The International Office is pleased to announce that the inaugural ADNOC foundation year program is off to a great start. In September, we welcomed 25 students to UT from the United Arab Emirates to prepare for college during an intensive foundation year program incorporating ESL, SAT and TOEFL preparation. Students also participate in service-learning activities, like Keep Austin Beautiful’s Lady Bird Lake Cleanup, to integrate them into the Austin community and reinforce learning done inside the classroom. These students will matriculate to top engineering programs across the US after their preparatory year at UT.
The ADNOC students have taken full advantage of opportunities on the UT campus, citing the breadth of facilities, the warmth of the Texan people, and the opportunity to meet students from all over the world as some of their favorite things about this program. Although most students will leave UT for their upcoming undergraduate studies, UT has given them firsthand knowledge of what attributes to look for when choosing a US university.
According to Braskamp, Buus & Glass’s 2013 report Uneven Experiences, with the spike in international students across US campuses in the past ten years, there is a growing demand for resources to help students feel culturally integrated and prepared for US classrooms and experiences. Foundation year programs are one such resource to help prepare international students for success in the US.
The University of Texas at Austin is honored to facilitate this program and we look forward to a successful year ahead.