English Language Studies program moves under CMS/W department
English Language Studies (ELS), MIT’s program for non-native English speakers, moved from global languages to the comparative media studies/writing (CMS/W) department July 1.
According to an MIT News article, following the move, all of MIT’s Institute-wide writing and communications instruction are now under the same department.
Lecturer Eric Grunwald, who is also the concentration advisor for ELS, is the interim head of ELS.
The courses offered through ELS will remain unchanged, and any bilingual/ESL undergraduate or graduate student at MIT may register for an ELS subject.
The ELS program will also continue to help facilitate MIT’s communication requirements for bilingual first-year and graduate students: the English Diagnostic Review portion of the First-year Essay Evaluation and the English Evaluation Test, respectively.
MIT’s ELS curriculum is designed for non-native English speakers to “foster effective communication” in academic and professional contexts and “facilitate their studies at MIT and their work beyond,” the CMS/W website writes.