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Curricular Practical Training

UT's International Office is the primary source of information for Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Visit their CPT page. It is the student's responsibility to follow all the rules and guidelines of both the Immigration & Naturalization Services and our department. You are reminded that INS may audit a student's record when applying for permanent residency.

IMPORTANT: Please follow the departmental instructions below *BEFORE* submitting your myIO CPT application.

CS Department Instructions for Applying for CPT:

  1. Student must have received a formal offer letter - printed on company letterhead - with the following information:
        •    The employer/company name
        •    A specific start date (mm/dd/yyyy). The start date must be a future date from that date it will be approved.
        •    A specific end date (mm/dd/yyyy).
        •    A job title
        •    A brief job description
        •    A physical work site address where you will conduct your job
        •    Number of hours to be worked per week
        •    Letter must be signed by employer
  2. Student completes the CS Department CPT Request Form (signed by supervising professor if necessary).
  3. Student completes CPT process through myIO. Click for instructions.
    For the contact information in the online form, please list the department contact as Gabrielle Bouzigard, gradoffice@cs.utexas.edu

Important Information:

COURSE(S) USED TO SATISFY CPT REQUIREMENT:  "CS 195: Practicum in Computer Sciences Application" is the course designated by our department to satisfy the CPT requirement.  Students must be enrolled during the period of their CPT; however, students doing Summer CPT may choose to defer enrollment in the CPT course to the following fall.  If you plan (after obtaining permission) to continue the CPT in the Fall you will be expected to register for two CS 195 courses, one correlating to summer and one correlating to fall.

Exceptions to this rule: In rare cases, master's thesis and doctoral students in candidacy may use the dissertation/thesis course if CPT is required for the thesis/dissertation. Please note that the work must be necessary for completion of the thesis/dissertation, not just related to it. As a department we do not ‘require’ CPT for thesis or dissertation so you must provide an explanation of why in your particular case you are required to do this CPT.

DATES OF EMPLOYMENT: The recommended first date of employment is after the official graduation date for the semester.* Students who expect to be appointed as TA's for the following semester must be on campus prior to the first day of classes to participate in any and all necessary orientations, workshops, etc. All students doing summer CPT must return to campus by the first class day.

View the academic calendar here: https://registrar.utexas.edu/calendars

For more information about dates of employment, please read "What are the earliest and latest start dates I can use for CPT authorization?" at https://global.utexas.edu/isss/immigration/f-1/employment/cpt 

*EXCEPTIONS TO THE ABOVE DATES REQUIRE SPECIAL APPROVAL FROM THE SUPERVISING PROFESSOR AND GRADUATE ADVISOR. Students cannot begin employment until all course work and final exams have been completed. Teaching Assistants cannot begin employment until their TA responsibilities are complete; generally this is after final exams once their courses have been graded.