CPT

Since CPT is a benefit of F-1 status, you must be in valid F-1 status in order for our office to process your CPT request. If you are in the process of changing your immigration status, you are not eligible to begin CPT until your status is F-1 and your immigration record has been validated.

Must be fully enrolled for the full academic year preceding your CPT authorization

• Must be fully enrolled for the full academic year preceding your CPT authorization
• A full academic year is 3 consecutive quarters or 2 semesters (Law School and Jesuit School of Theology)
• Full time enrollment is 8 units for all graduate (Master’s / Doctoral) level programs and 12 units for undergraduate (Bachelor's) programs.
• Enrollment must be within your academic program and must be completed at SCU. Enrollment in a different academic program, or at another university does not count toward the academic year requirement.
• Summer enrollment is not mandatory. If you enroll in a full course load during the summer, then this counts toward your full academic year. If you do not enroll in a full course load, then this does not count toward or against your full academic year.
• Enrollment does not need to be in F-1 status. If you completed full time academic terms in a different immigration status (such as H-4), this can count toward your full academic year.
• Reduced Course Load, leave of absence and withdraw all generally restart your consecutive enrollment. Prior to requesting these immigration authorizations, an ISS Advisor will discuss how they impact your eligibility for CPT and OPT.

In order to be authorized for CPT your practical training opportunity (sometimes called internships, externships or practicums) must be directly related to your major. To learn more about evaluating academic internships and job offers, please see below.

• Curricular ties are the most important element for CPT authorization. 
• CPT can only be authorized if a student is earning academic credit for practical training tied to their curriculum (or, in other words, your major and your classes).
• CPT can only be authorized if a student has passed all prior CPT related courses. If you fail a CPT related course, you are no longer eligible to participate in CPT at SCU.
• CPT can only be authorized if a student is in good academic standing.
• Many academic programs and majors at SCU have internships, externships and practicums integrated into their curriculum. To learn how to get credit for practical training within your major, please see below.
• During the academic year, you cannot only be enrolled in a CPT course unless it is a required practicum.
• Students who have met the requirements to graduate cannot be authorized for CPT.

• When considering a practical training opportunity, you should first consider what you will learn and how the opportunity aligns with your major. 
• Consider which classes that you’ve already taken and how you will be able to apply this material to your practical training experience. Consider which classes you plan to take in the future and how your practical training experience will enhance and prepare you for this course work.
• ISS will ask your academic approver (faculty member teaching the course or advisor) to verify that your learning objectives align with the CPT course in which you are enrolled.

• During academic terms (Fall, Winter, Spring), we will only authorize in person CPT opportunities in the Bay Area.
• We can authorize CPT outside of the Bay Area during summer break.
• Remote work is allowed. If you are working remotely, you will use your address as the employment address on the CPT Request eForm.

Since CPT is practical training tied to your education rather than optional employment, CPT requires mentoring and supervision.

We cannot approve CPT that is independent, unsupervised, or self-employment.

• CPT can be paid or unpaid.
• CPT with a for-profit company should generally be paid.
• Learn more about the Department of Labor rules around unpaid internships. 
• We cannot approve paid CPT where the hourly pay does not meet the local minimum wage.

Altruistic, avocational volunteering (such as passing out food to unhoused people, or participating in a community clean up project) does not require employment authorization. However, productive work done off campus, regardless of whether it is paid or unpaid, requires prior Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization from our office.

You can only accept an unpaid position if the lack of payment does not violate U.S. Labor Laws. Generally speaking if you’re doing work that benefits a for-profit company in any way, your work should be compensated. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has a 7 point test to help you determine if the position you are offered is allowed to be unpaid or if payment is required.

For information on how to evaluate competing employment offers or on how to professionally negotiate an employment offer, please contact your career center.

• For CPT in the final term, your CPT end date may not go beyond your program end date (usually the last day of finals for the term).
• Once a student applies for Post-Completion Optional Practical Training (OPT), they are no longer eligible to apply for CPT. If you want to engage in CPT during your final academic term, you must secure your CPT I-20 before you request your OPT I-20.

