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All students may schedule a consultation at the Center for Academic and Professional Communication (Fondren Library) to review a written, oral, or visual communication assignment. Our consultants can assist you.

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About ESL

The Program in Writing and Communication understands how challenging it can be for non-native speakers of English to pursue academic writing and research endeavors. We support international students through a variety of programming and course work to help them become more successful throughout their Rice career.

Credit-Based Courses

The PWC offers three semester-long courses for international graduate students on speaking and writing.

Resources

View our online collection of resources.

Individual Consultations

Meet one-on-one with a trained peer consultant to improve your communication skills.

Workshops

The CAPC offers a variety of free workshops on communication topics from procrastination to writer's block.

  • Student Spotlight

    I took UNIV 600 during my first year as a Ph.D. student and looking back, it was the best decision I could have made. Having English as a second language made me insecure about my writing when I first started my academic career, but this course gave me the tools and confidence to undergo all the challenges in academic writing so far. In addition, UNIV 600 covers much more than grammar and vocabulary. One of the most useful topics for me was learning the structure of research papers. It gave me a better understanding of the building blocks of academic writing, allowing me to use the language in more effective and efficient ways, in terms of both word choice and grammatical constructions.
    Vinicius da Silva Goncalves
    Ph.D. student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • Student Spotlight

    I have used various programs offered by the Program in Writing and Communication (PWC) to improve my writing and presentation skills. When I began the Ph.D. program, I was excited about learning the technical skills I needed to write models and analyze data. After learning these technical skills, I quickly realized that the complementary skills of describing and presenting my findings were just as (if not more) important. PWC services filled these gaps. In UNIV 602, I learned about the structure of research papers and how to write each section. At dissertation camp, I learned how to write my dissertation and present my research. At the CAPC, I met with various peer consultants to practice and improve my presentation skills. By teaching me the complementary skills of describing and presenting my research, PWC greatly improved my experience at Rice University.
    Emmanuel Yimfor
    Ph.D. student, Finance