International Students

International students are free to work for any position paid by Columbia University. However, the job must meet the following criteria:

1. It cannot be classified as a “work study” position.
2. The student’s paycheck must come from Columbia University, or private firm that does work for Columbia.
3. The student can work no more than 20 hours per week while class is in session. There is no limit to the amount of hours you can work during breaks (i.e., Spring Break, summer vacation, winter break between semesters).

Once you’ve found an on-campus job, you must apply for a Social Security number, and complete certain tax forms. More information about this can be found here.

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is authorization for F-1 students for employment that is an integral part of the established curriculum of the degree program. Because internships are a degree requirement for all concentrations except the Acting concentration, any internships completed are eligible for CPT. If a student would like the internship to be eligible for Shubert funding, they must apply for CPT for the duration of the internship.

Every F-1 student is allotted 12 months of employment under CPT authorization. Any work done under this authorization must not exceed more than 20 hours per week and must be completed during the academic program; CPT will not be authorized for students who are on leave or who have graduated.  A student may work fulltime (40 hours per week) in the summer months only; however, that will double the speed with which the CPT is allotted. For example, working one month fulltime will use up two months of CPT.

To obtain the proper authorization, the student must receive an employment letter on official letterhead, complete a CPT Request Form, signed by the Director of Academic Administration, and obtain their most recent I-94 Arrival Record. All of these documents must be submitted to the ISSO either in person or online (through Compass) no later than 10 days before the start of the internship. CPT cannot be authorized after the fact, so students should start the process as early as possible.

OPT allows F-1 students to work off-campus in order to receive practical training in a student’s field of study. Students are free to use OPT both during their degree program and after graduation. However, students have 12 months of OPT in total, so students should be aware of how much is used during their program.

Unlike CPT, which is processed by the ISSO, OPT authorization comes from the US Citizen and Immigration Services and can take up to three (3) months. If a student wants to work in the US after graduation, they should apply for OPT up to 90 days before the desired start date.

As with all Theatre Program students, international students must complete the requisite number of internships for their concentration. To do this, students have two options.

1. Complete an internship without receiving any compensation at all. These unpaid internships are quite strict in their federal and state definition, but do not have the same limits on the number of hours worked as compensated positions, nor will students have to use any of their CPT allotment. The downside of choosing this option is that because there is no compensation given, the internship does not make the student eligible for Shubert funding.
2. Complete an internship according to the provisions of the Shubert grant. This option will make the student eligible to receive Shubert funding in the third year; however, the ISSO will have to authorize the internship and the student’s CPT allotment will be used.