• You will be required to upload your offer letter.
• The CPT Request requires approval from your academic program, be sure to allow time for their approval as well as ISS processing.
• If you are requesting CPT in your final term and you are enrolled in less than the minimum number of units (8 for graduate students and 12 for undergraduate students), be sure that you submit a Reduced Course Load (RCL) request prior to submitting your CPT Request.

Offer Letter Requirements

You will need to upload a CPT or job offer letter on letterhead that includes the following information:

• Company Name
• Company address
• Supervisor’s Name, phone number, and email address
• Specific start date
• Specific end date
• Number of hours per week
• Duties

If your offer letter does not meet the criteria above, please email iss@scu.edu or book an appointment to discuss options.

• You are only eligible for Full Time CPT authorization during the summer (regardless of the number of units you’re enrolled in), or if you are in your final term and you are enrolled in half-time or less units (i.e. for graduate students 4 or less units, including the CPT course units; for undergraduate students 6 or less units, including the CPT course units). 
• If you are authorized Full Time CPT in the summer, you may work as many hours as you like, including CPT and on-campus employment.
• If you are authorized for Part Time CPT, you may not work more than 20 total hours per week, including CPT and on-campus employment.

During the school year (Fall, Winter, Spring), students are limited to working part-time on-campus.

Part-time is defined as 19 hours per week on-campus, or 20 hours per week off campus (CPT).

If you plan to work both on and off campus during the school year (Fall, Winter, Spring), you may work no more than 20 total hours per week (so for example, 5 hours on campus and 15 off campus).

• Since CPT is curricular and based on your enrollment in a class, authorization dates are based on the academic calendar. Use the appropriate academic calendar:
  • All Quarter Programs
  • Law School
  • Jesuit School of Theology
• CPT may begin as early as the day after the prior term’s finals end. 
• CPT may extend until either the day before the next term begins (for students who will be enrolled in the following term) or the last day of finals (for students completing their degree).
• Remember, CPT is authorized by academic term (one term at a time) so you can't have dates that include more than one term. If you want to do CPT that extends through multiple terms, you will have to follow the CPT process each term. 
• The CPT start date you request must allow time for your academic program to approve as well as ISS to process.  The ISS Team requires up to 3 business days (Monday to Friday, not including University holidays) for processing.
• We provide an annual list of earliest and latest possible CPT dates as a courtesy to assist students in completing the CPT Cooperative Agreement. The dates are updated annually in July. You can also determine the dates yourself using the academic calendar.

Earliest and latest possible CPT start and end dates for:

• For CPT in the final term, your CPT end date may not go beyond your program end date (usually the last day of finals for the term).
• Once a student applies for post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT), they are no longer eligible to apply for CPT. If you want to engage in CPT during your final academic term, you must secure your CPT I-20 before you request your OPT I-20.

• This section should address what you expect to learn, not just what you expect to “do”. Oftentimes students will simply list their job duties. Keep in mind that this section does not ask for your job duties, it asks for your learning objectives. 
• Try starting your bullets or sentences with learning centric statements such as “gain experience with...” or “learn how to…” or “practice...”
• This section will be reviewed by your academic program and the ISS Team to ensure that your academic objectives align with the course objectives and CPT requirements.

The Academic Approver reviews your CPT request and confirms that you are enrolled in the appropriate course and that your employment opportunity including academic objectives align with the goals of the course.

Academic Approvers vary by academic program, as follows:

• Undergraduate students: Professor teaching the CPT qualifying course
• Graduate Engineering: Your Academic Advisor (or department chair, if advisor is unavailable)
• Graduate Business: MS Programs (msprograms@scu.edu) or MBA (mba@scu.edu)
• Graduate Education and Counseling Psychology: Student Services (ecpservices@scu.edu)
• Law School: Professor teaching the CPT qualifying course
• Jesuit School of Theology (JST): Professor teaching the CPT qualifying course, which is your program director (not your thesis or academic advisor)

• Your CPT request is first sent to the Academic Approver that you identified. Your Academic Approver will review your offer letter and academic objectives and confirm if you are enrolled in the appropriate class and if your academic objectives align with the class.
• Next, your CPT Request is automatically routed to the ISS Team for processing. So long as all criteria is met, ISS will authorize your CPT within 3 business days.

