Summer Study

In-person Summer Semester

Enroll in a 4-week intensive in-person summer program in July. Open to all students!

Students take 30 hours of class per week and participate in excursions where students enjoy the outdoors and practice interactional skills. The ELC summer experience includes:

• Three courses - each meets 10 hours per week:
  • Reading/writing
  • Speaking/listening
  • Language analysis
• Excursions to see the surrounding local area:
  • Picnics at local lakes and waterfalls
  • Tours of the city
  • Visits to the Rochester Public Market and local museums

Summer 2026 program information:

• Classes start: July 6, 2026
• Classes end: July 31, 2026
• Tuition: $6,552
• Health Center fee: $300
• On-campus housing is available at a daily rate
• Students may purchase summer meal plans through RIT Dining

For new F-1 student visa applicants planning to study in the summer only, students must show $10,052 in bank funds to be issued a Form I-20 for a visa application. 

Graduate Online Summer Term
Graduate Students Only

Online courses are offered in July to prepare students for graduate study and meet all RIT graduate program English requirements before arriving in Rochester.

Summer 2026 Graduate Academic English Online

Online courses are offered across the summer to prepare students for graduate study and meet all RIT graduate program English requirements.

• Each course lasts 4 weeks, with 6 synchronous hours per week
• Each course costs $2,184
• A test score qualifying for the ELC academic English level:
  • Minimum (new) TOEFL of  4.0 with 4.0 in writing and speaking or (old) TOEFL of 70.  
  • Minimum  IELTS of 6.0 in writing, or equivalent on the RIT English Language exam
  • Minimum Duolingo of 115.  
  • If you have LanguageCert or PTE scores, please contact the ELC for review.
• Completion of courses meets RIT graduate admission standards

How to apply:

If you are an accepted RIT graduate student, you simply need to contact ritelc@rit.edu to enroll! 

Students outside of RIT who are preparing for a university degree are welcome. To enroll, students must provide proof of identity and a qualifying English test score. Please contact us at ritelc@rit.edu for questions about how to apply.

What is the ELC online method?

All ELC courses:

• focus on academic communication (what do professors expect?) to build professional skills
• include themes about RIT majors in science, technology, arts and business

Student expectations and requirements

RIT English Language Center online courses are not pre-packaged self-study courses. ELC online students should expect to the class to meet 2 or 3 times per week synchronously and to spend around 10 or more hours pers week to complete practice and assignments. ELC online courses include (and require!) interaction with instructors and other students. The courses are designed to coach students toward effective professional and university-level communication. The instructors are there to help (and to challenge) students to meet their learning goals.

• Must have a fully functioning computer or tablet with audio recording and web-cam capabilities. Telephones or computers without video will not get the job done.
• Must have a stable broadband Internet connection for the required synchronous class time and other assigned activities.
• Must attend a number of classes synchronously (in real time) every week with the instructor and other students. Synchronous classes will be delivered on Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4:00). Students in other time zones will need to adapt to the schedule, to incorporate these attendance requirements into their schedules regardless of local time.
• Must submit assignments regularly (3 to 5 times per week), Monday – Friday.
• May be required to meet with other students online and/or the instructor to complete specified tasks each week.