Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

There are two types of CPT: required and not required. Required CPT is when the academic program mandates practical work experience in order to graduate. Not required or optional CPT is when the practical work experience is for credit and directly related to your field of study.

Requirements for Non-Required CPT

• You must be enrolled in a CPT course.
• The designated CPT course must have been set up and approved by your UM-Dearborn faculty department. 
• You must have declared a major if you are an undergraduate student.
• If you wish to engage in CPT during Winter or Fall term, you must be registered for the CPT course during that term.
• If you wish to engage in CPT during the Spring/Summer term, you may register either in the preceding Winter term or during the Spring/Summer term.
• If you register for the CPT course for one term and are authorized for CPT work during that particular term, you cannot then use the same registration again for the next term except there are other departmental policies. 
• Non-required CPT will not be allowed in the student's final term unless you need to register for other courses which are required for the completion of your academic program.
• Failure to complete the CPT course will result in your falling out of legal F-1 status.
• Be aware that adding a CPT course may have an impact on your tuition and fees.

Part-time CPT: Employment for 20 hours or less per week is considered part-time CPT. You must be simultaneously enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours and one CPT course in order to maintain lawful F-1 status.

Full-time CPT: Employment for more than 20 hours per week is considered full-time OPT. You must be simultaneously enrolled in a minimum of 3 credit hours and one CPT course in order to maintain lawful F-1 status. Please be aware that 12 months or more of full-time CPT will invalidate your eligibility for Optional Practical Training (OPT). During the academic year (fall and winter semesters), you must be simultaneously enrolled additional required courses in order to maintain lawful F-1 status.

To be eligible for CPT, you must:

• Have been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis for one academic year (i.e. two full consecutive terms). If you are a graduate student and the program requires immediate participation, this requirement is waived.
• Be in lawful F-1 status
• Have UM-Dearborn approved health insurance
• Have a job offer
• Not be enrolled in an intensive English language training program

CPT authorization dates cannot overlap the dates of consecutive academic semesters. Therefore, the earliest that a CPT authorization can begin is on the first day of class of the semester for which the CPT course is registered. At the same time, a CPT end-date must fall before the beginning of the following semester. Dates must correspond to the University academic calendar. 

CPT is processed and authorized term by term. Contact your academic department regarding your department's specific guidelines and follow those guidelines for CPT applications. Please note that your department has discretion in recommending CPT. Furthermore, CPT eligibility may depend on your academic unit's policy regarding internships/co-ops for academic credit. Policies may vary from one College to another and you are encouraged to consult your College's websites regarding internship/co-op policy. 

Students cannot continue employment without CPT authorization. If a student will continue CPT employment from one semester to another, they must have the CPT authorization, and I-20, in-hand before continuing employment. For a variety of reasons that may be beyond a student's control, sometimes there is a gap between CPT authorizations. If this occurs, the student must stop employment. Employment is not permitted during any gap between periods of authorization. 

To avoid a gap between consecutive semesters of CPT, a previous authorization can end on the day before the new semester begins with a new authorization beginning on day one of the new semester. 

CPT authorization dates cannot be changed or updated retroactively once they have passed. Therefore, it is very important that students submit the CPT Application eForm as early as possible.

If you are engaged in CPT during the academic year (fall and winter semesters), you must be simultaneously enrolled required courses in order to maintain lawful F-1 status. Please see Completion of Course of Study section on our web site for more information. Please note that non-required CPT is only allowed in your final term if you are registered for other courses which are required for the completion of your academic program.

If the fall or winter term during which you are engaged in CPT is not your last term of enrollment, you must be registered in required coursework, in addition to any CPT courses.  

The full-time enrollment requirement means that most students have to limit their CPT during the academic year to local jobs or to working for their employer remotely, usually on a part-time basis. There are some exceptions, notably PhD students who have completed all their coursework and are now registered for dissertation/research hours only. However, such exceptions are rare. So even though full-time CPT is allowed during the fall and winter semesters, the full-time enrollment requirement is likely to make employment outside of the Dearborn area highly impractical in most situations.

During the academic year (fall and winter semesters), F-1 international students are required to maintain physical presence at the University that sponsors their I-20. This means that a UM-Dearborn F-1 student must maintain a residential address in their SEVIS record, during the academic year, that is located near the UM-Dearborn campus. 

For a CPT to be authorized for a fall or winter semester, the employment location must be within a reasonably commutable distance from the UM-Dearborn campus. 

