ITP offers its new international students the opportunity to take this course to help prepare them for the rigorous requirements of graduate studies in the US. All international students who do not attend the 2-week Pre-enrollment Program are required to take this course if they accept their admission to ITP.
The ITP Graduate Preparatory Course is a 5-day course geared towards preparing our students for academic writing, class presentations, and US classroom culture. This course is a $500 value and ITP covers 100% of the tuition for our students. Students pay only a small registration fee to confirm their space in the course. Registration instructions will be e-mailed to students following their admission to the degree program. The dates of the program will vary each year, but the course usually occurs the week before regular classes begin.
Meet the instructors: Dieter Bruhn and Matt Baca
Purpose
The purpose of the five-day ITP Graduate Preparatory Program at the University of Colorado is to prepare international students for the rigors of the US classroom and to give them the tools they need to be more successful in their graduate program in Telecommunications. By gaining a better understanding of the culture of the US classroom and the skills that they need to participate effectively in their classes, international students will experience a smoother transition from their respective home countries and will be better equipped to face the challenges of a graduate program in the US.
Objectives
By the end of the program, participants should be able to:
- Deliver a well organized presentation
- Identify thought patterns and logic that exist in the US and their home culture
- Identify and apply elements of grammar, structure and style in writing
- Utilize effective writing strategies and organizational patterns, including introduction, body and conclusion, as well as appropriate transition signals
- Recognize elements of plagiarism
- Differentiate how plagiarism is viewed in US schools and their home countries
- Write a well organized paper
- Distinguish between the two main citing & footnoting applications: MLA & APA
- Recognize appropriate classroom etiquette and expectations
- Utilize effective strategies and expressions for classroom discussions
- Recognize common English rhythm and stress patterns and how these vary from their native language
- Recognize challenges with accent and pronunciation
Course Components
The five-day Graduate Preparatory Program consists of the following components:
One of the aspects of leadership in US schools is effective academic writing. The Preparatory Program focuses on the basics of academic writing, such as grammar, structure, organization, and style. In addition, participants will learn how to communicate to a North American audience by implementing strategies such as Getting to the Point, Keeping it Simple, Using Passive and Active Voice, and Avoiding Plagiarism. Participants will complete a variety of writing assignments and will receive instructor comments and feedback.
The ability to prepare and then deliver a well-organized presentation is a vital skill in graduate programs. Therefore, students will learn how to organize presentations on relevant topics and will have opportunities to deliver them. Presentations will be videotaped and extensive feedback will be provided by the course instructors.
In many cultures, students play a passive role in the classroom and professors simply lecture. In the US, however, students are often expected to participate and to take a more active role in the learning process. Through various activities, students will experience firsthand the US classroom culture, which requires leadership skills on many levels. They will also be introduced to US classroom etiquette.
Many international students have difficulties with American English pronunciation. Therefore, some time will spent on strategies and activities for attaining more natural sounding speech. Emphasis will be placed on English rhythm and stress patterns.