CPT is an authorized period of employment that is an integral or important part of a graduate student’s curriculum.
This information is designed for students in F-1 status. It will provide you with information on a type of employment opportunity, which is known as "curricular practical training" (off-campus employment).
Note: Students must be currently in the CS PhD program.
Step 1: Check CPT eligibility with 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.
Step 2: Request offer letter from employer
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.
Step 3: Notify your 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.
Step 4: Enroll in appropriate CS CPT course – 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.
Step 5: Apply for CPT
CPT application is available via Bechtel Connect
Students > Employment > Curricular Practical Training
Please refer to instructions for CPT and read the Application Process steps.
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. No exceptions can be made.
The allowable CPT employment dates for the academic year can be found on Bechtel's website. You should contact the phdstudentservices@cs.stanford.edu ahead of time, at least a quarter before, if you are planning to do part-time CPT during academic quarters to work out the details of enrollment and how this would impact your funding. We will create a part-time CPT CS 390 series with a permission number for part-time CPT for students to enroll in.
Step 6: Social Security Number Eligibility
Please verify your eligibility on Bechtel's webpage.
Step 7: Submit your employment summary
At the end of the quarter, submit employment summary to your advisor. We are not asking for any 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.
