Employment, Internships & Volunteering at Stonehill

Work Authorization and Employment

You may work on campus through the student employment program. While fall and spring classes are in session, undergraduate students may not work more than 20 hours per week on campus. This specific form of employment is the only one that does not need to be reported to OIP.

International students may not work off-campus without permission from the U.S. government. There are limited employment options available in the form of pre-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT), which subtracts from students post-completion OPT eligibility, or Curricular practical Training (CPT).

If you would like to further discuss employment questions, please contact OIP directly.

Internships, Fieldwork, and other Experiential Placements

Internship, fieldwork, or any similar enrollment must be reported to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and pre-authorized in the form of Curricular Optional Training (CPT) on page 2 of a student's Form I-20. It is your responsibility to inform the OIP as early as possible of any internship plans you may have. Failure to do so will result in violation of your F-1 status.

For more information on CPT please contact OIP directly. 

Please note that a year or more of over 20-hour (full time) CPT makes students ineligible for post- graduation employment authorization (Optional Practical Training or OPT).

Volunteering

F-1 international students may perform unpaid civic, charitable, or humanitarian service for an organization as a volunteer.

There are a few guidelines to help students determine if the service they wish to perform is an appropriate volunteer opportunity. In order for the experience to be eligible, all of the following statements must be true:

• I am performing a service for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons.
• The services I am performing are primarily for the benefit of the organization, not primarily for my professional or personal benefit.
• I am not receiving any compensation (salary, stipend, etc.) or anything of value (for instance, housing) in exchange for volunteering.
• I am performing the services without promise, expectation of future employment, deferred payment, or other tangible benefit.

I do not hold a role that is usually a paid position and am not displacing a U.S. worker through my volunteer services.