Rochester Institute of Technology

Learn English at Rochester Institute of Technology! Join students from around the world and study English in a friendly environment on a modern American university campus in a safe suburban area.

1. Tell me about the English Language Center at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT):
The English Language Center at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was established in 1979. Since that time, the ELC has helped students from more than 60 countries to make friends and have fun while learning a new language and a new culture.

2. Tell me about the English Language Center Program:
The program at the English Language Center is designed for students who have completed high school and have previously studied English and plan to attend a university in the United States. New 11-week terms begin every Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. Shorter programs are also offered in mid-winter and mid-summer.

3. Tell me about classes at the English Language Center:
Full-time students have at least 20 class hours per week. Core classes at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels in grammar, reading, writing, conversation, and vocabulary are scheduled from 9:00 a.m. until noon every day. In the afternoon, students may choose from a variety of electives, including such topics as TOEFL preparation, American culture, business communication, writing research papers, presentation skills, understanding academic lectures, and pronunciation.

Students at the advanced level are often able to combine one or two academic classes at RIT with their studies at the English Language Center.

4. Tell me about the English Language Center instructors:
Teachers at the English Language Center are professionally trained in modern methods of language teaching. Instructors have a masterÕs degree in teaching English (TESOL) or a related field, and many years of teaching experience with university-level international students in the United States and overseas.

5. Tell me about where I will live:
Students at the English Language Center enjoy the opportunity to experience American University life by living in a dormitory with American and other international students. RIT owns and operates several large modern residence halls. English Language Center students usually share a room with an American student, a great opportunity to practice English!

6. Tell me about where I will eat my meals:
RIT owns and operates several cafeterias which offer a variety of meal plans. Students living in the Residence Halls generally eat at either "GracieÕs" or "The Commons." These dining halls provide many healthy food choices in unlimited portions. Other dining facilities include the Ritzskeller, the Student Union Cafeteria, and "Java WallyÕs," a popular coffee shop and meeting place.

7. Tell me about social events:
Activities provide an important opportunity to use your new English skills to make friends and learn more about American life. English Language Center students visit Niagara Falls, museums and schools. Lovers of nature enjoy trips to the large, beautiful parks in the area, while sports enthusiasts appreciate the chance to go snow skiing, ice skating, and swimming at Lake Ontario, one of AmericaÕs Great Lakes. Holiday celebrations, bowling, pizza parties, and other activities such as exercising in the Student Life Center or participating in RIT clubs mean students have many chances to get involved and have fun.

8. Tell me about Campus Life at Rochester Institute of Technology:
RIT is located on a beautiful modern campus in the town of Henrietta, a suburb of Rochester, New York. Although the Institute is over 130 years old, the oldest buildings were built in 1968. New buildings are going up each year as RIT expands the variety of degrees in technology and the arts offered to its 13,000 students. English Language Center students have full access to the Student Life Center, with its indoor track, basketball and racquetball courts, and weight room. There is an indoor ice rink, home of the Tigers, RITÕs hockey team, an outdoor track, and tennis courts. The English Language Center proudly sponsors an intramural soccer team during the academic year. The Outing Club sponsors mountain climbing and canoe trips, and there are singing and orchestral groups which are open to all. Students also enjoy touring bands, famous lecturers, and films.

9. Tell me about majors at Rochester Institute of Technology:
Founded in 1821, RIT is a private technological university comprised of eight colleges: Applied Science and Technology, Business, Computing and Information Sciences, Liberal Arts, and the federally-funded National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Ranked "one of the top universities in the North" by U.S. News and World Report, popular RIT majors include: imaging science, photography, information technology, engineering and microelectronics, business (including the MBA), food, hotel and travel management, and fine and applied arts, including undergraduate and graduate programs in computer graphic design, ceramics, glass, and wood. Many students who complete the intensive English program become full-time students at RIT.

10. Tell me about Rochester, New York:
Rochester is located in the western part of New York State, about 585 kilometers from New York City, 300 kilometers from Toronto, Canada, and 200 kilometers from Niagara Falls. Home to Eastman Kodak Company, Bausch and Lomb, and Xerox, Rochester is a world export center which offers many cultural attractions, including museums, a symphony orchestra, and several performing theatre groups.

11. Tell me anything else I should know:
We subscribe to the guidelines of NAFSA: Association of International Educators and TESOL: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. The English Language Center has met the high standards and is a member of University and College Intensive English Programs (UCIEP) and the American Association of Intensive English Programs (AAIEP).