Graduate Courses that Fulfill the First-Year Language Requirement

First-Year Language Requirement for International Graduate Students

  1. What is the official first-year English language requirement?

UC DAVIS GRADUATE COUNCIL POLICY GC-2018
Graduate Student Course Requirements – English as Second Language
Approved – May 25, 2018 Amended – August 24, 2018

The ability to understand spoken and written English and to communicate orally and in writing in English is an expected skill set to be mastered by all graduate students enrolled at UC Davis as soon as possible. 

With this policy Graduate Council wishes to affirm the long-held practice at UC Davis that all graduate students are required to enroll in an English language course (“ESL course” UWP225 or UWP226 or equivalent) during their first academic year, unless they meet any of the following conditions: 

1. The student has an undergraduate or graduate degree from an approved English-medium institution, as confirmed by the UC Davis Office of Graduate Studies.   

2. or the student has a TOEFL (iBT) score of 105 or higher or IELTS score of 7.5 or higher. 

3. or the student scored 24 or higher on the TOEFL (iBT) writing and 23 or higher on the TOEFL (iBT) speaking portion of the test. 

All Graduate Programs at UC Davis are required to assess their incoming students, based on the above criteria, for their need to take ESL courses and to ensure identified students enroll in the above-listed English language courses in their first year. Students who fall into the ESL category may not advance to candidacy until these course requirements are fulfilled. By signing the candidacy form Graduate Advisers attest that students required to take ESL courses have done so with a passing grade. Graduate Programs are encouraged to add the ESL course requirements to their Degree Requirements documents. New or amended degree requirements submitted to Graduate Council must refer to this policy.

https://grad.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/users/gc2018-02_policy_on_graduate_student_course_requirements_english_as_second_language.pdf 

 

2. How do I verify a degree from an English-medium institution?

An English-medium institution has English listed as the sole language of instruction in the World Higher Education Database (WHED) https://whed.net/home.php. Student prior institution information is available in GradHub (gradhub.ucdavis.edu ); graduate department advisors must verify the language of instruction at these institutions with WHED. 

3. How do I know if I am required to take any first-year courses?

If you don’t have an undergraduate degree from an approved English-medium institution (see above), you will have to enroll in a graduate English language course if any ONE of the following are true:

  • You scored BELOW 105 on the TOEFL (iBT) OR BELOW 7.5 on the IELTS
  • You scored BELOW 24 on the TOEFL (iBT) writing and BELOW 23 on the TOEFL (iBT) speaking portion of the test.

** Duolingo Test Scores

Due to the lack of availability of English language testing opportunities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, UC Davis is currently accepting the Duolingo English Test as an alternative to the TOEFL iBT and the IELTS Academic Examination. Details regarding the Duolingo English Test can be found on their website at https://englishtest.duolingo.com/home.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Because the Duolingo English Test is not specifically designed to test English ability in an academic setting, UC Davis strongly recommends that applicants take the TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic examination, or IELTS Indicator examination if it is possible for them to do so. Applicants should only submit Duolingo English Test scores if none of the other examinations are available to them.

The minimum Duolingo English Test score to be eligible for admission to graduate study at UC Davis is a total score of 115. All applicants who submit Duolingo English Test scores as their sole English language test will be required to take the UC Davis Test of Oral English Proficiency (TOEP). if they are admitted to a UC Davis graduate program. However, applicants who are selected for admission but have a score below 130 will be required to complete additional English language testing or take English language courses once they enroll at UC Davis.

For answers to additional questions regarding Duolingo English Test scores, please visit the Graduate Studies Frequently Asked Questions.

It is recommended that incoming graduate students who meet the required scores above sign up to take ONE of two graduate courses, UWP 225 OR UWP 226 as soon as possible. Students have one year to fulfill the requirement, and these courses are offered throughout the academic year.

 

4. If I have taken the TOEFL more than once, can I use the writing score from one test and the speaking score from another to waive the first-year requirement?

