To Be Eligible for Curricular Practical Training (CPT), Students Must:

  • Have completed one traditional academic year on-campus in their degree program (fall and spring or spring and fall) in full-time status.*
  • Undergraduate students must have earned 24 credits towards their degree program requirements; graduate students must have earned 18 credits towards their degree program requirements (independent of required prerequisite courses).
  • Be in good academic standing for example: minimum 2.000 GPA if undergraduate, or 3.000 GPA if graduate.
  • Be in good judicial standing. Students on warning, probation or other negative academic standing may be denied CPT authorization by their academic advisor.
  • Not be in their last semester, unless it's required for the completion of program.
  • Be actively enrolled for example:not be resolving incomplete grades.
  • Have a UMass Lowell (UML) faculty or career and co-op center advisor who will describe the curricular or academic objectives being fulfilled by CPT and how CPT is a required academic component of an established curriculum.
  • Students must enroll prior to the end of the add/drop period.

*Bachelor's to Master's Degree (BS-MS) Students will not be eligible for CPT at the graduate level until they have earned 18 credits towards their graduate degree AND have completed a full academic year as a graduate student.


Other Considerations

  • Graduate students only: If a student’s academic program requires immediate participation in CPT, then the academic year completion requirement can be waived. This is very rare, as most academic programs do not require that CPT be done in the first academic year.
  • Attention Francis College of Engineering (FCOE) Ph.D. students: Ph.D. students working on thesis/dissertations will be assessed for CPT on a case-by-case basis. CPT for students in this category need approval from their advisor and their school's dean. Please refer to the FCOE Ph.D. CPT Policy.
  • Students who are not eligible for CPT may be eligible to apply for Pre-Completion Optional Practical Training (Pre-OPT).
  • If an F-1 student uses 12 months of full-time CPT, they will not be permitted to apply for Post-Completion Optional Practical Training (Post OPT). Part-Time CPT does not impact the 12-month CPT allotment.
  • CPT policies may differ among institutions and academic departments within the same institution. Each UMass Lowell academic department has the discretion to approve CPT based on their program requirements.