Stanford Engineering
Computer Science
Engineering

Curricular Practical Training (CPT)/Internship

Overview

Curricular practical training (CPT) is an authorized period of employment that is an integral or important part of a student’s curriculum. This information is designed for students in F-1 status. At Stanford, there are two scenarios which qualify students for CPT:

  1. The employment must be a requirement of the degree program. In this case, you may or may not receive academic credit. The CPT endorsement must be issued by Bechtel International Center during the same quarter as the internship period.
  2. In cases where the practical internship is not a requirement, the department must offer a CPT course for which the student receives academic credit. The CPT course must be offered during the same quarter as the internship period. Failure to enroll in and complete the class will result in violation of your legal status.

CPT Enrollment for BS and MS students

You must be enrolled in a CPT course and have authorization from the Bechtel I-Center no later than 10 days before your start date. Failure to enroll and obtain authorization can result in a violation of your legal status.

  1. Check your CPT eligibility with the Bechtel International Center. To participate in CPT, you must be authorized by the I-Center.
  2. Obtain BS/MS CS Faculty Advisor Approval. It is completely up to the advisor whether or not they approve of your request to enroll in their section
    • An email approval from your advisor confirming you can enroll in their section is needed in order to move on to the next step.
  3. Enroll in the appropriate CPT course. CS390A, CS390B, and CS390C are the CPT courses. Students have a maximum of three quarters of CPT available to them. In your first quarter, enroll in your advisor's section of CS390A. In your second quarter, enroll in your advisor's section of CS390B. And in your third quarter, enroll in your advisor's section of CS390C. Enrollment into these courses is only by permission number.

    • To obtain a permission number, you will need to fill out the CS CPT Permission Number Request SmartSheet form. You’ll need to upload an email from your advisor confirming you’re approved to enroll in their section, along with your most recent unofficial transcript. Co-term students must provide both their BS and MS transcripts. Once you’ve submitted the form, the CS Student Services team will review your request. If approved, a permission number will be sent to you via email through SmartSheet—please be sure to check your inbox regularly.

      CS CPT Permission Number Request Form

    • If your advisor's section isn't available, connect with Vanessa Zamora (vanessa.zamora@stanford.edu) to get a section created.
  4. Fill out the CPT Application managed by the Bechtel I-Center. You can submit your application as soon as you have a job offer and have enrolled in the CPT course, but no later than 10 working days prior to the start date of employment.
    • Your faculty advisor will serve as the Department Approver on the online Bechtel form.
  5. Submit employment summary. At the end of the quarter, every student is required to submit an employment summary to their BS/MS CS Faculty Advisor. We don't request information that is proprietary to the company you worked for; instead, describe your use of statistical tools/methods applied to broader questions.
    • To receive CS 390 credit for this, you must submit a one-page write-up about your employment experience and the outcome of your work to your advisor.

Important Note: For BS and MS students, we do not distinguish between full-time and part-time employment; both require enrollment in CS390A/B/C. Once you have taken CS390C, you have exhausted the amount of CPT that is available to you. Coterm students do not get additional quarters of CPT. Visit the Bechtel International Center Student Affairs website for CPT eligibility.

CPT/Internship Enrollment for PhD students

If a student, with advisor support, wants to pursue a part-time internship during a quarter in which they remain an enrolled PhD student, they should take the following steps, at least a month before the quarter starts:

  • The student needs to complete this form.
  • The student and advisor need to read and sign the letter (link here and also in the form).
  • Provide Tom Kenny kenny@cdr.stanford.edu and Samantha Schwartz skschwartz@stanford.edu the company representative with a copy of the signed letter. Ideally, Tom and Samantha would like a copy of the letter signed by the company, too. If the company representative is unable or unwilling to sign the letter, it will still be OK to proceed with the internship, as long as they indicate that they have received the letter.

Each case will be reviewed individually by Senior Associate Dean Tom Kenny, and the student and advisor will be notified if the request is approved or denied. Please know that these steps will be required for all part-time internships during the academic year, for enrolled students in the summer quarters, and for all CPT arrangements.   Please make sure to cc phdstudentservices@cs.stanford.edu.   A CPT course CS 390D with your advisor will be created with a permission number for you to enroll in.   Funding will also be adjusted accordingly for that quarter.

  1. Check CPT eligibility (for international students) with the Bechtel International Center. CPT is authorized by the I-Center. You can submit your application as soon as you have a job offer and have ENROLLED in the CPT course (step 4), but no later than 10 working days prior to the start date of employment.
  2. Employer offer letter. Students are advised to request an offer letter from the employer before employment begins. The offer letter should state the terms of employment: job description/summary of duties, dates of employment*, full-time or part-time classification (hours per week you will be working).  Full-time CPT is only allowed during summer quarters and only a maximum of 3 full-time CPTs are allowed.
  3. Notify advisor. You must notify your advisor about your employment and that you will be enrolling under their section number within 10 working days prior to the start date of employment. Do not expect your advisor to be able to approve your CPT application if you give them less than the above length of time.
  4. Enroll in the appropriate CS CPT courses (CS 390 A, B, C) for full-time CPT. The Computer Science Department allows only up to a maximum of 3 units (1 unit each summer) of Curriculum Practical Training (CPT) in the entire academic career. CS 390A, B and C may each be taken once (full-time).  Full time internships are allowed only during summer quarter.  For more details contact phdstudentservices@cs.stanford.edu.
    • Choose the schedule for the quarter you will be participating in CPT (Filter > term offered)
    • Click Schedule for CS 390 (A,B,C) to expand the list of faculty for the corresponding quarter (your advisor's section # may not be the same each quarter).
    • Find the name of your advisor or faculty member you have been advised by and enroll in that section number/class # in Axess.
    • Note: Students who have obtained TGR status are not eligible for CPT in any quarter including Summer.
  5. Apply for CPT. CPT application is available via Bechtel connect (Students  >  Employment > Curricular Practical Training). Refer to the CPT webpage for guidelines and the application process steps.
  6. CPT during regular academic year (Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters). For CPT during the regular academic year, when students are required to be enrolled full-time (University policy: graduate students must be at-status), you may only work part-time under CPT, and the proposed start and end dates of CPT must closely follow the academic calendar. Part-time CPT eligibility requires completing your rotations and aligning with a faculty. No exceptions can be made.
    • The allowable CPT employment dates for the academic year can be found on Bechtel's website. Contact phdstudentservices@cs.stanford.edu ahead of time, at least a quarter before, if you are planning to do part-time CPT during academic quarters. They can assist in enrollment details and answer inquiries regarding the impact to funding. For part-time CPT students, the PhD student services team will create a part-time CPT CS 390D series with a permission number to enroll in.
  7. Social security number eligibility. Visit the Bechtel International Center Student Affairs website for eligibility.
  8. Submit employment summary. At the end of the quarter, every student is required to submit an employment summary to their advisor. We don't request information that is proprietary to the company you worked for, instead, describe your use of statistical tools/methods applied to broader questions.
    • In order to receive credit for this, you must submit a one page write-up about your employment experience and the outcome of your work to your advisor.