Curricular practical training and internship information

Hands-on computer engineering experience

International computer engineering graduate program students can complete a maximum of three semesters of internships as curricular practical training, or CPT. Completing more than 12 months of internships revokes the use of optional practical training, or OPT, which is hands-on experience beyond CPT credit.

View the course catalog for more information about CEN 584 Internship credit.

Application processing can take 2 to 4 weeks between the department and International Students and Scholars Center, or ISSC. Please plan accordingly. If you do not allow enough time for processing, you will be asked to adjust your start date.

CPT eligibility requirements

To be eligible for CPT, you need to meet ISSC and the computer engineering program’s eligibility requirements:

ISSC

• Be enrolled in your current degree program for a minimum of one academic year.
• Internship credit should be listed on your iPOS.
• You must receive academic credit for your internship.
• You must have a physical presence on campus during the spring or fall semester.

For more information, please refer to the ISSC CPT website.

Computer engineering program

• You must be a full-time on-campus F1 visa student.
• You must have an approved iPOS on file with the appropriate CPT credits listed in the appropriate semester(s).
• You must not have completed all of your required coursework or required credits.
• You must have a physical presence on campus during the spring or fall semester.
• Summer: 3.00 GPA is required to do an in-state or out-of-state, full- or part-time internship.
• Fall and spring semesters: Students with a GPA between 3.00 and 3.24 may participate in an in-state part-time internship only. A campus presence is required. Students with a GPA of 3.25 or higher may participate in an in-state or out-of-state internship, full- or part-time. A campus presence is required.

For more information, please refer to your computer engineering student handbook.

Computer engineering CPT policies

Review the following policies:

• Internships cannot start before the semester or session students enroll in the CPT credit (CEN 584). For example, if you are interested in doing an internship in the summer semester, you cannot start working until the first day of summer classes. Internship end dates can be anywhere from the last day of classes until the day before classes start in the following semester, unless it is the student’s final semester before graduation. In that case, contact your academic advisor for the best course of action. Refer to ASU’s academic calendar for semester dates.
• Registration for internships must be done in the appropriate periods. Late registration is not permitted with no exceptions.
• If you are a research assistant or a teaching assistant, you cannot do an internship while you are employed by ASU.
• If you are an MS thesis or PhD student, your faculty mentor needs to approve your internship and sign the registration request form required as part of the application process.
• You cannot do CPT if you have completed all of your degree requirements. If you completed all of your degree requirements and are about to graduate, apply for pre-OPT instead of CPT. Please speak to ISSC for more information about pre-OPT.
• Renege policy: It is unethical for students to seek or consider other employment opportunities after accepting an offer. You must stop looking for employment once you accept an offer.

Instructions and checklist

If you meet the eligibility criteria listed above, please follow these instructions:

1. Review CPT procedures on the ISSC website.
2. Review computer engineering internship information in the graduate student handbooks.
3. Confirm CEN 584 Internship credit is on your iPOS for the appropriate semester(s).
4. Review and complete the required forms for your program. Links are below on this page. Be sure to follow the instructions provided by your program.
5. Program staff will review your documents.

While in review, the status will be listed as “pending.” Do not contact your advisor while your documents are in review. If we need additional documentation, you will receive an email with a link to upload the document(s) requested. If you need to correct your form(s), you will need to make corrections and submit them again. You will receive email confirmation once your request has been approved.

After department approval

After your internship is approved, you will receive a notification of approval from the department. Complete these steps next:

1. Register for the CEN 584 Internship 1-credit class.
2. Request internship approval from ISSC using the ISSC CPT electronic form. More information is available on the ISSC CPT webpage.

You will need to upload documents to ISSC as well. They are listed on the ISSC CPT webpage.

Please note that ISSC may request additional document(s) such as the following:

a. Thesis or dissertation students: a letter from your faculty chair.

b. A letter from the department. Contact your academic advisor for this letter.

Student will pick up a new I-20 form from ISSC when notified it is available. This form is required for your CPT.

Required post-CPT report

After the internship period ends, a report with a minimum length of two pages is required before a grade and credit are given.

The final report should be submitted to the student’s industry supervisor for comments and approval, then to their faculty advisor. The report and cover sheet will then need to be uploaded to Dropbox for graduate program chair approval. The form and link are located in the post-CPT report submission area of the CEN 584 course.

Failure to receive this report will result in a failing grade, which will impact your GPA.