact CIP code with your intended university before assuming anything.

Here's the part worth being blunt about. What is a STEM degree worth if the credential itself is only two years long? Less than most students assume. The 24-month STEM OPT extension requires a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree.

• A 2-year associate degree does not qualify for the extension at all
• This holds even if the credential is called an "Associate of Applied Science"
• This holds even if the subject itself is a listed STEM field
• The degree level matters just as much as the subject

This finding directly addresses a genuinely confused search pattern. Students who've heard "STEM gets you extra work time" sometimes assume any STEM-labeled two-year credential carries the same benefit. It doesn't.

My insight: This trips up more students than the political science question does, precisely because it feels like it shouldn't matter; the subject is genuinely STEM, so the degree-level exception feels like a technicality. Immigration doesn't treat it that way.

Fall intake (starting August or September) remains the primary, largest intake at most US universities, with Spring intake in USA in January serving as a smaller secondary option at far fewer institutions.

Since it's currently mid-September 2026, Fall 2026 has already begun, so the intake worth actively planning around right now is Fall 2027. Knowing what is a STEM degree matters most right here, where it starts paying off.

Once enrolled, a STEM-designated degree adds real, concrete value: Standard Optional Practical Training (OPT) gives F-1 graduates 12 months of US work authorization, and a STEM-designated degree adds a 24-month extension on top of that, for a total of 36 months.

Understanding how OPT differs from CPT is worth doing early, since the STEM extension applies after standard OPT, not instead of it.

Our breakdown of how the US added new STEM fields for OPT covers how these list updates actually happen.

My insight: August through November is when "is my course STEM" questions spike every year, right as Fall applicants finalize their shortlists. If you're in that window now, verify the CIP code before you submit, not after the I-20 arrives.

STEM occupations continue to out-earn non-STEM roles by a wide margin, which is why confirming what is a STEM degree before committing to a course matters. The figures below come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent STEM employment report, published in December 2025, which remains the latest official comparison of its kind.

Computer and IT roles alone are expected to open up around 317,700 positions a year through 2034, and STEM occupations already make up close to a quarter of the entire US workforce in 2024.

My insight: Take these numbers as a starting point, not a promise. What a graduate actually ends up earning depends far more on the specific course, the university's reputation in that field, and the city they land in than on any national median.

1. The CIP code decides, not the course name. A degree is only a STEM degree if its specific CIP code appears on the official list. Check the code, not the title.

2. Degree level matters as much as the subject. Associate degrees don't unlock the STEM OPT extension, no matter how STEM-sounding the subject is. A bachelor's degree or higher is required.

3. Some fields are genuinely contested, and it's fine to say so. Political science and general health science do not have clear yes-or-no answers. Verify your assumption before planning your OPT timeline.

Verified by: LeapScholar's US counseling team, who help Fall-intake applicants confirm CIP codes and STEM eligibility before finalizing their shortlist.

Not sure if your shortlisted course actually qualifies? Talk to a LeapScholar counselor before you apply.