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 the Career Success Path (CPT Requirement) in the Experience Viterbi App (iOS only) OR on the website via the link below:

Career Success Path

*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 VASE advisor in OHE-106 and OIS CPT Website for more information.

*Progressive Degree program (PDP) students are waived of the Online Training requirement.

*PhD 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.

*Students who fulfilled degree requirements may be eligible to take internship with a 3/4 unit course enrolled in their final semester before I-20 Program End Date. Internship is not an acceptable reason for Program Extension.

CPT Course Registration

Students must register for an internship course during the semester they wish to do CPT.
ENGR 596 is 1 unit; ENGR 597 is 0.5 unit; and ENGR 598 is 0 unit.
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 CSCI 598 (1 unit), ENGR-595a (1 unit), ENGR-595a (0 unit) or ENGR 597 (0.5 unit).
Receiving a failing grade (no credit) from ENGR 596, 597 or 595b will result in ineligibility for future CPTs.
Program Extensions will not be approved if reason is attributed to 0.5 unit deficiency.

Degree(Major)	First Internship	Future Internship
MS (CS/ECE)	ENGR 597	ENGR 596 or ENGR 598
MS (other)	ENGR 596	ENGR 596 or ENGR 597*
MS (other)	ENGR 597	ENGR 596 or ENGR 598*
PhD	ENGR 596	ENGR 596

Students enroll in an internship class during the same semester as they do the internship.
ENGR 597: Master’s students in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering should take ENGR 597 (0.5 unit) for their first internship if they have not completed ENGR 595a for 1 unit. Students will concurrently gain practical work experience in an internship and participate in class to develop their communication skills. If you completed ENGR 595a for 0 unit, you will not be required to complete the communications portion of ENGR 597.
ENGR 597 cannot be repeated.
ENGR 598*: ENGR 598 (0 unit) is only available to Master’s students who have successfully completed ENGR-595a for 1 unit or ENGR 597 for 0.5 unit.

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.

Full-time CPT (1 class and 1 internship class)
Part-time CPT

If it’s NOT your final semester, you can only work part-time with full-time course enrollment

Full-time CPT
Part-time CPT (full-time class 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. Exceptions are made for MS students who are continuing with the same company from a prior CPT experience.
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.

During summer semester, you can work on both part-time and full-time internships in the U.S.

Full Time CPT
Part Time CPT

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.

CPT Application

Dates and Deadlines

CPTs cannot start before or end after the posted dates below.

	FALL 2019	SPRING 2020	SUMMER 2020
Application Start Date	July 8, 2019	Oct.31, 2019	TBD
Deadline	First Deadline: Sep. 13 Final Deadline: Oct. 15	First Deadline: Jan. 31 Final Deadline: Mar. 4	First Deadline: TBD Final Deadline: TBD
Internship duration: (If it is your final semester)	Aug. 26 – Dec. 18	Jan. 13– May 15	May 18 – Aug. 11
Internship duration: (If it is NOT your final semester)	Aug. 26 – Jan. 12	Jan. 13 – May 15	May 18 – Aug. 21
Deadline to submit final report	Check with Faculty Supervisor	Check with Faculty Supervisor	Check with Faculty Supervisor

Offer Letter Requirements

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 VASE. 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 – Required for PhD students. This can be given as either an hourly rate or for a contract period.

Accepting and Reneging Internship/Job Offers

Application Process

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 597 and ENGR 598: Skip step 2 and proceed to Step 3
Complete the VASE 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 VASE advisor will review your documents and issue d-clearance for ENGR 596, ENGR 597 or ENGR 598 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, ENGR 597 or ENGR 598 immediately.
OIS will review your CPT request online after receivingVASE 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.

After Approval

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 VASE office as soon as possible.

Volunteer Internships

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.

Other Resources