When authorizing your CPT, an ISS Advisor will:

1. Confirm your contact information is up-to-date and accurate
2. Confirm you are eligible for CPT by verifying that you have:
1. Enrolled in a full course load for the entire prior academic year (3 quarters or 2 semesters)
2. Completed enrollment for the term in which you’re doing CPT
3. Properly enrolled in a class that requires off campus practical training
4. Passed all CPT related courses that you’ve enrolled in
5. Met all other eligibility requirements
3. Review your Curricular Practical Training Request for accuracy and completeness

Once we've completed this process we will issue your CPT I-20 and send you a confirmation when it is available for download from the MyiSCU portal.

If we are not able to authorize your CPT, we will explain the reason why we cannot authorize your CPT, and you will be able to fix the issue and resubmit your CPT Request.

Once we receive your properly completed Curricular Practical Training Request from your Academic Approver it will take our team up to 3 full business days to process the request.

Business days are Monday to Friday, and do not include university holidays.

Please remember to factor processing times of both your Academic Approver and the ISS Team into your timeline.

Once our team creates your new I-20 showing the CPT authorization on page 2, we will email you that it is available for download in the MyiSCU Portal.

If you notice any typos or errors on your CPT I-20, please email iss@scu.edu to explain the error and request the correction. You do not need to visit our office to request the correction.

If you will end your practical training more than a week early or start more than a week late, we should update your CPT I-20. To get an updated CPT I-20, please email iss@scu.edu. Include the corrected dates in your email. You do not need to visit our office to request the correction. We will email you once your updated I-20 is available for download from the MyiSCU Portal. 

Once you have been authorized CPT with a company, the expectation is that you will engage in the CPT as authorized. If anything changes, for example, if you end your CPT early, you would need to notify our office. If you wish to engage in CPT with a different company, you would have to go through the CPT process again (new CPT Request, new CPT authorization, new CPT I-20 etc). This would also create a second CPT authorization in your record. Finally, it is generally considered very unprofessional to renege on an accepted offer. Before you renege, we would strongly recommend that you speak with an advisor at your career center.

Extension: If you wish to extend the duration of your CPT authorization within the same academic term, with the same employer, you should collect a newly completed and signed CPT cooperative agreement showing the new end date (the start date should remain the same) and send it to iss@scu.edu via email as soon as possible, at least 3 business days before your current CPT authorization ends. You do not need to meet with an advisor in person for extension. We will notify you once the updated I-20 is ready for pick-up; this process usually takes 2-3 business days.

Future CPT: If you wish to engage in CPT during a different or future academic term, this is not considered an “extension” but is actually an entirely new CPT authorization. In this case, you would need to go through the entire CPT process (course enrollment, new CPT Request, new CPT authorization, new CPT I-20 etc) for the next academic term.

You should generally not be travelling outside the U.S. if you are also authorized for CPT since the expectation is that you are in the U.S. engaged in classes and participating in the approved CPT.  Short term travel, particularly as it aligns with your company's vacations or holidays, is fine.

Students who engage in 12 months of FULL TIME CPT are not eligible for OPT after the completion of their degree. Since SCU will only authorize FULL TIME CPT for students during the summer, or during their final term when they have less than ½ time enrollment needed to graduate, most SCU students will never be able to do 12 months of FULL TIME CPT.

In addition to the impact that FULL TIME CPT has on eligibility for OPT, students who participate in CPT multiple terms may be at an increased risk of being perceived as using CPT to work, rather than using CPT to support only academically integrated practical training. You can discuss the risks of doing CPT multiple times with an ISS advisor by making an appointment.

In case there are ever questions about how the CPT was integrated into your academic program and related to your degree, we recommend that all students who do CPT keep the following documents:

• Syllabus for the CPT related course(s)
• Assignments from the CPT related course(s)
• Employment Offer Letter(s)
• Employment Evaluation(s)
• Paystubs, W-2 tax document(s)

F-1 students are only eligible for a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN) if they are working. If you do not already have a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN), you can apply for one after you have your CPT I-20 in hand. More information and instructions on how to apply can be found on our SSN website.

