This page contains syllabi and course descriptions for semester-, half-semester- and quarter-long communication classes for graduate students, including international students (and occasionally domestic students). They have been contributed by CGC members and are curated by Jin Pennell (jinkim7@illinois.edu). To add your class, please contact Jin or email info@gradconsortium.org. In cases where one person has shared more than one course syllabus on this page, different alphabetical item IDs are used for different courses. You may also check out Overview of Major Assignments used in the syllabi below.
1. Combined Writing and Speaking Courses
- Katya Fairbanks, Claremont Graduate University: Foundations in Graduate Writing and Presenting
- For pre-matriculated international students with a TOEFL iBT score under 100.
- Semester-long, non-credit-bearing course. A grade appears on their transcript but is not factored into their GPA.
- Claremont also offers a more advanced course open to the entire graduate student population. Both courses are offered each semester and also in a 5-week intensive (4 days/week) format in the summer.
- Steve Simpson, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology: Communication in the Sciences
- For matriculated students from science and engineering disciplines; open to all students. (Usually enrolls an even mix of native- and non-native-English speakers.)
- Semester-long, three-credit course. Capped at 12.
- Kim Sydow Campbell, University of Alabama, Culverhouse College of Commerce: Management 692: Scholarly Communication
- For any matriculated doctoral student in a business program
- Semester-long, three-credit course. Capped at 10.
- Karyn Mallett and Anna Habib, George Mason University: EAP 508: Graduate Communication Across the Disciplines
- For international ESL graduate students enrolled in GMU’s Graduate International Pathway Program
- Year-long, four-credit course. Depending on their scores on an entrance language test, students will enroll in the year-long course or take it just in the second semester.
- Additional materials provided besides syllabus, which is also linked above: assignment sheet for project 1, graduate classroom language portfolio; assignment sheet for project 2, multidisciplinary colloquium project; CFP for international graduate student multidisciplinary colloquium)
- Karyn Mallett and Anna Habib discuss their course and pedagogical approaches in a three-part interview here, here, and here for GMU’s blog for Writing Across the Curriculum faculty
- Anna Habib, Jennifer Haan, and Karyn Mallett describe their genre-based approach in this spring 2015 article for Composition Forum
- Jin Kim, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- a. ESL 500: Oral and Written Communication is a semester-long, 0-credit (4 contact hours) course for matriculated international ESL graduate students. Even though it is an all-skills course, the oral component is small.
- b. ESL 505: International Business Communication is a semester-long, 0-credit (4 contact hours) course for matriculated international ESL graduate students in the business school.
- Nancy Barr, Michigan Technological University, College of Engineering: MEEM 6010: Engineering Research Communication
- For matriculated graduate students (project or thesis master’s students and PhD students) in the College of Engineering; open to all students.
- A 14-week, two-credit elective course
- David Skolnick, California College of the Arts: GELCT 620: English Communication for International Graduate Students
- A 15-week, 3-unit course open only to international grad students who had been identified by the chair of the grad design program and program manager as needing additional language instruction
2. Reading/Writing Courses
- Adrian Wurr, University of Tulsa: English 6033: Academic Writing for Graduate Students
- For matriculated students. Originally just for international ESL students; now enrolls all students.
- Semester-long, three-credit course. Departments may, at their discretion, apply the three graduate credit hours to research credits on doctoral students’ balance sheets. Regardless, though, the credits count towards graduation.
- Nigel Caplan, University of Delaware English Language Institute
- a. Reading/Writing for Graduate Programs is for pre-matriculated international ESL students. It is 7-8 weeks (1 hr 40 min-2 hr/day, 5 days/week); non-credit-bearing, but required for students who have been conditionally admitted. Students receive a grade and must meet certain requirements to qualify for admission to graduate programs. Click here for more detailed information on major assignments.
- The Graduate Communication Support Initiative is a pilot project, offering 4-week, non-credit modules in writing, reading, and grammar for matriculated graduate students. There are no costs: the program is currently funding by several offices and colleges at the University of Delaware. If you look under “Modules,” you can see all our links and materials.
- Joel Bloch, Ohio State University, ESL Composition Program: All courses listed below are semester-long courses for matriculated international ESL students who are either required to take the classes or be exempted from them. Grades appear on students’ transcripts; the credits can be used to maintain their university or visa status but do not count toward their degrees.
- a. EDUTL 5901: Advanced ESL (see also this alternate syllabus), three credits and graded
- b. EDUTL 5902: Academic Writing in ESL, three credits and graded
- c. EDUTL 6911: Writing for Coursework (on hiatus), two credits and pass-fail
- d. EDUTL 6912: Research and Publishing, two credits and pass-fail
- e. EDUTL 6913: Thesis, Dissertation, and Proposal Writing, two credits and pass-fail
- Donna Bain Butler, Washington College of Law, International Legal Studies Program
- a. Law 795W: Academic Legal Writing and Culture is for matriculated international Master of Laws (LL.M.) students; it is a semester-long, one-credit class; students do not receive a grade
- b. LAW 929L: Advanced Legal Research and Literacy is for matriculated international Master of Laws (LL.M.) or J.D. students. It is a semester-long, two-credit, graded class that condenses two existing courses: 795W and another focusing on disciplinary research. It is co-taught by a research librarian and an applied linguist. You can adapt the syllabus by substituting the “legal research” aspect for any discipline. The materials for student writer self-regulation and teacher feedback can be found in Bain Butler, D. (2015). Developing international EFL/ESL scholarly writers. Boston, MA: De Gruyter Mouton.
