Curricular Practical Training (CPT)/CIEN E4999 Fieldwork

Curricular Practical Training (https://isso.columbia.edu/content/f-1-cpt-curricular-practical-training) allows students to

hold internships that are an integral part of the established curriculum of the Engineering School. It provides an
opportunity for students to apply classroom knowledge to work in their chosen field. Because CPT is part of the curriculum,
students must register for CIEN E4999 Fieldwork and receive a letter grade.

CPT Application Procedure

CPT approval/authorization must be obtained from the Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics department prior to
beginning employment.

Steps to Applying for CPT/Fieldwork:

1) Obtain an offer letter from your prospective employer which includes:

a. The beginning and end dates of employment
b. The number of weekly hours you will work
c. A description of your duties in sufficient detail to clearly show their relevance to your field of study
d. The location of the company or organization where the internship will take place
2) Ask your prospective employer (prospective supervisor or a Human Resources representative) to review and sign
the Supervisor Instructions Form and return it to you as a PDF or hard copy.
3) Submit the following materials to Scott Kelly (stk2110@columbia.edu) in the Civil Engineering and Engineering
Mechanics department:
a. Employment offer letter
b. Signed Supervisor Instructions Form
c. A personal statement of approximately 250 words describing how this internship relates to your degree
program
4) Your application for CPT will be reviewed by the Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics department. Upon
review by the department, you will be informed by e-mail if your request has been approved. You will then be
required to fill out the Curricular Practical Training Request Form
(https://isso.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/Forms/CPT_Request_Form.pdf) and have it signed by
Scott Kelly in the CEEM department.
5) After your internship is approved, you must register for CIEN E4999 Fieldwork. Students are responsible for paying
tuition and fees associated with registration for CIEN E4999.
6) After registering for CIEN E4999, international students on F-1 visas submit their application materials to the
International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO). Please see https://isso.columbia.edu/content/f-1-cpt-
curricular-practical-training for instructions about how to submit the following materials:
a. Most recent I-94 arrival record
b. CPT Request Form
c. Employment offer letter

Upon being received by ISSO, CPT applications are typically processed within 10 days.

Upon Completion of Your Internship

In order to assign a grade for CIEN E4999, the department requires students to write a report (three to five pages) at the
end of their internship. The report may include a discussion of the following topics:

a. Your daily responsibilities

b. Notable projects completed
 c. New skills and qualifications acquired
d. How your internship has prepared you for future employment and impacted your career plans
e. Relevance of your internship to your coursework at Columbia

Your internship supervisor should check the content of the report to make sure that it is accurate and that it does not
contain any information the company does not wish interns to disclose. In addition to reviewing your report, your
supervisor will also be asked to fill out an evaluation form, which will be sent by the department towards the end of your
internship. The report must be submitted by the student and the evaluation form must be submitted by the supervisor to
Scott Kelly (stk2110@columbia.edu) within one week of the end of the internship. A grade for CIEN E4999 will be based
on the report and the supervisor evaluation form.

ISSO requires students to receive a grade for CIEN E4999 before being approved for CIEN E4999 in a subsequent semester.
For example, you must receive a grade for CIEN E4999 taken in the Summer semester before you can be approved for
CIEN E4999 in the Fall semester.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take this course for a P/F grade?

No, you must take this course for a letter grade.

When is the Fieldwork course offered?

It is offered every semester, including summer.

Who is eligible to apply for CPT?

Both international and domestic MS students are eligible to register for CIEN E4999 Fieldwork. If you are a U.S. citizen or
a permanent resident, you are eligible to register for it as soon as you are in the MS program. If you are on an F-1 visa,
you must be in valid student status for one academic year (two consecutive semesters) before you can register for CIEN
E4999. Domestic students are not required to register for CIEN E4999 in order to complete an internship.

I read that the Fieldwork course will satisfy my program requirement. How does that work?
Since CIEN E4999 is a 4000-level course, credits earned from the course can be counted towards the 30 credits required
for the MS degree.

How many credits may I earn for CIEN E4999?

Students may count up to three total credits from CIEN E4999 towards the MS degree. The CEEM department will
approve students to register for the appropriate number of credits based on the guidelines below:

Fall/Spring Semester – 1 credit for minimum 100 hours of work

Fall/Spring Semester – 1.5 credits for minimum 150 hours of work
Summer – 1 (minimum 100 hours), 1.5 (minimum 150 hours), or 2 (minimum 200 hours) credits

How many credits of coursework am I required to take while on CPT?

During the summer, students only have to register for CIEN E4999 if they are interning off-campus. However, during the
academic year, students registered for CIEN E4999 must be registered for at least one other credit in addition to CIEN
E4999, i.e. one credit of research, a three-credit course, etc.

How many hours per week may I work while on CPT?

You may work a maximum of 20 hours per week during the academic year. CPT may be full-time during the summer if
you are taking at least three credits of coursework in the following Fall semester. Students who are interning and
completing their degree requirements during the summer may only work a maximum of 20 hours per week.
How long does it take for a CPT application to be processed?
It takes about 10 days for ISSO to process a CPT application.

I am an international student. What is the difference between CPT (Curricular Practical Training) and Pre-Completion
OPT (Optional Practical Training)?
Please refer to https://isso.columbia.edu/content/f-1-opt-optional-practical-training-during-your-degree-program for
information about Pre-Completion OPT.

What happens if the company does not allow me to release some information about the project on which I worked?
You can work with your supervisor to write a report that is acceptable to the company.

How closely aligned with my degree does the internship need to be?
The internship must be related to civil engineering, construction, or a similar field and it must have educational value as
judged by the department.

I already have a CPT work authorization, but I received another internship offer which I would like to accept. Am I
permitted to reapply for CPT to work for the new company?
Yes. If the new position is also appropriate, you can reapply for CPT work authorization. Please note that you must start
the application process from the beginning.

I am an international student and was unexpectedly let go. What can I do?
CPT duration can be shortened, but you cannot drop the course as that means that you worked illegally in the U.S. You
must contact your adviser/administrator/ISSO to resolve this issue as this would affect your legal working status.