Worldly Summer Courses 

More and more international students are taking classes at UAlbany this summer.

ALBANY, N.Y. (July 25, 2018) – This summer, international students are taking an expanding number of short-term, career-related English courses at UAlbany through the Intensive English Language Program (IELP).

This month, IELP offered the classes, known as English for Specific Purposes courses, to students from Brazil, China, Turkey, Spain, Argentina and Peru, as well as the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

The courses, which are two- to four-weeks long, include:

• Marketing and Business English (with School of Business professors and IELP English teachers)
• Business and Leadership
• Medical English
• Business English Teacher Training
• Intensive English for Computer Science Students

The short-term courses were taught for the first time over winter break. There are currently 109 students enrolled, on top of the regular IELP summer session enrollments. This is four times the number of the students served last summer.

The growth will continue in 2019, when 15 to 20 students from Japan are expected to travel to UAlbany to take courses in English for Airline Hospitality.

The students also have field trips, like this one to the New York State Capitol building (in background).

“The IELP continues to provide important services to host students from our partner institutions abroad who need intensive English language study,” said Dean and Vice Provost for International Education Harvey Charles, Center for International Education and Global Strategy. "In addition, in what is a new arena of endeavor, the IELP now provides short courses in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) for various groups of students and professionals. At a research university like UAlbany, with hundreds of international students and a strategic commitment to be a global campus, the IELP has become more indispensable than ever."

“While improving their general English, students in our English for Specific Purposes programs develop the specific skills and vocabulary needed to succeed in their fields,” said Heather Murphy, group and custom program coordinator.

A growing numbers of schools and colleges at the University are involved in these summer courses, including:

• School of Business
• School of Public Health
• College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• Computer Science in the College of Arts & Sciences

Business professors Ioannis Kareklas, Heidi Reale, Hillary Wiener and Russell Zwanka taught Marketing. The students are visiting Overit Media and Golub Corporation, and hearing from IgniteU NY, Innovate 518 and SUNY Polytechnic. Students were also introduced to the Blackstone entrepreneur program.

Kimberly Durma registered students for Ideator, and Rick Neff, entrepreneur-in-residence at Blackstone and Jan Woodcock, spoke to the students about innovation.

Seeing the sights in the Northeast is also a part of the experience. Cultural activities and field trips included going to Boston, New York city, the New York State Capitol, New York State Museum, and the Norman Rockwell Museum.

“English for Specific Purposes is in demand all over the world,” said Mark Rentz, managing director of Intensive ESL and associate vice provost for International Education. “IELP is providing English courses in fields and areas of interest that connect with many different UAlbany majors and departments. By welcoming groups of students for ESP programs, we showcase the University and many departments and degree programs.”

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