NO. For TOEFL scores, test takers can select which scores to send from all tests taken in the past 2 years. Scores that are older than two years will not be accepted by UC Davis. Scores for a test administration must be reported in their entirety — test takers cannot choose to report scores for a specific section from one test administration and other sections from another test administration. [emphasis added].  Even if both test administrations were taken within 2 years of application, the assessment components should be from the same test. https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/faq/ 

 

5. What are the UWP Courses that satisfy the First-Year Requirement for Graduate Students?

UWP 225: Multi-skills Academic English for International Graduate Students

UWP 225 is a 4-unit, 4 hour per week, multi-skills course designed to help international graduate students improve their writing, speaking, listening, reading, and understanding of American academic culture as needed for successful academic work at UC Davis.  UWP 225 is required for students with TOEFL iBT scores below 105, writing subset score below 24, or speaking subset score below 23 (see chart and discussion above), unless they take 226. If students take and pass 226, the first-year language requirement is satisfied. UWP 225 is offered Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters, with the most sections offered in Fall. Specifically, students will work on the following:

Learning Outcomes

Criteria

 

Use academic and professional oral conventions for comprehension and production. 
  • Demonstrate understanding of lectures when delivered at normal speaking rate by a variety of speakers
  •  Identify the main ideas of lectures and distinguish less important ideas/data, especially when lecture material is not replicated in written form
  • Apply information from notes taken during lectures and/or group work 
  •  Participate effectively and confidently in group work and class discussions
  • Give clear and organized oral presentations
  • Use visual aids such as a whiteboard effectively while teaching or presenting
  • Practice and apply rules of American English pronunciation.

Generate written responses to a variety of rhetorical situations based on understanding and applying American cultural conventions
  • Understand audience expectations and concise writing
  • Use e-mail effectively in the academic and professional world
  • Develop the ability to summarize and/or critically evaluate an article, a lecture/talk, or other work
  • Understanding how to communicate to different audiences.

Develop and apply strategies for improving grammatical control
  • Improving grammar as needed for fluent and professional-level writing and speaking
  • Applying editing strategies

Understand academically and professionally appropriate vocabulary
  • Use precise and accurate vocabulary in both speaking and writing
  • Understand and use idioms and expressions common in classroom, academic and professional settings

Students are graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis given completion of ALL required assignments and a score of 80% or higher for total course points. 

Major Assignments Overview

Papers:                                                                                                               Oral Presentations               

Summary, Critique, E-mail Assignment                               Presentation of Idiom, Presentation #1, Presentation #2

 

UWP 226: Writing for International Graduate Students

UWP 226 is a 4-unit writing course that meets 4 hours a week and is designed for students from all academic units whose primary language is not English. The course focuses on a variety of related topics and tasks including academic literacy, genre awareness and analysis, production of authentic texts, portfolio/project development, and reflective writing practices. UWP 226 is required for students with TOEFL iBT scores below 105, writing subset score below 24, or speaking subset score below 23 (see chart and discussion above), unless they take 225. If students take and pass 225, the first-year language requirement is satisfied.  226 is offered in Winter and Spring Quarters.

Learning Outcomes

Criteria

Develop and demonstrate awareness of scholarly conventions across genres
  • Understand the rhetorical differences between academic/professional writing and writing for a general audience
  • Recognize reader expectations for common genres in graduate writing
  • Identify the main ideas, structure, and purpose of graduate-level texts
  • Write a variety of graduate-type texts effectively
  • Paraphrase, cite, and use sources appropriately without plagiarism.

Develop and apply strategies for contributing to current academic conversations within one’s discipline
  • Understand the rhetorical differences between academic/professional writing and writing for a general audience
  • Analyze field-specific genre examples to determine the conventions of writing within their discipline
  • Analyze genre examples to determine the conventions of writing within their discipline
  • Conduct library, interview, and/or survey research to learn more about writing in their field

Develop and apply strategies for purposeful and precise language use.
  • Apply common skeletal phrases in their fields consistently 
  • Use corporate based analyses of common grammatical structures in different fields

Students are graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis given completion of ALL required assignments and a score of 80% or higher for total course points.

Major Writing Assignments Overview

Extended definition                              Data Commentary

Interview report                                   Critique of a perspective/ opinion article 

Literature Review/Synthesis                 Abstract Writing

Final Project:  Based on the writing done during the quarter-Includes a biographical statement and a discourse community analysis.

 

6. Am I required to take both UWP 225 and UWP 226 in my first year?

NO.  The Graduate Council policy states, “With this policy Graduate Council wishes to affirm the long-held practice at UC Davis that all graduate students are required to enroll in an English language course (“ESL course” UWP 225 or UWP 226 during their first academic year.”  Therefore, you are required to only take one, but matriculated (enrolled) graduate students may choose take both if they feel you would like more language instruction.  

 

7. What if I do not get into a section in the Fall?  Can I request a PTA (permission to add) number?

NO.  In order to be able to best serve our students the UWP does not allow instructors to enroll beyond the maximum students, which is 18.  There are no exceptions to this UWP policy.  If you do not get a seat in Fall, for example, you may still enroll in either 225 or 226 in Winter or Spring, so plan your schedules accordingly.