International Graduate Studies Preparation Program

Benefits of ACPs

• Enhance the value of your degree and update your knowledge and skills in your area of specialization in a short time.
• Gain practical work experience and apply academic theory in an internship (or practicum for TEFL students) related to your area of study.
• Attend a Professional Communication Skills Seminar to gain a deeper understanding of your courses and to further develop your English communication skills for greater success in your profession.
• Receive academic advising.
• Participate in educational field trips to observe American professionals in the work environment.
• Develop a professional network of American and international colleagues.

Descriptions of ACPs

• Business Administration: This program prepares students to enter an MBA program, learn to build effective teams, explore business and leadership models, and obtain a strong foundation in business functions and analysis. Courses include Entrepreneurship, Finance for the Non-Financial Business Person, Essentials of Management, Success Strategies for E-Business, Communication in the Business Environment, Strategic Planning. Offered Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer.
• Marketing: This program focuses on how technology and the digital economy have dramatically changed marketing today.  The core marketing activities including market research, strategic planning, branding, public relations, and business to business marketing must take advantage of these new technologies and opportunities to develop and reach new markets, and ensure a businesses success. Courses include Presentation Skills Workshop, Essentials of Marketing Beyond the Four Ps, Understanding Customers and Markets Through Research, Using the Web as a Marketing Tool, Business-to- Business Marketing, Customer Relationship Marketing, Branding, Marketing Planning for Your Product or Business. Offered Fall, Winter, and Spring.
• Communication Systems Design Engineering: This program guides students in developing a “systems engineering” approach to an organization’s communications engineering development process. Students gain the knowledge needed in the design and development of modern-day communications systems, and learn how to describe, analyze, and design practical communications systems and how to enhance the performance of these systems.. Courses include Systems Requirements Engineering; Introduction to Communications and Networking; Communications Systems Design; Principles of Wireless Electronic Systems; DSP Fundamentals, Modeling and Analysis; C Programming for Embedded Systems; Fundamentals of Embedded Systems Design and Programming. Offered Fall and Spring. Additional charge of $3,500.
• International Finance (under development): This program prepares students for a career in corporate financial planning and analysis in a multinational company. Students learn to develop practical financial spreadsheet models, understand balance sheet and profit loss statements, and develop tactics to improve financial management processes. Courses include International Finance: Techniques and Operations, Financial Mathematics Primer, Financial Modeling Primer: Computer Lab Class, Financial Analysis Primer, Introduction to Accounting for International Students, Risk Management in the Multinational Firm: A Survey Course for International Students, Survey of International Finance Markets. Offered Winter and Summer.
• International Business Operations & Management: In this program, students learn how to develop and present a comprehensive business plan focused on data obtained through financial requirements and consumer research; develop specific skills in the areas of international marketing, management, finance, and business negotiations; identify the strategies, policies, and norms necessary to conduct international business; and describe specific business strategies for conducting business in designated international markets. Courses include International Business: Strategy and Structure, International Marketing, International Finance, Import/Export: International Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Cultural Communications and Negotiations, International Business Planning for Your Product or Service: A Capstone Course. Offered Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer.
• International Tourism & Hotel Management: In this program, students examine the current issues impacting global hospitality management, use proven marketing and branding techniques to capture and retain the hospitality and tourism-focused client, build and adapt event management and project management skills necessary in the changing hospitality and tourism industries, learn how to develop an integrated service culture that supports employee retention, and learn about the role of sustainability and greening in the current hospitality and tourism practices. Courses include Introduction to the Hospitality Industry, Strategic Marketing and Branding for the Hospitality Industry, Customer Service Management, Fundamentals of Accounting and Budgeting, Project and Event Management, Human Resources and Leadership for the Hospitality Professional, Fundamentals of the Tourism Industry. Offered Winter and Summer.
• Teaching English as a Foreign Language: This program helps students prepare for a career as an English teacher. Students develop the skills they need to succeed in further post-graduate studies in TEFL and related fields, learn the latest methodologies from distinguished teacher-trainers, attend local and/or regional professional conferences to explore the most recent trends and developments, visit U.S. schools to observe and conduct a lesson, and practice their teaching skills in a classroom setting. Course content addresses adult and children language acquisition. Courses include Language Learning Theories, Find out how people learn languages as you compare first language and second language acquisition and child and adult foreign language learning. Understand the learning theories that are the foundation of various teaching methodologies, and develop strategies that you can use in your own teaching situations. Teaching Methods, Language Structure and Use, Teaching Speaking Skills, Teaching Pronunciation, Language Assessment, Research and Discussion for TEFL, Teaching Practice. Offered Fall, Winter, and Summer.

Internships

Internships are supervised professional positions which give students the opportunity to work in a real-world setting, take on workplace projects, earn academic credit, learn new skills and concepts, and make professional contacts. Internships are unpaid positions lasting approximately 3 months; most are in mid-sized firms in the growing high-tech business environment of Orange County, as well as in the greater Los Angeles area. After being enrolled in their ACP, students will attend an intensive resume-writing and interviewing workshop, and will be guided by UC Irvine staff in locating an internship position that matches their career needs and interests. Interns perform a variety of tasks at their host companies for approximately 20-30 hours per week.

Benefits of Internships

• Obtain valuable business experience.
• Utilize opportunities for building business relationships and contacts.
• Improve communication skills.
• Implement new ideas and concepts in your home country.
• Gain practical experience in dealing with business situations.
• Develop new skills and competencies.
• Explore and develop career options.

Partial List of Internship Partners

• Allergan
• Asahi USA
• Billabong
• Black & Decker
• Christie’s
• Crowne Plaza Hotels
• Dentsu
• Edwards Lifesciences
• Famima/Global Family Mart
• Hilton Hotels
• Irvine Chamber of Commerce
• Merrill Lynch
• Panasonic
• Quiksilver
• Ritz-Carlton Hotels
• St. John Knits
• Siemens
• South Coast Plaza
• Starbucks
• TBWA - Chiat Day
• Universal Studios
• Virtium Technology
• VOLCOM
• Young and Rubicam
• 7-Eleven Corporation

TEFL Practicum (Teaching Practice)

Participants learn the practical aspects of teaching, including writing lesson plans and developing classroom management skills. Participants observe a teacher in an American classroom, plan and conduct lessons for their classmates and for a class at a U.S. school, and receive feedback on their own teaching.

IGSPP Performance Expectations

IGSPP participants are expected to follow program standards of conduct and performance. A full-time course of study, in compliance with both UC and U.S. immigration requirements, is defined as:

• Minimum of 18 hours of 10-Week Intensive ESL courses or 12 units of ACP courses per quarter.

Students must maintain a 3.0 (B average) and earn no less than B- in any class for all ESL and ACP coursework undertaken while in IGSPP. Students may be dismissed if they fail to meet UC academic and/or behavioral standards.

UC Irvine Extension will monitor each student's academic and personal progress. After each student signs the FERPA Authorization to Release Information to a Designated Third Party, UC Irvine Extension may report the student's performance to designated recipients, including UC Irvine Graduate Admissions, the admissions units of other US university campuses, and the student's parents/guardians.

Completion of IGSPP does not guarantee admission to graduate programs at UC Irvine or any other post-secondary institution. Admission to these programs is controlled by that institution's policies and admission standards.