Students Studying in The United States F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

CPT is a form of authorization available for eligible F-1 students during their program of study for experiential learning opportunities that are necessary and integral, or required, as part of an academic program at Northeastern University.

• CPT authorization must be obtained for each co-op, internship, practicum, clinical rotation, corporate residency, experiential PhD, or other approved experiential learning opportunity.
• Authorization is required prior to the intended start date, whether or not the activity takes place on-campus or off-campus.
• CPT can be either full-time (more than 20 hours per week) or part-time (20 hours or less per week).
  • Please Note: Full-time CPT that exceeds 364 days will make you ineligible for Optional Practical Training (OPT).
• CPT can be either paid or unpaid. Whether paid or unpaid, CPT must be authorized by OGS in advance of commencing the activity. Retroactive authorization is not permitted by U.S. federal government regulations.
• CPT is employer, location, full-time/part-time, and date specific. The employer’s name, address and the precise start and end dates must be authorized by OGS in advance.
• Hybrid work models are acceptable work models for co-ops and other practical training experiences. Hybrid work is defined as any combination of in-person and remote work. Students need regular engagement with both the co-op practical training provider as well as the academic program to confirm successful progression of the practical training experience.
• If you are a student considering volunteering or engaging in unpaid internships at Northeastern or a staff/faculty looking to hire a volunteer or unpaid intern, please review this guidance from Northeastern’s University Office of General Counsel.

Once authorized for CPT, F-1 students must comply with the authorization granted. Any extensions, cancellations, or changes to authorized CPT must be first approved by the academic advisor/co-op coordinator and OGS.

Please note that non-curricular based on-campus activities (commonly referred to as “on-campus employment”) do not require CPT authorization.

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In order to be eligible for CPT, students must meet all of the following requirements:

• Comply with all college academic and enrollment eligibility requirements and policies for any experiential activities, including every co-op, internship, practicum, clinical rotation, corporate residency, experiential PhD, or other experiential learning opportunity, whether the activity takes place on-campus or off-campus.
• Always be making satisfactory academic progress towards degree completion. CPT must not cause a delay in the completion of a student’s academic program.
• Maintain valid F-1 status.
• Completed at least one academic year of on-ground, full-time enrollment with an Active SEVIS record. Limited exceptions may apply in the following circumstances:
  • For students in graduate-level programs that require immediate participation in experiential learning for program completion.
  • For students who changed to F-1 status within the U.S. or by travel and re-entry, who otherwise qualify. *Change of Status and Transfer Students please read that section further down on this page.
• One academic year is defined as two full-time semesters or three full-time quarters.
• Full-time enrollment is defined as:
  • Undergraduate: minimum of 12 credit hours per academic term.
  • Graduate: minimum of 8 credit hours per academic term (9 credit hours per term in a 3-credit enrollment system).
  • Graduate students who hold an assistantship: 6 credit hours per academic term.
  • Enrollment in both Summer 1 and Summer 2 academic terms combined OR full Summer academic term.
  • Please note: Time spent in the N.U.in program or English language programs such as NU Immerse/American Classroom/Global Pathways does not count towards CPT eligibility.
• CPT request must be within current I-20 program dates (which can be found on the first page of the I-20).
• Maintain enrollment in a co-op course or a program-required course that requires an experiential learning component in the syllabus. The student must be enrolled in this course for the entire period of authorized CPT.

Please note: It is an F-1 student’s responsibility to maintain their F-1 status. In order to apply for CPT at Northeastern a student must be both academically eligible as well as compliant with U.S. federal government regulations as outlined above.

While on CPT it is important that you update OGS when there are changes in your authorization. These changes include:

• Employer
• Location
• Date
• Number of hours worked per week (full-time/part-time)
• Cancellations
• Other corrections

Once authorized for CPT, F-1 students must comply with the authorization granted. Any extensions, cancellations, or changes to your authorized CPT must be first approved by the academic advisors/co-op coordinators and OGS.

If an F-1 student exceeds 364 days of full-time CPT (more than 20 hours per week at a degree level—bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate), they will lose their eligibility to apply for OPT at that degree level.

• When counting CPT days, every day between the start and end date of CPT counts (including the start and end dates). The days that are counted are the days that the student had authorization, not the days the student actually worked. This means even if it was a weekend, holiday, vacation etc., it still counts if the student had CPT authorization.

It is the responsibility of the student to track of how many full-time CPT days have been used per degree level. Students can use previously issued I-20s to document this. Students may also request a summary of their CPT authorization history at Northeastern from OGS via this e-form.

• Part-time CPT (20 hours per week or less) does not accrue time towards the 364-day calculation.
• Students who require more than 364 days of full-time CPT at a degree level to complete their degree program are not in violation of their F-1 status, however they will lose OPT eligibility for the same degree level.

OGS does not keep track and communicate if students will be exceeding the 364-day mark when students are requesting CPT authorization. Students must keep this in mind when requesting CPT authorization.

Please Note: CPT is a benefit of F-1 status, not a guarantee. While students may be able to work up to 364 days while maintaining OPT eligibility, CPT authorization is directly tied to a student’s academic curriculum. Therefore, the amount of CPT for which students are eligible and may be authorized is entirely based on their program of study, as well as F-1 federal regulations. Simply because an F-1 student has not engaged in 364 days of full-time CPT does not necessarily mean the student is eligible for additional CPT or an extension of a current CPT authorization.

Change of status

Full-time students who are applying to change their immigration status to F-1 within the U.S. (application through USICS) or by traveling (via consular processing) may be eligible to use time from a previous immigration status towards accruing benefits, such as Curricular Practical Training (CPT), as long as the student has maintained full-time F-1 enrollment requirements.

Please contact OGS to make an appointment with an advisor to discuss CPT eligibility and bring all applicable documentation with you (for example a copy of your I-797 approval notice if you changed status within the U.S.).

Transfer students

International students with Active F-1 records, who transfer their SEVIS record to Northeastern University, and maintained status, may be able to use accrued time towards the one academic year requirement from the previous institution.

Please contact OGS to make an appointment with an advisor to discuss CPT eligibility and have all applicable documentation available (for example a copy of your official transcript and previous I-20).

Please note: if you transfer to Northeastern on an initial I-20, your one academic year accrual resets as an initial student.