Intensive ESL
Prepare for university-level study, career advancement, or for the accomplishment of personal goals in our academically-oriented Intensive English as a Second Language Program.
Program Benefits
- Experience a program trusted for more than 40 years to help you achieve your academic, career, and personal goals
- Learn from highly-trained teachers with an average of 10+ years of teaching experience who are committed to the highest standards of student achievement
- Attend small classes, typically 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
- 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
Eligibility and 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 an F-1 student visa
- 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.
Program Costs
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
Meet Our Graduates
*Certificate Tuition (full-time)
Approximate Total Cost: $10,500 (reflects full estimated expenses for completing the program, tuition included). See Program Costs below for part-time tuition costs.
Have Questions?
Talk to an enrollment coach
Call: (949) 824-5414
Monday - Friday, 9am - 4pm (Pacific)
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Please visit Program Dates for available intakes.
ESL students who do not require an F-1 student visa may study part-time.
An 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 another 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.
This program is only offered on campus. However, we offer Online ESL courses and UCI ESL courses on Coursera.
Please visit our "Contact Us" page. We are ready to support and welcome you!