International students holding an F-1 Visa intending to participate in a Co-Op are required to have Curricular Practical Training (CPT). For more information about CPT, here is a link to the VISA office website. F-1 Student Employment and Training

Requirements for Co-op Participation

Co-op is available to students who are in good standing with the university and pursuing a degree in engineering or computer science. Co-op course enrollment in SIS is required during your Co-op.

Accepting an Offer: The Co-op Program Enrollment Process

1. Obtain an offer letter. The offer letter must:

• Be written on company letterhead
• Be addressed to you, the student
• Include a position title
• Provide a job description
• Specify the employment address (street, city, state, and zip code). If the Co-op is remote, it must include the remote address and the company's address.
• Specify that the employment is full-time. If part-time, specify the number of hours of work per week (not a range)
• Specify the exact start and end dates (month, day, and year)

2. Request approval from the Co-op Office

• Once the offer letter contains all of the required information outlined in Step 1, complete the request for experiential learning specialist signature form. This form will be submitted to the Co-op Director, Genine Apidone, and will take up to 1 week to process. 

3. Attend a Co-op orientation meeting. You can RSVP in Handshake events.

• You will complete all required Co-op forms during the orientation meeting. If you do not see a meeting scheduled in Handshake, please contact coopinfo@case.edu to schedule a meeting. For second-time co-op students, you don’t have to attend an orientation meeting but you must complete all required paperwork.

4. Register for the appropriate co-op course in SIS.  

• You will learn more about which course to enroll in during the orientation meeting. 

5. Submit CPT paperwork and all required documents (see below for a list of required documents), to International Student Services via Terra Dotta. 

• The required CPT Workshop provides all of the necessary steps and links for you to submit your application. Please know it takes five business days for ISS counselors to process your work authorization.
• Required documents include:
  • CPT paperwork
  • Offer letter
  • Job description (if not already included in your offer letter)
  • Proof of co-op course registration in SIS