COLLEGE
of EDUCATION OFFICE OF STUDENT DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
FAST FACTS: CPT
What is CPT? Frequently Asked Questions
Curricular Practical
Training (CPT) is
temporary authorization
for practical training
directly related to your
major field of study.
Your major field of
study is listed on your I-
20.
Practical Training can
include employment,
internship (paid or
unpaid), cooperative (co-
op) education
experience, practicum
participation, etc. CPT is
authorized by ISS office
in accordance with the
F-1 regulations. You can
apply for CPT during
the regular academic
year (you must remain
registered full-time) and
during your Annual
vacation quarter.
CPT may be part-time
(20 hours per week or
less) or full-time (more
than 20 hours per
week).
1. Can I get paid during CPT?
Yes, you can get paid during your CPT experience.
2. What is the maximum hours per week I can
work during CPT?
Generally, you are allowed to work 20 hours or less per week
(part time), or more than 20 hours per week(full-time).
3. When do I need to apply for CPT if I have to
start my job in Fall Quarter?
There is not a necessary date to start applying for the CPT.
Yet, you have to apply for your CPT before your job start and
the CPT application requires your advisor and International
student services(ISS)' participation. ISS said it takes them 3-5
business days to process the application. Thus, for example it
might be reasonable to start your application a month prior
the fall quarter.
4. Which materials do I need to bring for CPT
application?
Check out this site to apply https://iss.washington.edu/cpt-
instructions/#cpt-everyone . There will be required forms and
documents needed to be filled out by your advisor to complete
the application.
5. Do I have to be registered while on CPT?
You must maintain F-1 student status, which generally
requires full-time registration. In most cases, CPT requires
you to register credit at the same time, but you may extend it
to you next quarter if you pursue your CPT during vacation
quarter.
 Students CPT Experience
at College of Education

The following questions and answers extracted from an interview with a current
COE student who has CPT experience.
1. When do you start to search for the off-campus jobs or internships?
You should better find your job or internships about a month prior your CPT application.
During my application, it took about 2-3 business days to process the application but now I heard it
takes 7-10 business days. So you need to make sure you have enough time for your application
because you cannot work off-campus without your CPT verification.

2. Could you describe the general procedure of CPT application?

Generally, you have to complete student application first. You finish and send it to the

International Student Service (ISS), then they process it and send an email invitation to your

advisor to complete the advisor section. Since the professors at COE are really busy, they may
just forward it to you so in this way you could see the whole two sections. Basically, you state the

start date and end date of your work, how many credits you will earn for this experience,
your advisor information (Name, position, contact etc.) and a brief summary of your
work. For the credits, you have to apply for them at college. So you have to contact your advisor
to register for certain internship courses. (It should be some courses titled with 601 at COE such
as EDLPS 601C) You will ask for authorization from your advisor and get the add code to register.
During my time, it is about 30 total work hours for one credit. For the summer quarter, you may
save those credits for your next fall quarter. With all those settled down, you just wait for the ISS to
process your application. They will issue you a new Form I-20 endorsed on page 2 with

details of your CPT employment. You then start your work right on the date it listed.
3. What challenges or problems did you face that you think the new applicants also
need to notice?
You need to prepare enough time for application. The application involves not only yourself
but also your advisor, ISS, and the college. Thus, it might be really time-consuming if you fail to
communicate with one of those three sites to complete the application.
Check your application status all the time. Since your advisor, College of ED Add Codes, ISS
work in the different schedules, you should follow up your status all the time to make sure you get
 each step right. One accident happened to me is that ISS lost my application information due to the
staff turnover. I had to apply again. Thus, I think you should be careful all the time to your status.
Make sure your employer understands CPT. Many times the employers in U.S are not familiar
with the CPT, which cause them refuse to employ international students as they think CPT takes
them extra time and money. You might need to clarify the fact that CPT does not consume their
resources. In this way, it could increase your possibility to be employed.
4. Any tips for new applicants?
In Advance! In Advance! In Advance! Make Sure you have enough time for the CPT
application.
CPT Does Not Affect OPT! In most case, CPT does not influence your OPT eligibility. Yet, if you
accumulate 12 months (365 or more days) of full-time CPT authorization, you lose your eligibility for
Optional Practical Training (OPT).


Helpful Resources for
International Students

International Student Service
https://iss.washington.edu/

Foundation for International Understanding Through Students(FIUTS)

http://www.fiuts.org/

UW Career and Internship Center

https://careers.uw.edu/internships/

International Educators of the College of Education (IECE)

https://education.uw.edu/my-coe/current-students/student-groups/iece

Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion (OSDI)
https://education.uw.edu/admissions/osdi