Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for students is temporary employment that allows an F-1 student to gain practical experience through internships, cooperative education, or practicums. It is an integral part of the curriculum and must be directly related to the F-1 student’s major field of study. It is either a required part of the curriculum or taken for credit.
CPT Workshops
Previous CPT Workshop Recordings
Eligibility For CPT
- You must have been in lawful full-time F-1 status for at least one academic year in a degree-seeking program.
- You must be in good academic standing: undergraduates 2.25 grade-point average (GPA), graduate students a 3.0 GPA minimum. Note: Some departments may require a higher GPA. Students on academic probation will not be able to pursue or continue in the co-op/internship programs.
- The employment offer must be related directly to your major field of study as listed on the I-20.
- To apply for CPT, you must work with your academic department, Career Services(EL), or the Career Management Center for initial approvals. Chicago-Kent, Institute of Design, and Psychology students must work directly with the academic units and the OGS. Final approval will be in the form of an updated I-20 issued by the Office of Global Services (OGS).
- Authorization period and time restrictions:
- Work authorization is granted by the academic terms (fall, spring, or summer); each term requires a new application or renewal. If approved, the I-20 will list the employer information, start date, end date, and approval to work either full-time (more than 20 hrs/week) or part-time (under 20 hrs/week).
- Enrollment requirements:
- Students enrolled in an internship during a required term (fall/spring) must be enrolled in 12 undergraduate or nine graduate credits of coursework/research in addition to the internship credits.
- If you are enrolling in an internship during your last term, you must also be enrolled in at least one live course.
Application Procedure
Please follow the general guidelines below for CPT I-20 approval:
- Work with your academic department, Career Services(EL) or the Career Management Center for initial approvals. Chicago-Kent, Institute of Design, and Psychology students must work directly with the academic units and the OGS.
- Submit a "Curricular Practical Training (CPT)" request within the ISSS Portal. Please note, the required CPT Form must be completed and ready to upload when submitting the request in the portal. It is also required to be properly registered for the internship course associated with your CPT application before submitting the CPT request on the ISSS portal.
- The OGS's estimated processing time for CPT requests is 10 business days. This is a strict timeline as we cannot accommodate expedited requests at this time. Please note, students who do not follow the Key Deadlines below will not receive their I-20 in a timely manner.
- Receive the new CPT I-20 from the OGS and may begin working from the approved start date listed on the I-20.
Key Deadlines
OGS Key Deadlines for Fall 2026 CPT Application:
- Wednesday, July 29 2026: Handshake application deadline for August 17 start date for new experience.
- Friday, July 31, 2026: CPT Application must be submitted to OGS via ISSS portal by 5 PM for a guaranteed start date of Monday, August 17, 2026.(Hard Deadline)
- Tuesday, August 11, 2026: Last date to submit Handshake application for a For-credit part-time or full-time internship.
- Sunday, August 16, 2026: First day to start working for continuing internships under Fall 2026 CPT.
- Monday, August 17, 2026: Last date to submit a CPT application to OGS for for-credit internship via ISSS portal by 5 PM.(Hard Deadline)
- Monday, August 17, 2026: First day to start working for new internships under Fall 2026 CPT.
- Tuesday, September 1, 2026: Last date to start working for a for-credit internship under Fall 2026 CPT.
- Monday, October 26, 2026: Last date to submit Handshake application for non-credit internship.
- Friday, October 30, 2026: Last date to submit a CPT application to OGS for non-credit internship via ISSS portal by 5 PM.(Hard Deadline)
- Monday, November 16, 2026: Last date to begin work for a 4-week non-credit internship under Fall 2026 CPT.
- December 4 - December 19, 2026: All Fall 2026 internships must end during these dates.
OGS Key Deadlines for Summer 2026 CPT Application:
- Monday, March 30, 2026: OGS will begin processing CPT Application in ISSS for Summer 2026 after this date.
- Tuesday, May 6, 2026: CPT Application must be submitted to OGS via ISSS portal by 5 PM for a guaranteed start date of Sunday, May 17, 2026 for continuing experiences or Monday, May 18, 2026 for new internships.(Hard Deadline)
- Sunday, May 17, 2026: First day to start working on Summer 2026 CPT for continuing experiences.
- Monday, May 18, 2026: First day to start working on Summer 2026 CPT for new experiences.
- Wednesday, July 8, 2026: Final date to submit CPT application via ISSS portal(by 5 PM) for any internship (standard or micro) for Summer 2026.(Hard Deadline)
- Monday, July 20, 2026: Last day to start working on Summer 2026 CPT(standard or micro).
- Saturday, August 15, 2026: All Summer internships must end by this date.
CPT Forms
Please download the correct CPT Form below that matches with your major/school. The student will need to complete the form with all required signatures in order to upload within the "Curricular Practical Training (CPT)" request for submission in the ISSS Portal.
- F-1 CPT Form for Main(Mies) Campus
- F-1 CPT Psychology Department
- F-1 CPT Institute of Design
- F-1 CPT Chicago-Kent
- F-1 CPT Form for Stuart School of Business will be generated by CMC after the Symplicity Application
Loss or Changes in Employment
- If employment has been terminated or work details have been changed by your employer, you are required to notify the Experiential Learning Office (explearning@illinoistech.edu) and the OGS (global@illinoistech.edu) within 10 days of the change. Once Curricular Practical Training (CPT) has been authorized to you, and if the start and end dates of the authorization have passed, the OGS cannot backdate your authorized dates. The SEVIS system does not allow us to do so.