Some considerations to keep in mind regarding internship and practica opportunities:

1. Internships at locations abroad, whether for credit or not, do not require any special permission at all. If a Rice department or program offers internships at locations abroad, there are no worries regarding international students’ participation in them.
2. Restrictions, and the “CPT” permission process that may make internships possible, apply only to internships inside the U.S.
3. International students cannot do any non-credit domestic internships. If they are to be able to do an internship in the U.S. at all, it must be credit-bearing.
4. The OISS will need at least 1 full week, after the assembly of all completed parts of a CPT application, to process it. To complete all the parts is not a simple task. Last-minute efforts to sign an international student up for a domestic internship will be frustrating. Lead time is essential.
5. If an internship is on Rice campus, for an entity at Rice, and involves work on a Rice project (not a purely personal project for someone who happens to work at Rice), it should be permissible. Still, OISS recommends using the permitting process. The OISS contact is Jenny Brydon.
6. If an internship is off campus, and for a non-Rice partner, it is permitted if that course is a requirement for the major, that is, the major cannot be completed without it.
7. If an internship is off campus, for a non-Rice partner, and is not required for a major—the typical scenario—it can only be permitted if it is a) for credit and b) “integral” to the student’s major. That is, it must be required or something very close to it. Each case must be made individually.
8. Minors are not treated the same as majors! Even if a minor requires a domestic internship, that does not render it permissible for an international student. Medical Humanities and PJCH, take note. If the case could be made that a desired internship is integral to the student’s major, via the permitting process, that could be a solution.