Georgetown’s Startup Internship Seminar is open to sophomore, junior, and senior undergraduate students (UNXD 4950) in any degree-seeking program with any major and graduate students (UNXD 7950) in almost any degree-seeking program across the university because every student can benefit from startup internship experience. International students are encouraged to enroll and apply to internships.

Freshman are not eligible to enroll in UNXD 4950 until the summer before sophomore year.

UNXD 4950/7950 is eligible for CPT authorization after you secure an internship offer letter. Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is an F-1 off-campus authorization for paid and unpaid positions directly related to the major field of study listed on Page 1 of the Form I-20. CPT can be used to authorize a variety of positions. Please contact the Office of Global Studies (OGS) and your academic dean or director of graduate studies to submit your CPT Request Form.

Yes, you can make a copy of this Sample Job Offer Letter. Only international students are required to have an offer letter in this format for CPT authorization.

You can apply to as many GSI internships and other internships you find online as you wish. We recommend only committing to one internship during the semester. It is also important to communicate transparently with potential employers if you are evaluating other options before you sign an offer letter.

If you apply to an internship that is not on the GSI list, please email the position description and company website as soon as you decide to apply to Mike Malloy <mike.malloy@georgetown.edu> to make sure it will be approved if you get an offer letter. The primary requirement is that the company has 1-499 employees. Once you receive your offer letter, you will fill out the Finalize Your Internship with Georgetown Startup Interns and select “Other” as the company name and provide the name in the additional comments field.

UNXD 7950 Graduate Startup Internship Seminar is a 3-credit elective during the fall, spring, and summer semesters.

UNXD 4950 Undergraduate Startup Internship Seminar is a 3-credit elective during the fall and spring semesters. During the summer semester, there is also a 0-credit elective to offer tuition savings to undergraduate students. International students are required to take the 3-credit course for CPT authorization.

Yes, UNXD 4950 Startup Internship Seminar counts toward the Entrepreneurship minor.

Letter grades

The Startup Internship Seminar is a semester-long program. Students who are enrolled in the course must meet all academic requirements and deadlines to earn course credit and their Startup Intern Certification. There is a compressed version during Mod B of the fall and spring semesters in case you receive your internship offer letter after the drop/add deadline at the beginning of the semester. See above for the timeline for each semester.

During the fall and spring semesters, we expect students to work 8-12 hours/week with a maximum of 20 hours/week. During the summer semester, we expect students to work 40 hours/week with a minimum of 20 hours/week.

Internships typically finish at the end of the semester, but students and companies are free to negotiate an extension to continue working together. International students with CPT must finish their internship by the last day of finals.

Graduate students can only enroll in the course once. Undergraduate students are only eligible to earn 3 credits total from the Startup Internship Seminar. You may only take the course once during the fall or spring semester. If you enrolled in the 0-credit section during the summer, you are still eligible to enroll in the 3-credit section during a future fall or spring semester if and only if you are also actively working at a startup internship that semester.

Yes! You can self-enroll on GU Experience for UNXD 4950/7950/7951 and begin applying to internships immediately because you need to secure an internship offer letter to be actively working at your internship during the semester when you take the course.

Yes! This is especially relevant for international students because being a Teaching Assistant (TA) is an on-campus job that does not require CPT. You only need to use your CPT when working at an internship off-campus.

Yes, international students can do both Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT) because one (CPT) is during your studies and the other (OPT) is after graduation.