International Center University of Florida

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is “alternate work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or practicum.” This may include but is not limited to paid and unpaid/volunteer, part-time and full-time, on-campus and off campus rotations, clerkships, externships, clinical, field experience, etc. CPT authorization is required for engaging in training or temporary employment to allow the student to gain practical experience in the student’s major field of study. Students may not engage in any of these activities without previously getting CPT approval to do so, under the conditions described below. Failure to obtain CPT approval before beginning an internship, practicum, clinical rotation or similar activity may result in a student falling out of status, with serious consequences. CPT is available only before completion of the program of study. The student may begin the training or work only after receiving CPT Employment Authorization on their new I-20 from an F1 International Student Advisor.

CPT Eligibility Requirements:

• The student is currently in the U.S. in valid F-1 status.
• The student has been enrolled on a full time basis in the current program of study for at least one full academic year (fall and spring semesters) immediately prior to the start of the training or work.
  • An exception to the one academic year requirement is provided for graduate students enrolled in a degree program that requires immediate participation in training or work within the first academic year of the current program of study.
• The training or work is an integral part of the established curriculum. Integral refers to the training or work activity being a required, necessary, or essential component of the established curriculum; the established curriculum refers to the student’s major field of study.
• The student must register for the appropriate credits prior to applying for CPT authorization; see the “CPT Registration Requirements” section of this page for additional detail.
• The credits taken for the CPT must count towards the student’s degree requirements; this may apply in one of the following ways:
  • Completion of the training or work is required for all students within the program of study
  • Participation in the training or work is optional and will fulfill elective credits that will count towards meeting the total number of credits designated by the program of study
  • The training or work is necessary to allow the student to conduct research for completion of the thesis or dissertation

Options for requesting CPT authorization:

1. Part-time is applicable for training or work that will amount to 20 hours or less per week
2. Full-time is applicable for training or work that will amount to above 20 hours per week

Effect of CPT on Optional Practical Training (OPT):

• Part-time CPT does not impact OPT eligibility
• Full-time CPT amounting to less than one year (aggregate 364 days or less) does not affect OPT eligibility
• Full-time CPT amounting to or exceeding one full year (aggregate 365 days or more) will result in the student losing the ability to request OPT

Limitations of CPT:

Authorization of CPT is appropriate only in cases where the training or work activity fulfills a requirement for degree completion.  As a consequence of this restriction, we will not be able to approve CPT requests where:

1. The student will not receive credit for the training or work (via a specific course, independent study, or research credits)
2. Participation in the training or work is optional but the credits will not count towards the student’s degree requirements

For participation in training or work that is directly related to the field of study but optional in nature, it may be appropriate to seek authorization for Pre-Completion OPT from USCIS.  We advise the student to meet with an International Student Advisor for additional details about the eligibility requirements and restrictions applicable to Pre-Completion OPT.

CPT Registration Requirements

Registration requirements are indicated in the chart below. If engaging in part-time CPT in the fall and spring semesters, the student must register for a full course load. If engaging in full-time CPT in the fall and spring semesters, the student is limited to a maximum number of credits.

Caution about pairing an Online (or EDGE) course with CPT: Only up to 3 credits of Online (or EDGE) can count towards the full time registration requirement in any given semester. This is a federal regulation applicable to the F1 visa status and cannot be waived or amended (it is not a University of Florida regulation). Thus for a student wanting to pair a course with CPT when the internship will take place outside of Gainesville, the course registration must be arranged to ensure that only one Online (or EDGE) course will be taken concurrently with the CPT for that semester. Any other courses taken must be campus courses that contain a mandatory physical presence requirement. For internships taking place within Gainesville, when paired with additional courses, it is expected that the student will be able to register for campus courses that meet the mandatory physical presence requirement.

CPT Application Requirements

The student must apply online prior to engaging in the internship, clerkship, or practicum. The following documents are required to complete the CPT application:

• CPT Employment Information (online form)
• Department Recommendation for CPT (online form)
• CPT Internship Offer Letter - The offer letter from the prospective employer must:
  1. be on employer letterhead, signed and dated by supervisor/HR representative
     • to apply for a SSN, the local SSN office requires that the offer letter be ORIGINAL, not electronic/copy; UFIC does not require an original letter
  2. include the EIN number of the employer
     • local SSN office requires the EIN on the offer letter if the student needs to apply for a SSN; UFIC does not require the EIN
  3. include current date
  4. include student’s Given and Family/Surname
  5. provide position/job title
  6. provide start date and end date of the training/work
  7. state the number of hours expected to train/work per week
  8. provide the exact physical address (street, suite # if any, city, state, and zip/postal code) where the student will train/work
  9. provide a general description of duties (3-5 sentences or bullet points, for example; if the company does not include the duties in the offer letter, an addendum to the offer letter must be provided)
  10. include supervisor’s name, title, and telephone number

After the student submits their CPT application online, their International Student Advisor (ISA) will review the CPT application. If approved, a new I-20 with CPT authorization on the page two of the I-20 will be issued to the student. The student will receive an email when the CPT authorization I-20 is ready. The student may only begin the training or work after receiving CPT authorization on their new I-20 from an ISA. The CPT is authorized for a specific employer, location, and length of time. The student may only train/work for the specific employer during the authorized time at the authorized location.  No additional employment authorization is required from United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) for CPT. If an SSN number is needed, the student should indicate this as part of their CPT application, and the ISA will provide the UFIC SSN application letter.

Caution about training or work that will span more than one semester in length: CPT may only be authorized for one semester at a time, after the registration period opens for the semester and the student is appropriately enrolled. Thus the student must follow up with his or her assigned ISA to obtain a timely CPT extension, once registration is in place for the following semester, and before the end date of the current CPT authorization period. If this is not done, the student may have a gap in the ability to work on CPT between semesters.  

For questions regarding any type of training or work, the student should contact their assigned ISA.

For more information, please visit:

• Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Presentation

Application

To start the Curricular Practical Training Request, click the following button and use your GatorLink credentials to login (please make sure you only create one request):

CURRICULAR PRACTICAL TRAINING REQUEST

To return to your request, please use the ISSS login button from the top of the side menu.