International students interested in working off-campus in a paid position while studying at GSAPP have 2 options:

• Elective Internship Course + CPT
  GSAPP offers a 1.5 elective internship course (ARCHA4050, PLANA4050, etc) to allow students to fulfill the academic requirements of CPT, since Internship is not a degree requirement at GSAPP.
  International students who enroll in the elective internship during fall or spring may not pay extra, as GSAPP’s tuition is a flat fee for fulltime enrollment between 12 and 19 pts. If a student enrolls in summer and is not registered full-time, they are charged for the 1.5 pt course. The class is 1.5 pts since the CPT rules state “students must earn credit commensurate with other elective courses that count toward the degree”.

• Pre-Completion OPT
  If an international student prefers not to enroll in the elective internship course and apply for CPT, they may apply for pre-completion OPT.
  OPT does not have the same academic CPT requirement of “an elective course that counts toward fulfilling your degree requirements".
  Students have a maximum of OPT time for each degree level. OPT time used during your program is deducted from post-graduation OPT.
  Elective CPT and OPT requires that students first be in the US in F-1 status for two consecutive full-time semesters. You must enter the US within 30 days of the start of the semester in order for your first semester to count towards the requirement.

For more comprehensive information regarding important eligibility requirements, please visit Columbia ISSO.