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Academics

ACE is designed to help international students develop the English language skills they need to succeed as students at Miami University.

  • Students in the ACE program earn at least 12 college credits toward graduation during their first semester at Miami. The specially designed curriculum includes three courses (12 credits) focused on English language and American culture.
  • In addition, students may choose one optional elective course (2-5 cr) from those on offer to ACE students in a given semester. Recent options have included calculus, art, horseback riding, racquetball, and personal nutrition.

ACE Undergraduate Program Requirements

Students earn a minimum of 12 college credits toward graduation during their first semester in the ACE Program. The specially designed curriculum includes three courses focused on supporting an understanding of both English rhetoric and American culture, as well as acclimation to an American university setting.

Students who do not meet these requirements will have a second chance the following semester to retake the needed course(s). If they fail the requirements after two semesters, they may not continue their studies at Miami.

ACE Students studying

Required Courses

  • ACE 051 - Academic English Structure & Application (Required for students with 60-64 TOEFL; includes tutoring)
  • ACE 112 - Advanced Communication Strategies: Speaking & Listening (5 cr) - Must earn a B- or better
  • ACE 113 - Reading & Writing in Academic Contexts (4 cr) - Must earn a B- or better

American Culture Course

Students will be assigned to a course for this requirement - Must earn a C or better

Students with 65-79 TOEFL:

May choose one optional elective course (2-5 cr) from those offered to ACE students in a given semester. 

Additional Information

Once students successfully complete the program, they are fully admitted into Miami University.

All undergraduates must complete requirements in place at the time of their matriculation to the University, including those for the Miami Plan, College of Arts and Science, and major. For more information, see the General Bulletin.

    I think many students are like me. We don't have much English skill, so when we come from China to a United States university, it's very hard to adjust in university. But if we take the ACE Program, it can help help us have more time to understand life in America.

    R. Zhang

    The ACE Program can help students get a good start. If you get confidence in the first semester, you are not afraid to face the next one.

    Y. Hua

    Before I went to the ACE program, I was afraid to speak to American students because I was not a native speaker. But after I complete the ACE Program, I'm not afraid to speak to them.

    R. Zhang

ACE Graduate Program Requirements

The ACE Graduate Program, referred to as ACE-G, provides international graduate students with one semester (12 credits) of course work in English language to prepare them for entry and full admission into their graduate programs the following semester. Outside of a summer program option, ACE-G students are enrolled in classes with undergraduate students in fall and spring semesters.
  • ACE 612 - Advanced Communication Strategies in Graduate Disciplines (5 cr)
  • ACE 613 - Advanced Reading & Writing in Graduate Disciplines (4 cr)
  • ACE 619 - Speaking & Presentation for Graduate International Students (2 cr)
  • Independent Study (1 cr)
  • Must earn a B or better in all four required courses

Students who do not meet these grade requirements will have a second chance the following semester to retake the needed course(s). If they fail to meet the requirements after two semesters, they are unable to continue their studies at Miami.

Once students successfully complete the program, they are fully admitted into Miami University.

ACE Courses

ACE Program Learning Objectives

  1. ACE students in class outdoorsUtilize campus resources and e-tools in pursuit of academic and co-curricular goals.
  2. Demonstrate an awareness of the relationship between culture and identity within yourself and others.
  3. Examine how behavior and decisions have an impact on personal well-being and your communities.
  4. Develop critical reading skills—e.g.: be able to identify an argument, how the argument is structured, and the kinds of evidence used to support the argument.
  5. Develop critical writing skills—e.g.: be able to describe a cultural text, be able to summarize an argument, be able to write a clear thesis statement and present a clear supported argument.
  6. Identify and demonstrate the ability to locate and use resources and offices available on campus to assist students in all aspects of life at Miami.
  7. Demonstrate effective strategies for engaging in the Miami University learning, living, and social environment.
  8. Identify and enact, in written and oral forms, effective strategies for participating, communicating, and interacting with others (students, professors) in the Miami University learning environment.
  9. Refine critical thinking skills through contrasting and comparing ideas, analyzing and giving feedback on peers' writing, identifying ideas, cultural biases, values and comparing them with those in their culture, identifying "under the surface" meanings.
  10. Demonstrate recognition of appropriate use and documentation of someone else's ideas, language, and other original material.

American Culture and English Program

162 Bachelor Hall
301 S. Patterson Ave.
Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-8528
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