International law students who wish to apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) F-1 employment authorization should first consult the rules and regulations published by the International Student and Scholar Services Office.
All students requesting CPT authorization must be enrolled in a course related to their proposed employment. At the law school, students are strongly encouraged to fulfill this course requirement by a zero-credit internship class. Students are also allowed to create a research and writing project through a Directed Research and Study course (DRS), but must obtain permission of the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs to pursue this option.
Zero-Credit Internship Class
Students may enroll in the zero-credit internship course in the summer. Full instructions and application procedure may be found on the Texas Career Engagement website. When students apply, they must list Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Elizabeth Bangs, as the academic advisor on the application.
Directed Research and Study (DRS)
If students pursue DRS, the research and writing project must fulfill the DRS rules and be topically related to the work that the student performs during his/her employment. Law students who have secured either a volunteer or compensated job opportunity must propose a research paper topic and secure a law professor to supervise the project.
DRS credit is not available for work performed by a student during his/her employment. Instead, credit is granted ONLY in connection with the research and writing project that a student will submit to the DRS supervising professor.
More information about DRS and the application required for enrollment are found on the Directed Research and Study website.
Please contact Registration at 512-232-1140, or email if you have questions.