Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is a temporary training authorization for an “alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or practicum which is offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school.”
- CPT can only be authorized prior to your degree completion for a work experience that is in your major field of study and considered to be “an integral part of an established curriculum.”
- CPT can be authorized for a work experience (e.g., internship, training in your major field of study) that is part-time (20 or fewer hours per week) or full-time (over 20 hours per week) if you meet the CPT eligibility requirements.
If you are authorized for a cumulative total of 12 months or more of full-time CPT at your current degree level, you are ineligible for Optional Practical Training at that degree level.
Eligibility: You must meet ALL of the following criteria in order to request CPT
- You are a degree-seeking student currently in valid F-1 status;
- You completed one full academic year (Fall & Spring semester) of continuous full-time enrollment in active nonimmigrant status
- Summer enrollment does not count towards the one-year full-time enrollment requirement.
- You meet one of the following requirements for CPT, which your Academic Advisor or Graduate Program Administrator must sign off on:
- Be enrolled in an internship course for credit that could count towards your degree. (Enrollment in the course must be concurrent with the training. For example, if the internship is in the summer, you must be enrolled in the internship course during the summer) or
- Your degree must require an internship and that requirement is clearly documented in the University Catalog.
- You are enrolled full-time at CU Boulder or have an approved Reduced Course Load (RCL) during the semester you will be using CPT;
- If using CPT in the summer you do not need to be enrolled full-time; however, if you are using CPT in the summer based on enrollment in an internship course then you must be enrolled in the internship course during the summer
- Maintaining on-campus presence through either a full-time course load or an authorized reduced course load. Please note, only 3 credits of online/remote/distance education courses may be counted towards the full-time enrollment requirement.
- If you plan to graduate in the summer, you must still be registered for credits that require on-campus presence in the summer; enrolling in only distance credits is not sufficient.
- You have a job offer (offer letter and position description) for training in your current major field of study (not minor or previous major);
- The training is not related to the marijuana industry (including working in a lab extracting CBD oil for medical purposes); AND
- You must complete the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Request e-form group.
- It consists of three required e-forms (CPT: Academic Program Information, CPT: Training Information, and CPT: Attestation & Academic Advisor/Graduate Program Administrator Review) and is available in the Training/Employment-Related Forms section of your MyISSS portal.
- Your Academic Advisor or Graduate Program Administrator must complete a section on the CPT: Attestation & Academic Advisor/Graduate Program Administrator Review e-form.
CPT Protocol
CPT Eligibility
Planning for CPT