CPT (Curricular Practical Training) authorization is required for participating in any off-campus ministry and must be obtained before engaging in any such activity. 

• MDiv Students:  Your Ministerial Praxis requires CPT authorization if your field education placement is off-campus. Remember, you must receive CPT authorization prior to engaging in any off-campus ministry.
• STL, and STD, and ThM Students:  Your Pastoral Engagement, which is required each term throughout the program, requires CPT authorization if your pastoral placement is off-campus. Remember, you must receive CPT authorization prior to engaging in any off-campus ministry.

The CPT Request eForm in the MyiSCU Portal is a required part of the CPT process. It is important that you fill it out correctly in order to avoid delays in your authorization.

Company Information

• Company Name: this is the name of the parish or the location where you will be doing ministry (for example, All Saints Parish or Catholic Worker House)
• Company Address (site of CPT): this should be the location where you will be working most frequently.

Academic Approver Information

Your Academic Approver is the professor teaching the CPT qualifying course, which is likely your program director (not your thesis or academic advisor)

CPT Dates

CPT is only approved 1 semester at a time. Your dates need to match the semester you are asking for permission to engage in ministry. You can read about the correct dates in the next section.

CPT authorization dates follow the academic calendar. The earliest possible start and latest possible end dates for Fall and Spring semesters are listed below. However, your situation may require you to request authorization for a narrower time frame.

*Important Notes Regarding Dates:

• The start date on the CPT Request must be at least one week in the future at time of submission.
• If it is your last semester, CPT can only be authorized through the last day of finals or the program end date on your I-20, whichever comes first.

To apply for authorization for Curricular Practical Training off-campus, JST students need to:

1. Be properly enrolled in a class that requires the placement, such as
• FE-2152: M.Div. Integration SeminarII – for the 2^nd year ministerial formation requirement in the M.Div. program.
• FE-4400: STL Research Practicum - for the pastoral engagement requirement in the S.T.L. and Th.M. programs.
• FE-4401: STD Research Practicum - for the pastoral engagement requirement in the S.T.D. program.
2. Be enrolled full-time. *If you will have a reduced course load because it will be your final term, you must also submit a completed Reduced Course Load eForm through the MyiSCU Portal. (Note: Students in "Continuing Registration" are considered to be enrolled full-time.) 
3. Submit a Curricular Practical Training eForm through the MyiSCU Portal. 

Remember, you may not engage in any off-campus ministry until you receive a new I-20 with proper CPT authorization. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by email at iss@scu.edu.

CPT (Curricular Practical Training) authorization is required for participating in any off-campus practicum and must be obtained before engaging in any such activity. 

• Applied Psychology: One quarter of Field Experience is required, generally at the end of your program.
  
• Counseling: One quarter of Field Experience is required, generally at the end of your program.
  
• Counseling Psychology:  Your practicum is required in the final year of your program.
  
• MATTC:  Your practicum is required in the final year of your program.
  

Since ECP practicum is mandatory and requires off-campus placement often in education settings (such as at schools) that begin before the SCU Fall quarter, ISS will authorize CPT dates that start before the start of the Fall quarter.

CPT cannot be authorized beyond the end of your program (last day of classes), you should consult with ISS before accepting a practicum with an end date beyond your program end date.

ECP students can be authorized full-time CPT if they have completed all of their academic program except the mandatory practicum. If you have completed all classes other than mandatory practicum, please submit a Thesis/Capstone Confirmation eForm prior to requesting CPT.

If you have questions about the expected hours of your practicum placement please email iss@scu.edu.

• ISS Employment Conference
• ISS Workshops and Events
• SCU Career Center (Undergraduate Students, Graduate Engineering, Graduate ECP)
• Graduate Business Career Services
• Law School Career Advising
• JST Career Connections

• Rights and Protections for Temporary Workers
• Employment Info Sheet
• Unpaid Internships
• Information on Wages and Hours