International Students

If you are an international student, you need to follow the same policies and procedures as any other new freshman or transfer student. The only difference concerns your English language ability. If you are a non-native speaker of English, you had to meet certain minimum English competency requirements in order to be admitted. For those international students who would benefit from additional English study, there is the English as a Second Language (ESL) Placement Test.

There will be a special, mid-semester EPT offered on March 5th and again on March 12, 2016. Click here for more information.

ESL placement testing for non-native speakers of English

If your “Notice of Admission” states that you must take the English as a Second Language Placement Test (known as the EPT), then you are required to take the test. Any ACT or SAT scores that you submitted will not be used to place you into an English composition course. On the other hand, if your “Notice of Admission” does not state that you must take the EPT, you may choose to take the EPT if you wish to enroll in ESL courses or you may choose not to take it. To learn more about the EPT and to register for the test, visit the EPT website. 

The results of the EPT will indicate which ESL course you should enroll in, if any. Some ESL courses focus on academic writing, others on pronunciation, while others address both oral and written communication. Your score report will recommend a particular course for you.

There will be a special, mid-semester EPT offered on March 5, 2016 and again on March 12, 2016.

Otherwise, the next opportunity to take the online EPT will be in June 2016.

The next opportunity to take the on-campus EPT will be in August 2016.

Click here for more information.

Gen Ed language requirement for non-native speakers of English

Illinois requires that all undergraduate students study a language other than English (LOTE) through either the third or fourth level, depending on which College they will graduate from. This is a General Education requirement. For non-native speakers of English, it means the following:

• If you are entering the College of Business or the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and you have successfully completed four years of your native language and four years of English (or ESL) at the upper secondary level (senior high school), then you have fulfilled the General Education LOTE requirement.
• For all other colleges, you must successfully complete three years of your native language and four years of English (or ESL) at the upper secondary level (senior high school) in order to fulfill the General Education LOTE requirement.
• If you are entering the Division of General Studies, please follow the requirements of the College that you intend to transfer to.

If you have not yet fulfilled the General Education LOTE requirement, you will need to either take a LOTE placement exam and enroll in the appropriate course(s) or take a LOTE proficiency exam to try to demonstrate your mastery of the LOTE. If you pass a proficiency exam in your native language, you might fulfill your General Education LOTE requirement, but you will NOT necessarily earn academic credit. Please consult with your academic advisor if you have questions about your General Education LOTE requirement.

It is strongly recommended that you take a LOTE placement exam now even though you may think you have fulfilled your Gen Ed requirement. Placement testing is available to you only during your first year.

PLACEMENT TESTING FOR 2015-2016 HAS NOW CLOSED.