Overview

Prepare for university-level study, career advancement, or for the accomplishment of personal goals in our academically oriented 10-Week Intensive English as a Second Language Program.

Benefits

  • Experience a program trusted for more than 40 years to support you in achieving your academic, career, and personal goals
  • Learn with dedicated, highly-trained teachers with an average of over 10 years of teaching experience who are committed to maintaining the highest standards of student achievement
  • Attend small classes – usually about 16 students
  • Benefit from engaging, interactive classes with a rigorous curriculum that emphasizes authentic language use in academic, business, and social contexts. Information about course levels and proficiency scales can be viewed here.
  • Advance your skills in upper-level elective classes in topics such as idioms, advanced pronunciation, advanced conversation, business English, advanced vocabulary, advanced grammar, and iBT and IELTS preparation
  • Practice your English and learn about campus life with a UCI undergraduate friend through conversation lunch hour held twice a week
  • Learn using state-of-the-art technology and methodologies
  • Prepare to score higher on the TOEFL and IELTS tests

Requirements

  • Available to students 17 years and older at all levels of English proficiency
  • To attend this program full-time, you are required to obtain a student visa (F-1)
  • Our 10-Week Intensive ESL program is also suitable for students who want to combine part-time English study with a holiday abroad. If you are coming to the U.S. mainly for tourism, and you want to take English language classes for your own pleasure or recreation, then a tourist visa (B-2) or Visa Waiver (WT) is appropriate

Is your goal to boost your TOEFL or IELTS score?

Learn skills and strategies that will help you improve your IELTS and TOEFL scores. At all levels of the 10-Week program, develop skills that are not only vital for success on the iBT TOEFL and IELTS, but also essential in your real-life use of English for your future.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time are ESL programs offered?Expand

Classes meet Monday through Friday at various times between 09:00 and 17:00 (California time) with a minimum of 18 hours of instructor-taught class time per week for full-time students. Students will learn their specific class times when they enroll.

Is part-time study available?Expand

ESL students who do not require an F-1 student visa may study part-time.

What are the visa requirements for this program? Expand
A F-1 student visa is required for full-time, on-campus study.

You may study part-time with a tourist (B-1/B-2) visa or other visa status that allows for part-time study. However, you may not be enrolled in more than 17 hours of classes per week.  If you are not sure if your visa status allows for part-time study, please contact an international student advisor at immigrationofficials@ce.uci.edu for more information.

Can I study remotely?Expand

This program is only offered on campus. However, we offer UCI ESL courses on Coursera.

Program Cost

Full-time Tuition: $4500

Part-time Tuition:
Grammar/Writing 1-5 or Reading/Writing 6-7: $1,875
Speaking/Listening 1-7: $1,875
Reading/Vocabulary 1-5: $1,250
ESL Elective: $825

Approximate Total Cost: $10,500 USD
Amount shown above is an approximation for full-time ESL tuition plus living expenses (housing, transportation, meals, books, etc.) This amount is before any discounts applied and excludes airfare.

You can view all the tuition and fees rates on our Tuition and Fees page


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*These applications are hosted on ApplyESL.com but all submissions are sent directly to UCI International Programs

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VIEW CLASS SCHEDULE

PROGRAM DATES

Fall 2023Oct 4 - Dec 14
Winter 2024Jan 10 - Mar 21
Spring 2024Apr 3 - Jun 10

RESOURCES FOR CURRENT STUDENTS

PROGRAM COSTS