The time students spend in the Intensive English Program is relative to their own proficiency and level of application of their English language skills within a variety of settings. A student will usually spend two semesters taking English Language classes, plus or minus a summer session.

Historically, the most successful students have been those who immerse themselves in the English language outside of the classes that they take. This is because they constantly applied what they learnt, not only during the 20 contact hours of class time.

The placement test determines the level of your proficiency at the beginning of your language studies, in order for the IEP staff to place you in the most appropiate class. The test has a 90-minute duration, and covers a variety of language skills such as speaking, listening, sentence structure and reading/vocabulary, and writing proficiency, through questions such as multiple-choice, true/false, close reading/short answer, as well as writing to a prompt.

As soon as you decide to become a member of the CUA community, you will be assisted by seasoned advisors who will guide you through the registration process. During this process, the role of the academic advisor is to ensure that students are assigned to classes that align with their proficiency, and determine what academic resources, such as textbooks, that students need to obtain. 

We offer on-campus dining accommodations for IEP students. Also, we recommend that if you are interested in living on campus that you apply two months in advance through the Housing Office. The Housing Office can make recommendations as to available off-campus accommodation. 

Contact Information for the Housing Office is on the resources available page. 

To be considered as a full-time student in the IEP, students must have at least 20 contact hours within the classroom per week for the duration of their studies. Please note that 20 contact hours a week does not include homework which is expected to be completed outside of the classroom. 

Having 20 contact hours a week is a requirement for holders of student visas (F-1 or J-1). You can attend the program only if you hold a student visa, a diplomatic visa (A-1 or A-2), or if you are a U.S. permanent resident or a U.S. citizen*.

Yes, you can. To be considered as a "part-time student" in the IEP, a student must be a part of one of the undergraduate or graduate programs here at The Catholic University of America. Within their degree program, they must be taking the full required load of classes that are required and can use any extra time to take a class or two within the IEP program that is noncredit and designed to help IEP students have continued comfort and growth within their English proficiency. 

A person with an F-2 Visa, a United States citizen or permanent resident, can take IEP courses parttime*.

In Washington D.C., there is a law requiring that students under 26 years of age have to complete an immunization record. Please bring your immunization (vaccine) record from your home country (ask your parents for it), translate it, and take it to our Health Services (see link under "useful links"). They will determine whether your record is complete or not according to D.C. law, and you may be asked to have additional shots or update old ones.

The University requires all international students to have health insurance.

If you have other comparable health insurance, and have no need for Catholic University's approved health coverage, you will need to submit a waiver application to Aetna Student Health prior to the waiver deadline of September 10th.

The waiver can be completed online at:

https://www.aetnastudenthealth.com/en/school/474963/index.html

Please note that if you do not submit an approved waiver before the deadline, then the university will automatically enroll you into the Aetna Student Health plan and you will be charged accordingly.

If you have further questions, please contact the The Catholic University of America Call Center:

Phone: 1-877-819-9413

Fax: 203-568-8395

Email: benefithelpteam@alliant.com