Remote work is acceptable for CPT. In this case, the employment offer letter must explicitly state that the employment will be completed remotely by the student. 

1. Attend the CPT workshop. The OIA hosts workshops throughout the academic year. The workshop schedule is published online at the OIA Work as an International Student webpage. 
2. CPT applications must be submitted to the OIA via the F-1 international student portal: M-International. Additional CPT application details are available in M-International via the CPT Application eForm. 
3. The Office of International Affairs will send your CPT recommendation to SEVIS electronically to generate a new I-20. The CPT work authorization will be printed on page 2 of the new SEVIS I-20.
4. The Office of International Affairs will notify you when your new I-20 is available.
5. Bring your U-M ID to the Office of International Affairs front desk to pick up your new I-20.
6. Sign your name on the new I-20. Be sure to keep a record of all I-20s issued to you.

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  Note: You are authorized to be employed only for the employer, location, and time period specified on the new I-20. It is possible to extend or shorten your CPT within the term of authorization. If you would like to edit your CPT end date email the Office of International Affairs at [email protected]

  Documentation Needed to Apply

• Completed and signed Academic/Faculty Advisor CPT Recommendation form, available via the CPT Application eForm in M-International 
• Your unofficial transcript from UM-Dearborn Connect
• Your current class registration schedule with sufficient classes enrolled

• A copy of the job offer letter from the employer. The letter must:

  • Be written on the company's letterhead
  • Be addressed to you
  • Include job title
  • Provide job description
  • Specify the employment address (street, city, state, and zip code)
  • Specify if the employment is full- or part-time (if part-time, the number of hours per week you will work)
  • Specify the exact dates of CPT employment (keep in mind that CPT can only be authorized one term at a time).

  Please note: the job offer letter must have all of the information listed above, or your CPT application cannot be processed. 

You are required to update your address in the OIA Change of Address and Office of the Registrar within 10 days of any change while you are in F-1 status.

It is not uncommon for students to confuse unpaid internships with volunteering (and therefore conclude that no work authorization is necessary for engaging in an unpaid internship). However, there is a difference between volunteering and engaging in an unpaid internship. Volunteering refers to donating time with an organization whose primary purpose is charitable or humanitarian in nature, without remuneration or any other type of compensation. For more information about volunteering please see “Employment vs. Volunteering” section on the IC web site. Internships, both paid and unpaid, are primarily offered by the private sector and related to the intern’s major field of study. The U.S. Department of Labor has guidelines for those seeking an unpaid internship.

The following six criteria must be met for an internship to be considered a legitimate unpaid internship (and not employment below minimum wage, in violation of Department of Labor laws):

1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation on the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;
2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and
6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

Do F-1 students need CPT authorization to participate in unpaid internships?

CPT authorization is recommended for unpaid internships, whether the student does or does not need to provide employment authorization documents to the company. The F-1 regulations are written in such a way that CPT is an authorization to do practical training as part of the curriculum for the academic program, and as such is significant in more ways than simply for the employer to verify employment eligibility. CPT authorization is more than just permission to get paid.

The Office of International Affairs strongly recommends CPT authorization for unpaid internships for the following reasons: 

• CPT authorization by the university serves to demonstrate that this practical experience is part of the curriculum.
• CPT authorization is a way of reporting in SEVIS the student's activity, employment, and location where they are working and therefore maintaining their status.
• If ever a student is doing a job on an unpaid basis that someone would be hired and paid for, employment authorization in the form of CPT, OPT, etc. is advised.
• If the unpaid internship at some point changes into a paid one (or if your employer decides to compensate you for your work in any way – for example, give you a monetary gift), you won’t be able to accept the payment if your internship was not authorized as CPT. Please keep in mind that F-1 students cannot be retroactively remunerated or in any way compensated for work done in an unpaid internship if they did not obtain work authorization prior to when the work was performed.

Based on the above, we recommend that you apply for CPT authorization if you have an internship offer (paid or unpaid) that meets CPT eligibility criteria.

If the position is unpaid and for some reason it is not possible for you to obtain CPT authorization, please make sure that your prospective supervisor is aware of U.S. Department of Labor regulations concerning unpaid internships and that you have assurances (preferably written) to that effect before you accept the position. We also recommend that at the end of your internship you ask your employer to provide you with a letter confirming that there was no remuneration or any other type of compensation provided in any form during the dates you were participating in the internship. Please keep such a letter for your permanent records.