{"id":164,"date":"2017-01-09T14:46:20","date_gmt":"2017-01-09T20:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/?page_id=164"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:57:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T15:57:48","slug":"curricular-practical-training-cpt","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/curricular-practical-training-cpt\/","title":{"rendered":"Curricular Practical Training (CPT)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Curricular Practical Training\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

International Students who have completed one academic year (fall, interim, and spring) of study in the U.S. are eligible to apply for off-campus employment authorization. First-year students are <\/span>not <\/span>eligible.<\/span><\/p>\n

St. Olaf international students are required to register for a credit-bearing Academic Internship, Independent Study, or Internship Reflection Seminar in order to participate in CPT. Curricular Practical Training authorizations won\u2019t be given if over 50% of the semester has passed because off-campus experiences must be primarily academic in nature to qualify as CPT under federal regulations [8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(i)].<\/span><\/p>\n

Students must have a job\/internship\/research offer before applying for CPT and must have CPT authorization before they begin working. The employment must be <\/span>directly related to the student\u2019s major<\/span><\/a>. If a student wishes to change jobs during the authorized period of employment, the student must go through the entire process again and re-apply for CPT. If the student is offered multiple opportunities, they must complete the academic internship learning agreement in Handshake for each position\/employer, but only need to register for one .25 internship credit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simply not getting paid does not exempt you from the need for CPT.\u00a0 However, CPT may not be required for \u201clegitimate\u201d volunteering activities that are altruistic in nature and for which you are donating time with an organization whose primary purpose is civic, charitable, or humanitarian in nature. Check with Caitlin whether your volunteer activity requires CPT or not. If you are paid or reimbursed in any way for your time, you will need CPT.<\/span><\/p>\n

CPT Application Process for Independent Experiences<\/b><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Secure An Internship, Job, Or Research Position<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Utilize the Piper Center to learn about internship opportunities and prepare your application materials.\u00a0 The role must be <\/span>directly connected to your major<\/span><\/a> field of study.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Identify the Process for Getting Academic Credit for an Internship (Academic Internship)<\/b><\/li>\n
    2. Summer Internships: \u00a0 <\/b>Most students should select the <\/span>Internship Reflection Seminar<\/b> option in Handshake.\u00a0 Students choosing .25 credits are waived the cost of the credit and assigned a faculty supervisor.\u00a0 Students choosing .5 or 1.0 credits will need to identify a faculty supervisor (see step 2b below) and pay for the credit.\u00a0 There is no limit to the number of hours you can work with full-time CPT authorization.<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Fall or Spring Semester Internships:\u00a0 Identify a faculty supervisor in your major.\u00a0 <\/b>Choose the <\/span>traditional academic internship<\/b> option.\u00a0 Work with your faculty supervisor to identify specific academic requirements that you will submit in the academic internship process. \u00a0 Students are limited to 20 hours per week of employment in total, inclusive of both on- and off-campus employment.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Interim Internships: <\/b>Most students should select the <\/span>Internship Reflection Seminar<\/b> option in Handshake.\u00a0 This will register you for 1.0 credit hours.\u00a0 Students do also have the option of completing a traditional academic internship (see step 2b above). \u00a0 You can NOT do a class and an internship at the same time. Students must complete at least 120 hours (~30\/week) hours in the internship during interim.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      <\/h3>\n
        \n
      1. \u201cRequest An Experience\u201d In Handshake<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        If you have questions about Handshake, please ask Bryan Shealer from The Piper Center. After you request an experience, your information will be reviewed by the Piper Center. Your site and faculty supervisors will then receive emails requesting that they approve of your experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Contact Your Site Supervisor To Notify Them Of Your Academic Internship Request.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Site supervisors will receive an email directly from Handshake.\u00a0 Make sure they are expecting this email and to check their spam folders.\u00a0 They must first review and approve the internship before the approval process moves forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

          After your site supervisor, faculty supervisor, Caitlin Lamont Kreienkamp, and the Piper Center have approved your experience, the <\/span>Registrar\u2019s Office will add the internship & reflection seminar enrollment in SIS<\/b> and send you an email confirmation! However, you are not done with the CPT authorization yet\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. <\/b> Make Sure You Have An Offer\/Employment\u00a0 Letter From Your Employer<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            The offer letter should be signed and written on letterhead.\u00a0 It must include all of the following details:\u00a0<\/span>
            \n<\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Your legal name<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Dates of employment<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Paid or unpaid<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Number of hours per week<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Address of the employer and where the work will happen<\/span><\/li>\n
            • A brief description of your duties\/responsibilities<\/span>
              \n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                \n
              1. Request CPT Authorization<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Email the offer\/employment letter mentioned above to Caitlin to complete your CPT Authorization. You will then receive a new Form I-20 showing CPT authorization for the specific employer, location, and dates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Pick-up your new I-20 with CPT Authorization<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  You will provide this I-20 to your employer when completing the I-9 Form (Employment Eligibility Verification) and W-4 (tax form) with your employer.\u00a0 It is <\/span>your<\/span> responsibility to cease working after your CPT authorization expires.\u00a0 Please do not rely on your employer to remind you of this.<\/span><\/p>\n

                  *Keep all Form I-20s issued to you with CPT authorization!\u00a0<\/i><\/b>Never throw away an old Form I-20.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

                  Every effort has been made to update the information above, however things are subject to change without notice. Please be in contact with Caitlin Lamont Kreienkamp for accurate, timely information about your specific situation. <\/span>Document Last Updated: April 6, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

                  <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  Curricular Practical Training\u00a0 International Students who have completed one academic year (fall, interim, and spring) of study in the U.S. are eligible to apply for off-campus employment authorization. First-year students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":444,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-164","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/444"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":436,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/164\/revisions\/436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/international-student-immigration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}