Curricular Practical Training (CPT) | Electrical and Computer Engineering

What is Curricular Practical Training?

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is a type of employment authorization for F-1 students.
It is an opportunity to participate in a paid position off-campus within your field of study, during the time that you are pursuing your degree.

See ISEO's website for more information about CPT and how to apply via iServices.

Please do not contact Professor Mercier about CPT. ECE staff will send you an email after you apply for CPT regarding course enrollment.

You can direct your questions to this email address if you have any other inquiries pertaining to anything related to the ECE CPT process.

Students are required to submit a separate CPT application via iServices, each quarter and must wait to receive an updated Form I-20 from ISEO that shows CPT approval on page two, before starting employment.

For example: A student who meets the CPT eligibility requirements and is graduating in SP26 may complete a CPT internship in FA25, WI26, and SP26. However, they must submit a separate application in iServices for each quarter. The same offer letter can be used, provided the internship dates are accurately reflected and fall between September 6, 2025, and June 12, 2026.

How long does it take for a CPT application to be processed?

Once a CPT iServices request is submitted, it will get routed to the ECE Department for review. It takes 3-5 business days for the department to process your iServices request. After it is approved, it will be routed to ISEO for further review and your new I-20 will be issued.

Please do not contact Professor Mercier about CPT. ECE staff will send you an email after you apply for CPT regarding course enrollment.

You can direct your questions to this email address if you have any other inquiries pertaining to anything related to the ECE CPT process.

Do I need to enroll in a course for CPT?

During the academic year (FA/WI/SP quarters), students must enroll in a CPT-eligible course and earn credit for their employment.

ECE completes the enrollment process a bit differently. ECE staff will send you an email after you apply for CPT regarding ECE 298 enrollment. Please disregard the statement on ISEO's website: In order for your request to be approved, you must show enrollment in a CPT course. Do not submit your request until the registration shows up on your TritonLink academic history.

You can direct your questions to this email address if you have any other inquiries about ECE 298. Please do not contact Prof. Mercier about CPT.

M.S. Students & Ph.D. students without a PI/research advisor:

Once you submit your iServices CPT application, it will be routed to the ECE Dept. ECE will review it and notify you, via email, that you have been cleared to enroll in ECE 298 (1-16 units). After you enroll, you will inform the advisor, via email, and they will route your CPT application to ISEO for further review.
- Students can choose how many units of ECE 298 they need to maintain their student standing and enrollment units are not tied to internship hours:
  - Full-time status (12+ units which will require paying full-time tuition and fees)
  - Part-time status + RCL (7-11 units which will require paying full-time tuition and fees)
  - Half-time status + RCL (1-6 units which will require half-time tuition and fees - due by Friday of week 2)
    - Be sure to list pmercier@ucsd.edu in the faculty advisor email address section and Mercier, Patrick P. in the faculty advisor name section.
      - Please do not contact Professor Mercier about this. The application will be routed to him automatically and it will approve it once it is in his queuing system.
- CPT ECE 298 Report:
  - In order to earn credit for ECE 298, you will need to write a 2-3 page double-spaced, 12 pt. font, report describing your internship experience and submit it to the M.S. Advisor by the end of Week 10.
  - The report does not need to be signed off by your employer.
  - The report does not need to be send to Prof. Mercier.
  - You will receive more details about the report via email.
- ECE 298 cannot be used towards your degree and is only graded as S/U.

M.S. and Ph.D. Students with a PI (Faculty Research Advisor):

Please enroll in 299 under your research advisor. Your research advisor will issue your grade at the end of the quarter.
Please let your PI know that you are conducting a CPT internship.

During the Summer, students are eligible to participate in the Summer Cooperative Education Program.

During the Summer term, students have the opportunity to participate in the Summer Cooperative Education Program. This is an agreement between the student, the faculty advisor and employer that outlines specific goals the student will work towards that would otherwise meet requirements of a course for credit.
Students who participate in this program will not be required to earn academic credit for their employment and will not be required to pay tuition during the Summer term.

Please do not contact Professor Mercier about CPT. ECE staff will send you an email after you apply for CPT regarding course enrollment. The report does not need to be signed off by your employer, this is a reflection paper.

You can direct your questions to this email address if you have any other inquiries pertaining to anything related to the ECE CPT process.

ECE Summer Co-op Agreement Form Information

To participate, students will need to fill out the Summer Cooperative Education Agreement and submit it as part of their CPT application.

M.S. Students & Ph.D. students without a PI/research advisor:

Please list the ECE Vice Chair under the "faculty advisor name" section. You do not need to contact the Vice Chair. No signature is needed on the form.
- Professor Patrick Mercier
- pmercier@ucsd.edu
- 858-534-6026

M.S. and Ph.D. Students with a PI (Faculty Research Advisor):

Please list your PI under the "faculty advisor name" section. No signature is needed on the form. You can look up your PIs information here.

