English and Languages

Program Chair
Alan Rosiene, Ph.D.

Organization

Florida Tech’s Division of English and Languages is operated by the School of Arts and Communication. It administers and teaches all foreign language courses offered by the university and provides training in English for students whose home language is not English and who have been admitted into a Florida Tech degree program.

English Language Proficiency

English language proficiency is required of all students whose home language is not English and who are taking academic courses at Florida Tech. Evidence of English proficiency in the form of results from an Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (iBT), International English Language Testing System test (IELTS), a Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) or Cambridge English: Advanced must be submitted to the university before arrival on campus.

English proficiency is not required for admission, however submission of a test score is required for the issuance of immigration documents. In the rare instance when students whose home language is not English enter Florida Tech from countries and regions that offer the paper-based TOEFL only, they will be required to take an official Florida Tech TOEFL (paper-based) before the start of classes. Only Florida Tech paper-based TOEFL scores are valid. No other paper-based TOEFL scores will be accepted.

Determining Proficiency

The School of Arts and Communication determines the incoming student’s competence in English and establishes the most beneficial program of study. Both undergraduate and graduate students whose home language is not English with scores below the following ranges may enroll in lower-level English training courses at the ELS Language Center on campus:

iBT	IELTS	PTE Academic	Cambridge English: Advanced	Florida Tech TOEFL
79	6.0	58	180	550

Exemption Criteria

Students whose home language is not English are considered to have demonstrated English language proficiency if they have done any of the following:

• Taken an Internet-based TOEFL (iBT) with an earned score of at least 79, an IELTS with an earned score of at least 6.0, a PTE Academic with an earned score of at least 58, a Cambridge English: Advanced with an earned score of at least 180 (Grade of C) or an official Florida Tech TOEFL (paper based) with an earned score of at least 550, no more than two years before attendance at Florida Tech; or
• successfully completed the ELS 112 certificate taken at an ELS Language Center within two months of their report date at Florida Tech; or
• successfully completed ELI level 4 at the UCF English Language Institute with a grade of B or better; or
• successfully completed a total of 20 semester credit hours at an accredited university or college in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia or Anglophone Canada, including three semester credit hours of English that qualify as transfer credit for Florida Tech’s Composition and Rhetoric (COM 1101 ); or
• earned a bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited university or college in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia or Anglophone Canada; or
• attended for three consecutive years and graduated from an accredited high school in the United State, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia or Anglophone Canada; or
• obtained an official score of four or higher on either the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Language A examination in English or the College Board Advanced Placement Program (AP) examination in English Language and Composition.

Students who meet English language proficiency by any means may still need to complete certain ESL courses if it is so deemed by their academic advisor. The program chair of English and Languages makes the final determination. For more information about the policies and requirements for English language proficiency at Florida Tech, contact the program chair of English and Languages in the School of Arts and Communication.

Language Requirements for Graduate Assistantships

(See Graduate Policy 4.11)

International students are eligible for graduate assistantships in some academic units. In addition to specific academic unit requirements for service as a graduate assistant, any student whose home language is not English must pass an English proficiency examination with a minimum score as listed in the table below. Students also must pass the International Teaching Assistant Speaking Assessment (ITASA) to serve as a graduate teaching assistant.

A score of at least the following must be submitted for a teaching assistantship:

iBT	IELTS	PTE Academic	Cambridge English: Advanced	Florida Tech TOEFL
100	7.0	70	193 (Grade of B)	600

A score of at least the following must be submitted for a research assistantship:

iBT	IELTS	PTE Academic	Cambridge English: Advanced	Florida Tech TOEFL
79	6.0	58	180 (Grade of C)	550