Internship Course for Credit (Doctoral Students)
Overview
Doctoral Students are eligible to enroll in ENGR 596 if you would like to receive technical elective credit for working in an internship. The course is graded Credit/No Credit. To get a passing grade, you will need to complete bi-weekly status reports, submit a 6-page technical report graded by a faculty member within your academic department, and complete the SkillSurvey self-assessment. View sample Syllabus.
Student Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to enroll in ENGR 596 please review below:
Hours
- In the Fall/Spring semester, the internship must be a minimum of 10 hours but can not exceed 20 hours
- In the Summer, the internship can be 40 hours per week
Internship Length
To ensure a rewarding internship experience and earn academic credit for your internship course, internships must be
- At least 12 weeks during Fall and Spring semesters
- At least 10 weeks during the Summer semester
- Internships shorter than 10-12 weeks will be considered on a case-by-case basis please email engrinternshipcourses@usc.edu
International Students
- Time at USC
- Maintained full-time F-1 student status for at least one academic year (fall and spring).
- If you attended undergraduate or Master's programs at a U.S. institution, you may be eligible for CPT earlier.
- Please OIS or their website for more information.
- GPA
- Fall/Spring CPT: 3.0 +
- Summer CPT: 2.75+
- PhD students who have applied or are planning to apply for a program extension will not be approved unless the CPT directly supports research or writing the dissertation. In this case, you MUST upload an explanation from your advisor along with your offer letter.
- Part-time/Full-time Eligibility
- During Fall and Spring semesters, PhD students must have passed the qualifying examination and be enrolled in dissertation units to be eligible for full-time CPT.
- During Fall and Spring semesters, PhD students who have not passed their qualifying examination are only eligible for part time CPT (20 hours or less).
- During Fall and Spring semesters, PhD students on CPT (whether part time or full time) cannot receive more than 25% RA/TA funding.
- During the summer semesters, all PhD students can participate in 50% RA/TA and full time or part time CPT.
Domestic Students
- Time at USC - no requirement
- GPA
- Fall/Spring CPT: 3.0 +
- Summer CPT: 2.75+
- If a student has a GPA of 0.00, VGAS will process if the student is meeting satisfactory academic progress. Meet with a VGAS advisor if you have questions.
Application Process
Step #1 Obtain Offer Letter (Sample Offer Letter)
Obtain an offer letter that includes all of the following (If you are unable to obtain all of the information in one document, please combine all documents or communication from your employer in one pdf document):
- The offer letter must feature the company’s letterhead
- Student’s full legal name (a nickname or alias will not be accepted
- Physical location of where the student will be working
- Job Description of what you are doing in this job and it must align with your major
- How many hours you will work per weekly, it must state exactly a number, or a range such as 20 hours or 30-40 hours (it can not simply state part-time or full-time)
- Start and End dates that align with course registration dates
- Salary Information can be either hourly or monthly salary
Step #2 Identify Faculty:
The student is responsible for seeking out a faculty within their academic department that agrees to grade their report. Please make sure you know which faculty has agreed to grade your report prior to submitting your application. If the faculty member you choose denies your request in the system you will need to start all over and submit a new application.
Step #3 Submit ICR Application in myviterbi.usc.edu
Students must complete their ICR application within the university deadline in myviterbi. Full instructions on how to submit your application on myviterbi.usc.edu
Step #4 Register for Course
Once you obtain d-clearance, register for ENGR 596 immediately. You will not be able to download the pdf for Trojan International without first enrolling in the course you are approved for. Please login into myviterbi.usc.edu and review notes left by staff to see which Section # to register for.
Additional Step for International Students:
Step #5 Complete the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Form: International students must submit a CPT I-20 Request Form to the Office of International Services' (OIS) Trojan International System. Students must be enrolled in the internship course before submitting the request to OIS.
Dates & Deadlines
|
Fall 2023 |
Spring 2024 |
Summer 2024 |
|
| Application Start Date |
July 18, 2023 |
November 27, 2023 |
April 10, 2024 |
| Application Deadline |
Oct 9 |
March 5 |
June 25, 2024 |
| Initial Registration Deadline * |
Sept 8 |
Jan 30 |
May 31, 2024 |
| Final Registration Deadline** |
Oct 18 |
March 12 |
July 4, 2024 |
|
Internship duration: (If it is your final semester) |
Aug 21 – Dec 13 |
Jan 8 – May 10 |
Aug 26, 2024-Dec 18 |
| Internship duration: (If it is NOT your final semester) |
Aug 21 – Jan 5 |
Jan 8 – May 10 |
Aug 26-Jan 10, 2025 |
*The Application deadline - Students must submit their Internship Course Request (ICR) Application in myViterbi by this deadline. You will not be able to submit a new application in myViterbi after this date. The system will automatically close after this date.
**Initial Registration Deadline - Students are provided Section numbers after they have been given D-clearance when they complete their application in myViterbi. These section numbers have expiration dates. If you obtained d-clearance and you missed the registration deadline you can request another section number if you haven't missed the final registration deadline.
***Final Registration Deadline - This is the final deadline to use section numbers provided by VCC for d-clearance. All registrations must be complete by this deadline, please plan accordingly, as your account can have other holds in the system (Academic Advisement hold, unpaid student balance, health fee payment etc.) that prevent you from registering for classes that our office can not lift.
CPT & International Student Information
- International students must register for an internship course during the semester if they wish to do an internship and obtain CPT.
- Follow the internship course syllabus and contact the Viterbi Career Connections (VCC) for your questions regarding the internship course.
- If you cannot continue the internship, please contact the Viterbi Career Connection Office as soon as possible.
- Remove your application from any pending recruiting processes after you accept one offer.
NOTE: As part of your agreement for CPT, you agree not to accept additional job offers after submitting a CPT application for the semester. Internship offers from new employers will not be approved. If you have received an additional internship offer after submitting for CPT, the VCC staff will do their best to assist you with negotiating and retaining both internships. We also encourage you to visit the Job & Internship Tool Kit for Evaluating & Negotiating Offers or schedule an appointment with a career advisor on Gateway for tips on negotiating a start date for next semester with the second employer. Successful completion of the course is required to be considered for future CPT authorizations. If a student receives a No Credit (NC), they will be ineligible for future CPT.
Hours & Location
If it's your final semester, you can work full-time if your course enrollment is no more than 4 credits (not including CPT credit). 10-20 hours per week is considered part-time and 21-40 per week is considered full-time.
If it's NOT your final semester, you can only work part-time with full-time course enrollment
**Students cannot take academic difficulty RCL with CPT simultaneously.
All International Students must adhere to In-Person Learning Requirements
Please review the In-Person Learning Requirements for Viterbi Students Participating in CPT. Viterbi will only approve fall or spring CPT applications for out-of-area internship opportunities after students agree to the following conditions identified in the memo. If your internship opportunity allows you to agree to the conditions identified in the memo, then you should have no problem getting course approval.
Still Have Questions?
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Published on May 25th, 2022
Last updated on July 8th, 2024