Communication: Your Key to Success
One key to your success as a graduate student at Georgia Tech is the confidence to communicate in English — with your professors, with your peers, in the classroom, and in your research. You will collaborate on projects, present your work, and network across the Georgia Tech community. The Georgia Tech Language Institute helps you build the communication skills to do all of it well.
Which program is right for you?
The Language Institute offers three standing programs to build your communication skills. Compare them below, then read the full descriptions further down the page. The Center for Teaching and Learning also runs free summer writing workshops — see the next section.
| CETL credit courses | Short courses | 700-level IEP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | For credit (2 credits) · free to GT grad students | Non-credit | Non-credit |
| Length | One semester | Four weeks | Program-based |
| Focus | Academic writing or oral communication | One skill at a time | All four skills |
| Delivery | Live sessions plus one-on-one meetings | Small interactive group | In person or hybrid |
| Best for | Earning credit toward your degree | Targeted practice, lower commitment | Near-native immersion |
| Register | Through OSCAR | On the Short Courses page | Through the IEP |
Writing Workshops for International Graduate Students
This summer, the Center for Teaching and Learning offers three free writing workshops for international graduate students at Georgia Tech. Each session stands on its own — attend any one, or all three.
Writing Clear Sentences With and Without AI
Thursday, July 16, 10:00–11:30 a.m. · Clough Commons 272
Writing Clear Sentences is a 90-minute workshop on the choices that determine whether readers move through your prose or get stuck in it. Most dense academic writing is not a content problem; it is often a sentence problem. You will build a practical vocabulary for seeing and fixing what is not working, and apply that same eye to AI output rather than accepting it at face value.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
1. Recognize the sentence-level patterns that make academic writing harder to read
2. Revise your own sentences using five concrete, reader-centered principles
3. Evaluate AI-generated writing critically: identifying what it improves, what it misses, and when human judgment is still required
Getting to the Point: Writing for U.S. Academic Audiences
Wednesday, July 22, 12:00–1:30 p.m. · Clough Commons 423
Getting to the Point is a 90-minute workshop on the rhetorical expectations that shape academic writing in the United States. Writing conventions vary across national and disciplinary traditions, and what works in one context can work against you in another. You will learn to recognize those differences, identify where your own writing delays the main argument, and revise for the U.S. academic context you are writing in.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
1. Describe the rhetorical expectations of U.S. academic readers and how they differ from other traditions
2. Identify where your own writing delays or obscures the main argument
3. Revise abstracts, introductions, and paragraphs to meet U.S. reader expectations for directness and structure
Course 3: Career Documents for the U.S. Market
Tuesday, July 28, 2:00–3:30 p.m. · Crosland 4160
Career Documents is a 90-minute workshop for international graduate students preparing to enter the U.S. job market. Resume and CV conventions vary significantly across countries, and what works elsewhere can work against you here. Get a clear picture of what U.S. hiring managers and search committees actually look for, learn to frame your international experience and credentials for a U.S. audience, and identify the specific problems in your own documents. Bring your current resume or CV, get targeted feedback, and leave with a concrete revision plan rather than general advice.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
1. Explain what U.S. employers and search committees look for in a resume or CV and why
2. Identify the specific weaknesses in your own career documents
3. Revise your resume or CV using U.S. conventions for format, language, and content
Questions? Email Dana.Clark@lifetimelearning.gatech.edu.
Semester courses for credit
Each semester, the Center for Teaching and Learning and the College of Lifetime Learning offer credit courses to help international graduate students improve their communication skills in English. These courses are free to Georgia Tech graduate students. Each runs for a full semester and combines live class sessions with individual one-on-one meetings with the instructor.
Academic Writing for International Graduate Students (2 credits)
CETL 8723 · cross-listed as CLL 8802
Learn the cultural conventions of academic and technical writing, along with the principles of organizing ideas clearly, completely, and cohesively. You analyze common errors in advanced academic writing, practice independent proofreading and editing, and meet one-on-one with the instructor. Coursework may include biographies, résumés, and American-style email correspondence, plus optional assignments such as acknowledgments, teaching and research statements, and journal paper reviews.
Questions? Contact Karen Peterson at karen.peterson@lifetimelearning.gatech.edu.
Oral Communication Skills for International Graduate Students (2 credits)
CETL 8797 · cross-listed as CLL 8802
Build the speaking and presentation skills you need for academic and professional settings. Through active, collaborative learning, you practice oral communication approaches and strategies, build confidence in delivering presentations and moderating Q&A sessions, and engage in individual feedback sessions with the instructor.
Questions? Contact Kendall Nelson at kendall.nelson@lifetimelearning.gatech.edu.
Register through OSCAR. Choose your semester, then search the subject code CETL (Center for Enhancement of Teaching and Learning) or CLL (College of Lifetime Learning).
Register for credit courses on OSCAR
Short courses
The Language Institute also offers four-week, non-credit short courses for focused practice in a single area of English communication — pronunciation, everyday conversation, or professional presentation skills. Each course is $265 and meets in a small, in-person group. For a deeper, semester-long version that earns course credit, see the Oral Communication Skills course (CETL 8797) above.
See course descriptions, pricing, and the current session schedule on the Short-Term Courses page.
700-level Intensive English Program
The 700 level of the Intensive English Program is designed for advanced graduate students who want to strengthen their academic communication at a near-native level. It focuses on the refined reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills you need for graduate coursework, research communication, and professional engagement.
At this level you analyze and evaluate complex academic texts, produce sophisticated and well-organized writing, lead discussions, deliver polished presentations, and handle the nuanced communication that graduate research and professional life demand.
These non-credit courses are available in in-person and hybrid formats, depending on your needs and program eligibility.