Employment Options for International Students

View our Employer's Guide to Hiring International Students.

On-Campus Employment

On-campus employment includes work done as a teaching or research assistant as well as jobs in the university library, dormitory dining facilities, laboratories, and administrative offices.
On-campus also includes employment with on-location commercial businesses which provide services for students on campus, such as stores or restaurants located in a University owned building (Examples: KUSSI (bookstore), Aramark (dining services), or PSECU (credit union)).

On-Campus Employment criteria:

  • You must be enrolled full time during fall and spring semesters.
  • You may work up to 20 hours per week while school is in session (fall and spring semesters).
  • You may work more than 20 hours per week during official university holidays, breaks, and vacation period (winter term, summer term, and spring break).
  • If you currently have a full-time (20 hours) Graduate Assistantship, you are not eligible for additional on-campus employment. 
  • If you have multiple on-campus jobs,your are responsible for monitoring eligible hours per week. 
  • You may not continue to work on-campus after your program end date (graduation date). 

    OFF-campus EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS (F-1 STUDENTS)

    Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

    If you wish to accept employment off-campus, you should pursue Curricular Practical Training (CPT). CPT is a temporary internship or practicum for F-1 students to gain practical experience, training, or internship in their field of study. 

    View the Curricular Practical Training webpage for more information. 

    Severe Economic Hardship

    F-1 students who are suffering a severe economic hardship due to unforeseen changes in your financial circumstances, may apply to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for authorization to work off-campus. The employment authorization is granted by USCIS in increments of one year at a time. The authorization allows you to work for any employer up to 20 hours per week while you are enrolled full-time. It also allows you to work more than 20 hours per week during summer and semester breaks. This employment does not affect your Optional Practical Training (OPT) eligibility. (As of April 2024, the cost to file online is $470)

    F-1 students are only eligible for this authorization if:

    • You have been in F-1 status for at least one full academic year. 
    • You are in good academic standing and are taking a full course load.
    • You must demonstrate that employment is necessary to avoid severe economic hardship due to unforeseen economic circumstances beyond your control and that other employment opportunities are either not available or otherwise insufficient to financial support you.
    • Apply for Severe Economic Hardship

      If you are in F-1 status for an academic year and have good academic standing, you may apply for "off-campus employment based on economic hardship." Documentation would have to show that part-time employment opportunities through on-campus employment were otherwise insufficient. Economic hardship refers to the financial problems caused by unforeseen circumstances beyond your control which arose after obtaining F-1 status. These financial problems may be the result of losing a graduate assistantship, the death of a financial sponsor, inflation in your home country causing the devaluation of currency or exchange rate, etc. If the financial problems are too great, it may not be possible to solve the problem through part-time employment.

      You are required to make a good faith effort to locate employment on campus before applying for off-campus employment based on economic hardship. If the economic hardship clause applies to your situation, please meet with the Designated School Official to request a recommendation for authorization to engage in off-campus employment. You may not work off-campus without special authorization from USCIS; unauthorized off-campus employment will result in termination of status. Please note, if you are authorized to engage in off-campus employment, you may only work part-time during the semester, and must continue to maintain a full-time course load. With authorization, you will be permitted to work full-time during regular university breaks.

      All off-campus employment must be approved by USCIS prior to job search and job placement.

      Students should consult the USCIS I-765 website for the most up-to-date information on forms, filing locations and fees.