Placement

 

An EAP teacher and student smiling and working at a shared table

 

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses are required for some new international students and encouraged for all who are unfamiliar with the conventions of American academic writing. Students who come to GW with qualifying test scores may be exempt from the EAP course requirements.

The EAP program does not have the authority to waive the EAP requirement. The EAP requirement for undergraduate and graduate students is a GW policy.
 

 

Undergraduate Placement

  • Undergraduate students with a TOEFL score below 100 (250 computer-based or 600 paper-based) must register for EAP 1015: American Multicultural Perspectives in Washington DC. See more about GW's TOEFL requirement details, and use the score comparison tool for the alternative IELTS score.
  • Regardless of TOEFL score, international students who are not familiar with academic writing in the United States are also encouraged to register for EAP 1015 in order to build up their skills before taking UW 1020.
  • Upon the successful completion of EAP 1015, students will go on to take University Writing 1020 and two Writing in the Disciplines (WID) courses to fulfill GW’s literacy requirement.
  • Undergraduate EAP courses are credit-bearing courses and count toward a degree.

Please contact Professor Siczek with questions about undergraduate EAP courses. 

 

Graduate Placement

In their first semester at GW, all international graduate students who have not received a test score that exempts them are required to register for an EAP course. The EAP course that is required will be indicated in the student’s letter of admission. If you have not received this notification, please contact your school's admission office. In the first EAP class meeting, students will be given the EAP Diagnostic Test in order to confirm their correct EAP placement. Students assigned EAP courses should anticipate additional tuition expenses as well as a possible extended period of time required to complete their degree programs.

Elliott School Students

Elliott School students with eligible English-language scores are exempt from taking EAP courses:

  • Academic IELTS: an overall band score of 7.0 with no individual band score below 6.5
  • TOEFL: 620 on paper-based or 105 on Internet-based
  • PTE Academic: 72 

Non-ESIA Students

All students from other schools are exempt from taking EAP courses if they have attained the required scores:

  • Academic IELTS: an overall band score of 7.0 with no individual band score below 6.0
  • TOEFL: 600 on paper-based or 100 on Internet-based
  • PTE Academic: 68

Graduate EAP courses are credit-bearing courses and count toward your general GPA. However, in most cases, they do not count toward the credit requirements for your degree. Check your school for their specific policies.

Please contact Professor Dolgova with questions about graduate EAP courses. 

 

"I had a whole new experience in having class at GW because of the attitude of the professors and the students. My favorite class was Academic Communication. This was the smallest class I have ever taken, so every student had his/her own opportunity to speak. The class was composed of students from different places, hence, I could even learn something from their culture and how they view things. The professor was nice and caring. Although she would give us difficult tasks, she would make sure that we understood what to do and we could email her or meet her when we needed help."

Puiieng (Cherry) Ho

Exchange Student from University of Macau Honours College