Students who participate in this program will need to submit the "F-1 Post CPT Cooperative Education Internship for Graduate Students Reporting Form" in iServices at the end of their internship. Students who do not submit this form will receive a hold on their account.

You can direct your questions to this email address if you have any other inquiries pertaining to anything related to the ECE CPT process.

Full-Time (100%) CPT During Academic Year Compliance

Consider all the factors carefully listed on ISEO’s F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT) website before reaching out to an ECE advisor.

Remember, it is THE STUDENT's responsibility to ensure they are able to maintain their F-1 full-time enrollment requirements, balance their CPT employment with on-campus employment obligations, complete course requirements, and monitor the number of days they are authorized to participate in CPT.
Discuss with an ISEO advisor for any potential visa status impacts.

ECE will apply the following criteria when determining eligibility for full-time CPT:

Meet all eligibility criteria outlined on ISEO’s Curricular Practical Training (CPT) website.
Be in good academic standing (maintain a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, and no more than 8 units of "F" or "U").

How to maintain full-time enrollment?

Enroll in a CPT eligible course. Please refer to the "Do I need to enroll in a course for CPT?" tab above.
F-1 students are required to enroll full-time in at least 12 units in each academic term - Fall, Winter and Spring quarters. In addition, no more than one (1) remote class per quarter can be counted toward the 12-unit, full-time enrollment requirement. Students may take additional online classes in excess of the 12-unit, full-time enrollment requirement.
Note: Remote courses are denoted as “RCLASS” in WebReg. Hybrid classes do not count against the maximum of one online course towards full-time enrollment requirements.

Do you hold on-campus employment?

UC graduate student employment policy ensures that students may not exceed graduate academic employment, CPT appointments, or a combination of the two, over 100% during the academic year or summer periods.

What are the required steps if this is my final quarter and I would like to do a CPT + RCL + Half-Time status to receive the reduction in tuition and fees (1-6 units)

Students can complete a CPT during their final quarter as a full-time student. With approval, students can attend UCSD at half-time status. Graduate students are considered half-time if they enroll in 1-6 units in a quarter. Enrolling at half-time status requires approval. To see more details about fees, eligibility, and the application process, please visit Half-Time Study (Graduate Students). Graduate students are eligible for half-time status if they enroll in 1-6 units (ECE 298 is allowed) and are applying by the end of Friday of Week 2 of the quarter that they would like to be a half-time student.

The iServices forms via ISEO's website make modifications to I-20 documents while GEPA's forms trigger billing adjustments. Students who would like to pursue this option need to submit both forms: Final Quarter RCL and Half-Time Form. Please read the Final Quarter RCL eligibility policy on ISEO's website remote courses.

International students are eligible to apply for a final quarter RCL and enroll in less than 12 units for their final quarter. The RCL can correspond to the half-time study (graduate students) application depending on when the student is applying and the number of units enrolled.

If you have any doubts, please contact your primary ECE Student Affairs Advisor for assistance.

Half-Time Billing Information:

It typically takes about 2-3 weeks for a half-time application to be approved by everyone; students will need to plan accordingly and pay the bill by the billing deadline. If your bill was paid for full-time tuition, and then you applied for half-time by the Friday of week 2 deadline, you will receive a reimbursement, which will be reflected on TritonLink. If your half-time application is still in progress and the billing deadline is approaching, you will be expected to pay for the bill by the deadline and then receive the reimbursement via TritonLink, once your application has been fully approved. If you applied for half-time well in advance of the billing deadline and got approval from all parties, the fees will be adjusted via TritonLink and you can pay the reduced amount by the billing deadline. Once your application has been fully processed by all 8 parties, your reduction in tuition will be reflected in TritonLink whether that is in the form of a reimbursement or billing adjustment.

Graduate students are eligible for half-time status if they enroll in 1-6 units and are applying by the end of Friday of Week 2 of the quarter that they would like to be a half-time student. As long as the request is submitted by the deadline, it will be time-stamped and honored, unless there is an on-campus employment issue or other conflict.
Students who would like to pursue this option need to submit two forms: Final Quarter RCL and Half-Time Form.
- Full-time status (12+ units which will require paying full-time tuition and fees)
- Part-time status + RCL (7-11 units which will require paying full-time tuition and fees)
- Half-time status + RCL (1-6 units which will require half-time tuition and fees - due by Friday of week 2 of the quarter that you are requesting HT for)
  - Be sure to list pmercier@ucsd.edu in the faculty advisor email address section and Mercier, Patrick P in the faculty advisor name section.
    - Please do not contact Professor Mercier about this. The application will be routed to him automatically and it will approve it once it is in his queuing system.

Questions?

You can direct your questions to this email address if you have any other inquiries pertaining to anything related to the ECE CPT process.