USA Internship opportunities for international students CPT/ Pre-OPT

The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering (FSE) aspire to develop leaders who are well-informed about current business practices. Experiential education is recognized as complementary to traditional courses and integral to the overall academic experience. The FSE offer enhanced curricula, special courses and extracurricular activities to enrich the student experience and to offer every student opportunities to achieve their aspirations.

Pursuing a Curricular Practical Training (CPT), or internship experience, or a Pre-OPT (Pre-Optional Practical Training) experience is one way that international students can enhance their educational experience and become more career ready.

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) | Optional Practical Training (OPT) Overview

F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is a type of off-campus employment authorization for F-1 students. If you have an internship offer or you are thinking about completing an internship, learn more about CPT from the International Students and Scholars Center.

F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a benefit from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that allows international students in F-1 status to gain off-campus work experience in their field of study before or after completion of studies. Learn more about OPT and OPT STEM Extension from the International Students and Scholars Center.

CPT/Pre-OPT Policies

At the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, we are dedicated to supporting the success of our students through a transparent, accessible, and flexible internship process.

Opportunity for all students	Undergraduate students are allowed at least 1 credit hour per internship experience in addition to or included as part of degree requirements (i.e., not counted as part of the usual 120 credit hours leading to an undergraduate degree). Graduate students are allowed at least 1 credit hour per internship experience in addition to or included as part of degree requirements (i.e., not counted as part of the mandatory requirements).
Student Eligibility	Undergraduate students that meet the CPT eligibility requirements with a minimum 3.0 GPA (or otherwise in good academic standing) are eligible. Graduate students that meet the CPT eligibility requirements with a minimum 3.0 GPA (or otherwise in good academic standing) are eligible. A lower GPA may be permitted during summer internships. No prerequisite courses are required. Graduate students must submit any required iPOS changes in advance of application. Learn more about Pre-OPT eligibility.
Terms internship allowed	For undergraduate students, part-time internships are recommended in Fall and Spring. With approval by the academic unit, full- or part-time internships are allowable in Fall, Spring and Summer. Academic justification is required for full-time internships during Fall and Spring semesters.

School-specific Internship Information

Each School within the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering has specific course registration requirements and processes. Learn your program’s specific processes by visiting the links below:

Schools	Guideline Links
School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering (CIDSE)	Undergraduate Internship Guidelines Graduate Internship Guidelines
School of Electrical, Computing, and Energy Engineering (ECEE)	Undergraduate and Graduate Internship Guidelines
School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering (SBHSE)	Undergraduate and Graduate Internship Guidelines
School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy (SEMTE)	Undergraduate Internship Guidelines Graduate Internship Guidelines
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment (SSEBE)	Undergraduate and Graduate Internship Guidelines
The Polytechnic School (TPS)	Undergraduate and Graduate Internship Guidelines

Have Questions?

For questions regarding CPT or pre-OPT, please contact the International Students & Scholars Center regarding CPT and OPT.
You can also contact Ban Faris, Specialist Senior, International Students, in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, if you have additional questions or concerns.
The Career Center’s involvement is limited to requesting an Unpaid Student Placement Agreement from employers.

Additional extracurricular activities

The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering offers students a variety of options to engage in activities to enrich educational experiences and to become more career ready.

Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative FURI	The Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative enhances an undergraduate student’s engineering experience and technical education by providing hands-on lab experience, independent and thesis-based research, and travel to national conferences.	For undergraduate students
Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering (MORE)	The Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering is designed to enrich a graduate student’s engineering and technical graduate curriculum with hands-on lab experience and independent and thesis-based research.	For graduate students
DEVIL’S Invent	Devils Invent is a series of engineering and design challenges. Participating students are encouraged to design, build, and implement innovative solutions to challenging problem statements submitted by community, industry and University partners.	For all students
Six Sigma Green Belt Certification and scholarship	The ASU Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate program is an online certification course that examines the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) methodology; a customer-focused, fact and data-driven methodology that guides continuous improvement and operations excellence. The Fulton Schools has partnered with GOEE to offer the course at the discounted price.	For graduate students
Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS)	The Engineering Projects in Community Service program, known as EPICS, is a national award-winning social entrepreneurship program. Teams design, build and deploy systems to solve engineering-based problems for charities, schools and other not-for-profit organizations. Our students aren’t waiting to graduate to make a difference—they are tackling real-world problems today.	For all students
Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E+I)	E+I @ Fulton directly collaborates with Entrepreneurship + Innovation @ ASU, along with many other internal and external innovation leaders and organizations. Collectively, our goal is to enhance the synergy between technology-based innovation and entrepreneurship for all Sun Devils.	For all students
Student Organizations and Competitions	There are dozens of Fulton student organizations and teams ranging from honors and professional associations to groups creating underwater robots, concrete canoes, and launching rockets. Fulton Student Organizations are excellent opportunities to learn about career possibilities and networking as many of the student groups operate in conjunction with industry professional societies … get involved today!	For all students