Welcome, International Students!

The B.A. in Data Science & Social Systems and the B.S. in Data Science are BOTH STEM majors. All F1 international students majoring in either the B.A. or the B.S. will qualify for STEM OPT.

Our program offers CPT to our eligible international students in BOTH the B.A. in Data Science & Social Systems and the B.S. in Data Science. This makes it possible for our international students to complete summer internships. This opportunity is only available in summer! Students must meet the eligibility and requirements set by Bechtel International Center.

This process can take several weeks, so please plan ahead. Insufficient notice may result in CPT not being possible for the proposed summer quarter.

Please follow the steps below in order to obtain CPT through the Data Science program:
 

1. The student must find an appropriate internship related to Data Science. The opportunity must be within the dates outlined by Bechtel for summer quarter.
2. Students who have declared the B.S. must email their faculty advisor asking permission to enroll in DataSci 198 under their advisor. Students who have declared the B.A. must email Mallory Nobles (B.A. Associate Director) with this request. Either way, in your email, please provide the offer letter or email from the manager detailing the internship title, position description, as well as the start and end date.
3. If their faculty advisor approves, the student will enroll in the appropriate DataSci198 course and apply for CPT via Bechtel Connect
4. Once an application is submitted, this will generate an email to your advisor for them to approve in Axess (which may take some time). Please follow up with your advisor to share the CPT Instructions for Advisors and ensure they have approved the request. Your online application requires the approval of the course advisor before you can submit the request to Bechtel.
5. Only after your advisor approves the request will Bechtel begin to process it. Processing time for the CPT application with Bechtel is five to ten business days. Bechtel notifies you by email when your new I-20 is approved and ready for you in the Documents section under the My Student Home tab in Bechtel Connect. You cannot begin working until you have your CPT-approved I-20 from Bechtel.
6. By completing CPT with our program you are enrolling in a 1-unit course for summer, and you are expected to complete a final written one-page report summarizing the knowledge/experience gained upon completion of the internship in order to receive credit (as outlined in the course description). Submit the report to your advisor and the student services team at least two weeks prior to the end date of the internship.