04/26/2022
We international students need CPT courses
We (a group of international graduate students and allies) came across a problem of getting Curricular Practical Training (CPT), which is required* if an international student (F1 visa holder) wants to do an internship during their graduate school within the US.
Out of 42 departments/programs that offer PhD degrees, there’re only 16 departments in Princeton that offer CPT course to their graduate students. See the list here:
https://davisic.princeton.edu/immigration/current-students/curricular-practical-training-cpt
It has been very difficult for us to push our departments to change it; however, we also understand for the department-level admins, it’s so difficult since they have never done it before (most of them even didn't know about it)! We also think it’s not only our departments, it’s also a problem for all the 26 departments.
Here we propose some potential solutions at the university level:
1) The Graduate School could set up a course at university level for international students, like many other institutions do, e.g., Caltech offers a university-wide CPT for all international students (https://international.caltech.edu/employment/f1-students/cpt-application)
2) The Graduate School could organize a meeting with all department admins and help the admins who have not done CPT course before to set up by learning the experience/paperwork template, etc from the departments that already offer CPT courses.
3) The Graduate School could make a template or step-by-step tutorial for every department that hasn’t set up the CPT course.
To push the change happen in Princeton University, we are initiating this petition and we need your voice. By submitting this form, you sign for this petition and you will see your name and your department show up below.
* N.B. You might be able to apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT) as an alternative to CPT (Again, it is possible for some graduate programs while not others, according to a current student' private inquiry to Davis international center); however, the application process for OPT is much longer and it is much more difficult to get, becasue OPT is usually for working after graduation. See details here: https://registrar.washington.edu/lessons/cpt-vs-opt/
Difference Between CPT and OPT
