No, not usually. The US Department of Homeland Security requires that international students be enrolled full-time in and complete two semesters of coursework in F-1 status before applying for off-campus work authorization, commonly called Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Students who start the MEM program in the fall in F-1 status meet this requirement. However, students who begin the program in January in F-1 status are required to be enrolled full-time for the spring semester and the following fall semester before becoming eligible to apply for off-campus work authorization. They may then apply for CPT for the following spring semester, or they may choose to continue as a full-time student in the following spring semester and apply for CPT for the following summer.

No, students are responsible for finding and establishing their own internships, though there are several resources that can help in the search. Students who are still enrolled in undergraduate study are encouraged to use their institution's career center, and current MEM students should use the Duke Career Center. In addition, the MEM Program and the Pratt School of Engineering may periodically distribute notices of internships from time to time, and the MEM faculty and staff can assist students with contacts that might be able to identify internship opportunities.