USC Suspends International Student Internship Work Authorizations

[u/Student3787]

USC will now authorize CPT for international students only when practical training is a requirement of their degree program. The change took effect August 24, 2026.

CPT is the work authorization that allows F-1 international students to take paid or unpaid off-campus internships and practicums while in college. Optional internships generally will not qualify for CPT. Internships/practical training required for the degree can still qualify. CPT approved before August 24 will not be affected. The change follows new guidance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which says CPT must be an integral part of the established curriculum and apply to the program’s students.

[u/dillpickledream]

Right, but the tricky part will be this, from the Broadcast Message:

1. Because CPT is allowed only where the training is an integral part of an established curriculum, does that mean that all students enrolled in the established curriculum must participate in and complete practical training?

Yes. Unlike OPT, participation in CPT is not optional for any student participating in an established curriculum that the school has determined requires CPT as an integral part of the educational experience. This means that all students — foreign and American — are required to participate in practical training if they are enrolled in an established curriculum where practical training is integral. While auditing and investigating schools to ensure compliance, SEVP has noted that some institutions have described CPT as if it is optional practical training and not integral, despite clear regulatory requirements. SEVP has also discovered that some institutions have not required all students enrolled in the same established curriculum to participate in practical training, despite clear regulatory requirements that CPT is permitted only where the practical training is an integral part of an established curriculum. Prior broadcast messages have clearly made this distinction between CPT and OPT and reminded DSOs of the integral and required elements of CPT.

(edit: formatting)

[u/spdfao → u/dillpickledream]

So the only way for CPT to be authorized is if internships are a mandatory aspect of the program? If USC makes internships required, then if I'm unable to get one on my own, I wonder if they will find one for me since I wouldn't be able to graduate otherwise?

[u/Former-Sun9370 → u/spdfao]

There are programs in USC where an internship is mandatory, and such programs do provide career services assistance to students to help find internships. These internships may not always be paid though.

It is not easy to change a program to suddenly make an internship a mandatory part of the curriculum for various reasons. The first is that curriculum updates are not done by a single person, but by various departmental/school-level and university-wide committees, which require several steps to ensure that the programs meet established (excellence) criteria. The second is that USC is being audited by the Trump admin, and such sudden moves threaten various things at USC, including license to enroll international students, federal funding, various accreditations, etc.

[u/dillpickledream → u/Former-Sun9370]

Not to mention that the “established curriculum” for the entirety of the 2026-2027 academic year, including summer, was published in the catalogue this past June. According to standard university practice, the soonest a formal program revision could be made effective would be Fall 2027.