- Tony Cimasko, Miami University of Ohio: English 119: English for International Graduate Students
- For matriculated international ESL students
- Semester-long, three-credit course
- Sheryl Holt, University of Minnesota:
- a. WRIT 5051: Graduate Writing for Non-Native Speakers of English is a semester-long, three-credit course for matriculated international ESL students
- Anne Zanzucchi & Belinda Braunstein, University of California, Merced, School of Natural Sciences: CHEM/MATH/QSB/PHY 270: Academic Writing in Graduate Studies
- For matriculated international ESL graduate students, but open to any graduate student in the School of Natural Sciences
- Semester-long (spring only), two-credit course (although the course may be increased to three)
- Heather Blain Vorhies, University of Maryland, College Park, The Graduate School: Graduate Writing
- For any matriculated student; students must apply with a letter of interest and a letter of recommendation from their advisors
- Semester-long (fall and spring) or four-week (summer) non-credit course. Students receive an evaluation instead of a grade, and a copy of the evaluation is sent to their advisors.
- Lisa Russell-Pinson, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, The Graduate School: GRAD 6010/8010: Graduate-Level Writing for International Students
- For matriculated international ESL graduate students
- Semester-long, three-credit course. By the policy of the Graduate School, doctoral students receive a P/F grade, while master’s students receive a letter grade. (However, master’s students can petition to take the course P/F.)
- Katherine Daily O’Meara, Arizona State University: ENG 594: Academic Writing for International Graduate Students
- For matriculated international ESL graduate students
- Semester-long, three-credit course
- Jin Kim, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- c. ESL 501: Introduction to Academic Writing is for matriculated international ESL graduate students; it’s a semester-long, 0-credit course (4 contact hours)
- Susan Faivre & Cassanra Rosado, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- a. ESL 502: Advanced Academic Writing I is for matriculated international ESL graduate students, postdoctoral students, or visiting scholars; students and visiting scholars are in different sections. It’s an 8-week-long, 0-credit course (4 contact hours)
- Nicole Khoury, American University of Beirut: English 300: Writing in the Disciplines
- For graduate students who score low on the TOEFL exam. Students are required to take this course before or during their graduate program.
- Semester-long, three-credit class; students take it pass-fail.
- Mary Jane Curry, University of Rochester, Warner Graduate School of Education: Courses below are all for matriculated students:
- a. ED 511: Introduction to Advanced Academic Literacy is a one-credit, pass-fail course for new doctoral students offered over three days.
- b. ED 513: Academic Writing for Educators focuses on writing a literature review, is a semester-long, three-credit, graded course that is mandatory for doctoral students in education. The schedule is available separately here.
- c. ED 515: Writing for Scholarly Publication in the Social Sciences is a one-credit, graded course for doctoral students offered over three days.
- d. EDE 516: Communicating Science for Multiple Audiences and Purposes is a two-week, two-credit, graded course that Curry taught as part of an NSF IGERT program for science and engineering PhD students.
- e. ED 434: Master’s Academic Writing is a six-week, two-credit, online course for Master’s students
- Emily Purser, University of Wollongong: RESH 900/901: Fundamentals for HDR Writing
- For international students in PhD-Integrated program
- Semester-long (13 weeks), 6 credit required course (3 hours in class per week and additional activity online)
- Michelle Cox, Nathan Lindberg and Melissa Myers, Cornell University: Courses below are for matriculated international multilingual graduate and professional students, and are 7-week, 2-credit, pass-fail. Students do not pay an extra fee to enroll, as the program is funded through the students’ tuition.
- a. WRIT 6500: Writing, Revising and Editing focuses on second language writing development, writing processes for invention, revising, and editing, and aspects of academic style.
- b. WRIT 6500: Learning to Write for Your Field introduces students to strategies for learning discipline-specific writing processes, genres, and discourses.
- c. WRIT 6500: Writing with Sources focuses on strategies for note-taking, summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing information from multiple sources, and organizing a literature review, as well as negotiating the rhetorical challenges of adding one’s voice to the conversation in the field.
- d. WRIT 6500: Strategies for Self-editing introduces students to strategies for editing their own writing at a variety of levels, leading to greater control over and confidence in writing
- Karen Schwelle, Washington University in St. Louis: U15 213 Research Writing for the Sciences
- Open to graduate students, postdocs, and members of the community (listed in continuing education division)
- 15 weeks (45 instructional hours); 3 credits; offered in fall and spring semesters
- Dan Bommarito, Bowling Green State University: ENG 6040: Graduate Writing (online)
- For all new graduate students enrolled in the online M.A. in English at Bowling Green State university, most of whom are native speakers of English
- 16-week graded course
- Estee Beck, University of Texas at Arlington: TWAD: Technical Writing Across the Disciplines
- For international students across the disciplines
- 15 weeks, 3 credits
Oral Communication Courses
- Nigel Caplan, University of Delaware English Language Institute: Listening/Speaking for Graduate Programs
- For pre-matriculated international ESL students
- 7-8 weeks (1 hr 40 min-2 hr/day, 5 days/week); non-credit-bearing, but required for those who have been conditionally admitted. Students receive a grade and must meet certain requirements to qualify for admission to graduate programs.
- Sheryl Holt, University of Minnesota:
- b. WRIT 5052: Graduate Research Presentations and Conference Writing for Non-Native Speakers of English is a semester-long, three-credit course for matriculated international ESL students
- Susan Faivre & Cassanra Rosado, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- b. ESL 503: Advanced Academic Presentation Skills is for matriculated international ESL graduate students, postdoctoral students, or visiting scholars; graduate students and visiting scholars are placed in different sections with slightly different course content; eight-week-long, 0-credit course (4 contact hours)
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