Curricular Practical Training

Graduate Students

• Must have been in lawful student status for one full academic year (2 semesters)
• Must be enrolled as a full-time student (minimum of 9 credit hours)
• Must have completed 9 earned credit hours at UNC Charlotte
• Must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0
• Must be in good standing with the University with no financial holds over $99
• Students who are enrolled in a Ph.D. program, enrolled only in “thesis/dissertation” or enrolled in a course requiring an internship should consider applying for CPT via the Academic Department instead.

Undergraduate Students

• Must have been in student status for one full academic year (2 semesters)
• Must be enrolled as a full-time student (minimum of 12 credit hours)
• Must have completed 30 earned credit hours at UNC Charlotte before you begin working (12 as a transfer student)
• Must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.0
• Must be in good standing with the University with no financial holds over $99

Job Description

• Your internship job description must provide a detailed overview of your daily activities and responsibilities as well as the skills you will be using and learning throughout your work experience.
• Over 50% of your work responsibilities must be directly related to your current major. We cannot consider previous degrees when approving a position description.

Location

• There are no location restrictions for summer internships
• Fall and spring internships must be located within a 1.5-hour driving distance from the University: 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223.
• We will consider remote internships as long as you will be working in a supervised, structured environment with regular check-ins with your internship supervisor.

Hours Per Week

• Internships can vary in number of hours/weeks required and should represent an extension of classroom learning.
• Summer internships may be full-time or part-time.
• Fall and spring internships must be 20 hours per week or less.

Offer Letter

Your offer letter must meet the following criteria:

• Written on company letterhead
• Contain prospective CPT employer's name
• Physical location/address of proposed internship (no P.O. Boxes)
• Start date of employment (view the important dates above)
• End date of employment (view the important dates above)
• Number of work hours per week
• Will you participate in this internship remotely while you are outside the U.S.?
  If yes, your job offer letter must include this statement - “The student will participate in a remote internship while maintaining a full course load through UNC Charlotte and while remaining outside the U.S. We acknowledge that it is up to the student and the employer to investigate and fulfill any taxation or U.S. or foreign country regulatory requirements due to the student’s physical location.”

Failure to include all of these items will result in your CPT authorization being denied.

Remote Internships

While internships allowing students to work remotely will be considered, your offer letter must clearly state the following in addition to the requirements above:

1. The name of the direct supervisor who will monitor the virtual assignment.
2. How often the student's progress will be checked.
3. The technology used to communicate between supervisor and student (Skype, email, etc.)

Job Description

• You will need a copy of your official job description to copy and paste into the "Job Description" field on your work authorization request in Hire-A-Niner.
• Your job description must provide a detailed overview of your daily activities and responsibilities as well as the skills you will be using and learning throughout your work experience.
• View the position approval section to ensure your position meets all requirements.

Supervisor/Mentor Contact Information

• Full Name
• Title
• Phone Number
• Email Address
• Work Address

Have an issue with your employer or position?

Contact Patrick Madsen at experiential-ed@uncc.edu.

Have a question about your work authorization request?

Contact Kim Corradi at kcorradi@uncc.edu.

Have questions about CPT, OPT, or other immigration related questions?

Contact the International Student and Scholar Office at 704-687-7781, intlsso@uncc.edu, or walk-in during advising hours on Monday & Friday from 10:00AM-12:00PM or Tuesday/Thursday from 2:00PM-4:00PM in CHHS 202.