Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
CPT is a type of work authorization for eligible F-1 international students to participate in paid off-campus internships before graduation. However, it should not prevent the student from making reasonable progress towards the degree. The Office of International Services (OIS) provides additional information on their website that all graduate students should also be aware of.
International students should review the following CPT information prior to applying for CPT.
Eligibility Requirements
Time at USC
Maintain F-1 student status for at least one academic year.
Graduate GPA
Minimum GPA requirement to apply for a CPT:
Fall/Spring CPT: 3.0 +
Summer CPT: 2.75+
Online Training
Master's Students Only
Master's students must complete all Career Success Course (CSC) modules online and pass the quiz with a score of 80% or above.
Take CSC*Time at USC: Students must have maintained full-time student status for at least one academic year. If you attended undergraduate or Master's programs at a U.S. Institution, you may be eligible for CPT earlier. Please see a GAPP advisor in OHE-106 and OIS CPT Website for more information.
*Progressive Degree program (PDP)students are waived of the Online Training requirement.
*Ph.D students: CPT cannot be approved for a PhD student who has applied or is planning to apply for a program extension unless the CPT directly supports research or writing the dissertation. In which case, you must upload a written explanation along with your offer letter.
CPT Course Registration
Students must register for an internship course during the semester they wish to do CPT.
Computer Science Master’s students and Electrical Engineering Master’s students must also successfully complete the Professional Writing and Communication for Internships course. This can be completed as CS-598 (1.0 unit), ENGR-595A (1.0 unit), or the noncredit version of ENGR 595A. Progressive Degree program (PDP) students do not need to take ENGR-595A class.
| Degree(Major) | If earned Credit Grade | First Internship | Future Internships |
| CS/EE MS | CSCI 598 | ENGR 596 or ENGR 597 | ENGR 596 or ENGR 598 |
CS/EE MS | ENGR 595a (1 unit) | ENGR 596 or ENGR 598 | ENGR 596 or ENGR 598 |
CS/EE MS | ENGR 595a (0 unit) | ENGR 596 or ENGR 597 | ENGR 596 or ENGR 598 |
| Other MS | N/A | ENGR 596 | TBD |
| Ph.D | N/A | ENGR 596 | ENGR 596 |
*Receiving an “NC” (no credit) grade from ENGR 596, 597 or 595b will result in ineligibility for future CPTs.
*ENGR 596 is 1 unit; ENGR 597 is 0.5 unit; ENGR 595b is 0 unit; and ENGR 598 is 0 credit.
*ENGR 597 can not be repeated.
Hours and Location of Employment
If it’s your final semester, you can work full-time if your course enrollment is no more than 4 credits (not including CPT credit). 10-20 hours per week is considered part-time and 20-40 per week is considered full-time.
If it’s NOT your final semester, you can only work part-time with full-time course enrollment
**Students cannot take academic difficulty RCL with CPT simultaneously.Location:
- Work must be in the L.A area if your class enrollment is more than 4 credits.
- Remote CPTs are not allowed. The student must work at a company site.
- PhD students must have passed the Qualifying Examination and be enrolled in Dissertation units in order to work outside the Los Angeles area during the Fall and Spring Semesters, or to be eligible for full-time CPT.
- PhD students cannot hold a 50% assistantship during the Fall or Spring semesters, and be approved for CPT unless eligible for full-time CPT.
During summer semester, you can work on both part-time and full-time internships in the U.S.
Location:- Within the U.S.
- Remote CPTs are not allowed. The student must work at a company site.
- PhD students must have passed the Qualifying Examination and be enrolled in Dissertation units in order to work outside the Los Angeles area during the Fall and Spring Semesters, or to be eligible for full-time CPT.
- PhD students cannot hold a 50% assistantship during the Fall or Spring semesters, and be approved for CPT unless eligible for full-time CPT.
To ensure a rewarding internship experience and earn academic credit for your internship course, internships must be:
- At least 12 weeks during Fall and Spring, 10 weeks during Summer.
- A minimum of 10 hours per week.
CPT Application
CPTs cannot start before or end after the posted dates below.
FALL 2018 | SPRING 2018 | SUMMER 2018 | |
| Application Start Date | TBA | Nov. 23 | March 5 |
| Deadline | First Deadline: Sept. 7 Final Deadline: TBA | First Deadline: Jan. 26 Final Deadline: Feb. 26 | First Deadline: June 1 Final Deadline: June 22 |
| If this is your final semester… | Aug. 20 – Dec. 12 | Jan. 8 – May 11 | May 14 – Aug. 7 |
| If this is NOT your final semester… | Aug. 20 – Jan. 6 | Jan. 8 – May 15 | May 14 – Aug. 19 |
| Deadline to submit final report | November 30 | April 27 | August 3 |
The Offer Letter required for CPT approval must feature the company’s letterhead. Job must be related to student’s major. The information given below must be included in the body of the letter. If any information is missing, the offer letter will be rejected by GAPP. See this Sample CPT Letter as a guide – feel free to share this with your company if they have questions.
- Student’s full name
- Location where the student will work – Address in the letterhead is insufficient. Work location address must be in the body of the letter.
- Job description – This is a description of what you’re doing on the job and is more than just your title
- Hours per week to be worked – Must state the number of hours per week (e.g. “40”, “15-20”, “thirty”, etc.
- Beginning and ending dates of the internship – Time frame must adhere to the specific dates listed in the chart above
- Salary information – This can be given as either an hourly rate or for a contract period.
- Receive an offer letter with all the required information.
- If you are requesting ENGR 596: Locate a full-time faculty member in your major department who is willing to supervise you for ENGR 596. It is the student’s responsibility to select a professor who is available to supervise the CPT. Complete the CPT ENGR 596 Approval Application online at MyViterbi – this must include your job description. Log in then select “Directed Research CPT”
If you are requesting ENGR 595b: Completion of ENGR 595a for credit (1 unit) is required. Skip step 2 and proceed to Step 3 - Complete the GAPP Online CPT Request Form and upload your CPT offer letter. The offer letter from the company must be on the company’s letterhead – see Sample CPT Letter as a guide.
- A GAPP advisor will review your documents and issue d-clearance for ENGR 596 or ENGR 595b if approved. You will be notified via e-mail when your CPT request has been reviewed.
- Once you obtain d-clearance, register for ENGR 596 or ENGR 595b immediately.
- OIS will review your CPT request online after receiving GAPP approval and will notify you via e-mail when your I-20 is ready for pick-up. OIS processing time for CPT is 4 business days.
Upon CPT approval notification from OIS, please be sure to pick up CPT I-20 and use it as your most recent I-20 for future immigration inquiry.
Some friendly reminders regarding your CPT…
- Follow internship course syllabus and contact the GAPP office for your questions regarding the internship course.
- Remove your application from any pending recruiting processes.
- If you cannot continue the internship, please contact the GAPP office as soon as possible.
Volunteer internships are unpaid internships that do not require a formal CPT to be filed.
If you would like to receive internship credit for a volunteer internship, please follow the steps below.
1. Obtain an offer letter from the company where you will be doing your internship. The offer letter MUST contain all criteria listed in the Offer Letter Requirements section.
2. Locate a full-time faculty member in your major department who is willing to supervise you for ENGR 596. Complete the CPT ENGR 596 Approval Application online at MyViterbi – this must include your job description (Log in then select “Directed Research CPT”).
3. Upload your offer letter and request ENGR-596 d-clearance online. You will be notified via when your offer letter has been approved and d-clearance for ENGR-596 will be issued then.