Curricular Practical Training
Curricular Practical Training (CPT) allows students in research and
internship courses to gain paid work experience outside the classroom.
To be eligible for CPT, you must be enrolled for at least one academic
year A&M-Commerce. (1 Fall term + 1 Spring term, any order) prior
to the CPT period. See the FAQ for exceptions to this requirement. In
addition, to be eligible for CPT:
-Authorization must be granted by an International Student Advisor PRIOR
to starting employment. Do not begin employment until you have been
authorized by an International Student Advisor. Permission from your
academic advisor/professor is not enough to begin employment.
-CPT employment is authorized on the last page of the I-20. You are
only allowed to work at the company listed on this page and for the
dates listed on this page.
-Because CPT employment is directly connected to a specific course,
you must be enrolled in the course and can receive course credit from
your employment, employment must terminate when the course ends at the
end of the semester.
-CPT employment can be full or part-time, but you must continue to enroll
in a full course of study during the fall and spring semesters (unless
it is your last semester).
-You cannot hold both a CPT position and on-campus employment at the
same time.
-CPT cannot be extended into a non-registered semester.
-The start/end date on the letter from your instructor, the job offer
letter, and for the academic course must be the same. Your employment
start date must be the day of or a date after your CPT appointment.
If your employment start date on your documents is a date prior to your
CPT appointment you will be denied.
CPT Frequently asked questions:
Do I have to be enrolled in an academic course to be approved for CPT?
Do I have to be enrolled in a full course of study while on CPT?
Can I enroll in a course outside of my degree plan for CPT?
What is the difference in CPT and OPT?
Will my CPT authorization have any impact on my OPT?
What if I was on approved Optional Practical Training employment?
What if I am enrolled spring and summer, can I start in the fall?
Can I immediate CPT once I begin my academic program at A&M-Commerce?
What if I quit my CPT employment or decide to change employers?
Do I have to be enrolled in an academic course to be approved for CPT?
Yes. CPT is directly connected to an academic course (internship, project
course) within a student’s academic program. The ISSO will not authorize
any CPT unless the student is enrolled in an academic course connected
to the CPT.
Do I have to be enrolled in a full course of study while on CPT?
During the fall and spring semesters you will be required to meet the full course of study requirement so
this may limit the location of your CPT. The only exception are students who are in their last semester
before graduation. During the summer semester you are only required to enroll in the CPT academic course.
Can I enroll in a course outside of my degree plan for CPT?
No. The CPT course you enroll in must be a part of your academic/degree
program.
What is the difference in CPT and OPT?
CPT employment may be used while you are in your academic program but
cannot be used after you graduate. OPT employment is used after you
graduate and may last from 12-months up to 29-months (for certain STEM
majors). CPT is approved by an international advisor at the ISSO and
OPT must be approved by an international advisor at the ISSO and USCIS.
Will my CPT authorization have any impact on my OPT?
CPT has NO impact on any future
OPT authorization unless you use more than 12 months or more of FULL-TIME
CPT. The international advisors at A&M-Commerce
will pay very close attention to this to allow this not to happen. You
may use an unlimited amount of part-time CPT (20 hours of employment)
and it will have no impact on any future OPT authorization. Any use
of your CPT will not take away from any future OPT authorization. Example:
Three (3) months of CPT approval will not take
three (3) months away from any future OPT authorization.
Yes, as long as you were enrolled at the same academic level and the same academic program
at the previous school in the semester preceding your enrollment at A&M-Commerce.
You will be required to meet the academic year requirement of enrollment for fall/spring or spring/fall.
Example…if you studied at another school for a masters in the fall and transferred to A&M-Commerce
in spring to continue in the same masters program you may consider your enrollment in the fall for
the one academic year requirement (fall students may count the preceding spring semester).
Students who were enrolled at a university that is not accredited by a regional accreditation
agency (recognized by the Department of Education) will not be eligible until they have
been enrolled for an academic year (fall/spring or spring/fall) at A&M-Commerce.
What if I was on approved Optional Practical Training employment?
Students who begin a new academic program at A&M-Commerce after their Optional Practical Training employment
will not be eligible for immediate CPT. OPT Students will have to be enrolled for one academic year
(fall/spring, spring/fall) before being eligible again.
What if I am enrolled spring and summer, can I start in the fall?
No. A&M-Commerce considers one academic year to be enrollment in
fall and spring only. Summer will not count.
Can I get immediate CPT once I begin my academic program at A&M-Commerce?
There are no academic programs at A&M-Commerce that require students to have immediate off-campus employment once they
are enrolled and/or begin their academic program
Since CPT is directly related to an academic course in a student’s academic
major, it is best to begin your pursuit of CPT in your academic department.
Students will need to ask their professor/academic department if it
is possible for them to pursue some off-campus practical training employment
in relation to a specific course in their academic major. CPT is a term
used by immigration so most academic departments may not understand
if you ask them to approve you for CPT. It is better to use terms such
as internship, co-op, or practical training experience in your field
of study when discussing this with your academic department. Students
in College of Business and Technology majors can visit the CBT Advising
Center in BA 314, call 903-468-3197, or visit with their academic department/advisor
for more information. Computer Science students may contact Sang_Suh@tamu-commerce.edu
or Daniel_Creider@tamu-commerce.edu for more information.
All other majors are encouraged to visit with their academic department/advisor
to discuss their options. Approval begins in the academic department
and is finalized at the ISSO. The ISSO will not approve CPT without
the approval of the academic department.
What if I quit my CPT employment or decide to change employers?
CPT employment is specific to the dates and the employer you are allowed
to work for. If there are any changes to your CPT employment (i.e. you
quit, are terminated, go from full-time to part-time) you must notify
the ISSO immediately. If you want to change employers during your CPT
you must go through the application process again before you may start
the new employment.
Click here
for the application process. Once you have completed all steps and all
documents have been signed with the appropriate signatures you will
need to call the ISSO at 903-886-5097 at least one day in advance to
schedule an appointment. Please do not call and expect an
appointment on the same day. Students must attend their
CPT appointment in person. No exceptions!
PLEASE NOTE: The start date for employment on the employment offer letter must be the day of the CPT appointment or in the future. The ISSO cannot authorize students for CPT with employment start date’s that prior to the date of authorization for CPT.
Once you have completed all steps in the application process you may
apply at any time. During the week prior to each semester,
the ISSO staff are very busy assisting our new international students
and we will not schedule any appointments during this week.
It is strongly recommended to set up an appointment at least two weeks
prior to the start of the semester you will apply for CPT.
