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International Programs

Conversation & Fluency (4-week)

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Conversation & Fluency

Who should take this course?

Students who would like to focus on conversation, fluency-building, and American culture topics will benefit from the Conversation and Fluency program. In addition to structured lessons in grammar and vocabulary development, students will have many opportunities to interact with other international students and UC San Diego Conversation Leaders who are native English speakers and members of the community. Two cultural field trips, plus presentations made by guest speakers are integrated into the classroom experience. For a less intensive conversation program, try our 10-hour per week Conversation Program. All levels of English proficiency are welcome to take this program. A student’s English proficiency is determined during orientation at the time the student arrives at UC San Diego English Language Institute (ELI).

In the 15-hour/week part-time Conversation & Fluency schedule, the reading and writing component will be omitted; guest speakers and field trips will vary according to availability during the schedule of this less intensive program.

Dates (click here for complete list of program dates):

2020 Dates

January 6 - 31
February 3 - 28
March 2 - 26
July 6 - 31 - CANCELED due to COVID-19
August 3 - 28 - All instruction will be delivered by remote learning (no in-class instruction) due to the COVID-19 situation. Open to students living anywhere inside or outside of the U.S. All instruction will be according to the schedule in Pacific Standard Time (PST), so students should be ready to "attend" classes by videoconferencing at various times between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. PST. Students in this program will be integrated in to the 8-week program.
August 31 - September 25
November 23 - December 18

2021 Dates

January 4 - 29
February 1 - 26
March 1 - 25
July 6 - 30
August 2 - 27
August 30 - September 24
November 22 - December 17

Program Schedule:

Monday – Friday
20 or 15 hours per week
Schedule varies depending on English level

Cost (in U.S. dollars):

Application Fee: $150 (nonrefundable)
FedEx fee: $50 (optional, but recommended) - not necessary in the 15 hours per week program
2020/2021 Tuition: $2,000 (full-time: 20 hours per week / 80 hours total)
2020/2021 Tuition: $1,800 (part-time: 15 hours per week / 60 hours total)
International Student Service Fee: $175
UC San Diego Extension medical insurance: $180
Books/Materials: Approximately $150-175 (Payment CANNOT be made in advance. Books and materials must be purchased upon arrival at UC San Diego.)

Advisory About Variable Enrollments

Enrollment numbers in our Academic, Conversation, and Conversation and Fluency programs vary greatly from month to month. If our placement tests indicate that your English proficiency level does not permit placement in the original 4-week program class, we may place you in 4 weeks of study in a corresponding 4-week or 8-week program, or we may provide a combination of classes and individual tutoring to ensure a program of 15 or 20 hours per week for 4 weeks. Alternatively, we may decide to place all 4-week program students in level-appropriate classes in a corresponding 4-week or 8-week program in order to provide a program of 15 or 20 hours per week for 4 weeks. When this happens the students’ 4-week program will have the features described for the new 4- or 8-week program, not the features described for the original program. The tuition and fees for the students’ 4-week program enrollment will remain the same.