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Employment authorized as Curricular Practical Training (CPT) must be "...an
integral part of an established curriculum." (8 CFR 214.2(f)(10) It must be
related to the student's field of study, and may be either:
- A work experience that is a required part of the degree
program for all students (academic credit not required),
or
- An elective course that is part of the degree program, taken for academic
credit, that requires a work experience that is described in the published
course description. The course must be taken for academic credit during the
same term the internship is taking place.
CPT is job, location, and date specific. The student must have a valid job
offer that is required by the offered course. Unfortunately, due to the
structure of Dartmouth's undergraduate curriculum, this type of employment is
currently not available to undergraduate students. There are three courses at
the Dartmouth College professional schools that will qualify for CPT: At the
Thayer School: ENGG 290 and ENGG 390, and at the Tuck School: the Tuck first
year summer internship for credit. For Arts and Sciences and Medical School
students, graduate degree program thesis/research courses may occasionally
qualify for CPT, depending on the internship offered, and the relation of that
work experience to the student's degree program. This relationship must be
explained in detail by the student's academic advisor in a letter addressed to
the International Advisor. In the letter, the academic advisor must:
- Outline in detail the relationship between the work
experience and the student's Master's or Doctoral thesis research.
- Verify that the course will be taken for credit during the same term the
student is participating in the internship.
- Verify that academic credit will be given explicitly for
completion of the work experience.
- Verify that the work experience is absolutely necessary for the student to
complete his or her research and degree program.
The International Office will determine, on a case-by-case basis, which
requests comply with immigration regulations pertaining to Curricular Practical
Training. The International Advisor has the final say in which requests meet
these very stringent requirements and which ones do not. There is no
appeal process following a denial of CPT. The student is then free to
explore an application for Optional Practical Training.
In general, CPT for graduate students at Dartmouth is authorized only during
one vacation term per year, for full-time research at an off-campus location.
There is no limit to the amount of time a student may spend doing CPT before
they graduate, however. If the amount of full-time CPT exceeds 12 months,
however, the student will be ineligible for any period of Optional Practical
Training later on. Please contact the International Office for more information
on OPT. A student may not take the same course multiple times for the purposes
of CPT authorization.
Graduate students may apply for permission to engage in CPT whenever the
program requires their participation, even if it is immediately upon beginning
their studies. Undergraduate students must have completed 9 months of full-time
study to be eligible for any form of CPT. Neither graduate nor
undergraduate students may participate in a CPT internship during the term
immediately preceding their program completion.
A presentation covering Curricular Practical Training is available from our
Web site. Please click the link below to download and view the
presentation:
Procedure
Students requesting a CPT authorization from the International Office must
fill out a CPT Request Form available at the International Office. The bottom
portion of the form must be filled out and signed by the student's academic
advisor or professor. This form must be completed and returned to the
International Office along with a letter from the hiring company describing the
internship and verifying the dates, two weeks before the proposed internship
start date. If you are an Arts & Sciences or Medical School student,
we will also need a letter of support from your academic advisor or Dean.
Please see the CPT information sheet for details on the requirements for this
letter. If the CPT request is approved, we will issue you a new I-20 form
with the CPT endorsement, which will allow you to begin your internship.
CPT
Application Form 10-07 (14K PDF File)
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