Program Overview
Start Date: August 3, 2023 End Date: September 15, 2023
Offered every summer, Summer Start is a 6-week academic and cultural program for incoming first year international students that runs during Summer Session II. Participants have access to a carefully selected menu of courses that position them to get ahead on their degree and adjust to life at UC Davis.
Courses
Students in the Summer Start program have access to a wide variety of UC Davis courses to help gain a competitive edge on their college education. Participants take at most 10 units, which typically corresponds to 2-4 courses. Summer Start students have access to unique courses not offered in the academic year and with smaller instructor-to-student ratios.
Summer Start staff and academic advisors assist participants in their first course registration experience by providing training tools, selecting a list of courses that fit international student needs, and performing schedule checks to be sure all registered courses are appropriate and will count towards degree completion.
This list will continue to be updated as Summer Session II courses are added.
- Required Course
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EDU 98 - Academic Skills: Navigating the Research Institution - CRN# TBA (2 units)
All students in the program take this required orientation course. Learn what professors expect, master essential skills to navigate the UC Davis system, and discover resources to help you succeed.
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Entry Level Writing Requirement Course Series
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All University of California students are required to satisfy the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) within a certain period of time. Incoming first-year students who have not satisfied the ELWR will need to complete writing placement before selecting a writing course. Summer Start students have access to early writing placement in May in order to provide placements before summer course registration.
UWP 21 - Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing for Multilingual Students (4 units)
UWP 21 is limited to 18 students per section and is taught by highly experienced instructors who specialize in working with the writing of multilingual students. This course focuses on developing critical thinking and academic reading and writing skills necessary to analyze information. Students gain an awareness of their strengths and needs for writing clearly in academic English. If students are placed into UWP 21, they must satisfy the ELWR by the end of Winter quarter, second year.
UWP 22 - Intermediate Academic Reading and Writing for Multilingual Students (4 units)
UWP 22 is limited to 18 students per section and is taught by highly experienced instructors who specialize in working with the writing of multilingual students. This course helps students develop reading and writing strategies to understand and work with sources across genres. Students practice writing in various contexts with increasing complexity and clarity. If students are placed into UWP 22, they must satisfy ELWR by the end of Fall quarter, second year.
UWP 7M - Entry Level Writing: Practices in College Reading & Writing for Multilingual Writers (4 units)
UWP 7M is a ELWR-fulfilling course that focuses on the development of multilingual writers' composition and English language skills across genres and disciplines. Writing in UWP 7M integrates college-level reading, critical thinking, and written communication, using texts from across the curriculum. Students must take the course for a letter grade and receive a C or higher to fulfill ELWR. P/NP grade mode is not permitted if the course will be used for satisfaction of the ELWR.
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English Composition (Lower Division) Writing Requirement Course
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UWP 001: Introduction to Academic Literacies (4 units)
UWP 1 provides an introduction to reading and composing processes and key rhetorical concepts for academic literacies. Students produce multiple drafts of composing projects in a variety of genres and modes with feedback from peers and the instructor.*
*Only those who have satisfied the Entry Level Writing Requirement are eligible to register for this course. -
Math Course Series
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All students who register for MAT 12, 16A, or 21A are required to take the Math Placement Exam. See more details on Math Placement here.
MAT 12: Pre-Calculus (3 units)
Prerequisite: two years of high school algebra, plane geometry, plane trigonometry; and obtaining required score on the Precalculus Diagnostic Examination. Topics selected for their use in calculus, including functions and their graphs, slope, zeroes of polynomials, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions, sketching surfaces and solids.
MAT 16A: Short Calculus (3 units)
Limits; differentiation of algebraic functions; analytic geometry; applications, in particular to maxima and minima problems. Prerequisite: two years of high school algebra, plane geometry, plane trigonometry, and satisfying the Mathematics Placement Requirement. Note: Math 16A may count toward your mathematics requirements. Consult your college major adviser for specific advice.
MAT 21A: Calculus (4 units)
Functions, limits, continuity. Slope and derivative. Differentiation of algebraic and transcendental functions. Applications to motion, natural growth, graphing, extrema of a function. Differentials. L’Hopital’s rule and satisfying the Mathematics Placement Requirement.
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General Education & Elective Courses
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More General Education and Elective Courses will be listed as they become available.
NUT 010V - Discoveries & Concepts in Nutrition (3 Units General Ed.)
Nutrition as a science; historical development of nutrition concepts; properties of nutrients and foods. GE credit: SE, SL
LIN 001Y - Introduction to Linguistics (4 Units General Ed.)
Introduction to the study of language; its nature, diversity, and structure. GE credit: AH, SS.
EAP 90x - Becoming a Global Collaborator: Innovative and Inclusive Ways to Address Global Challenges (1 Unit Elective course)
One-unit elective seminar encouraging students to connect their courses of study with global challenges and solutions, consider how many different societal challenges are interconnected and explore ways to make a difference in their careers, communities, and personal lives.
Program Costs
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Program Fee: $1175
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Includes language coaching, academic support, conversation partner program, social activities, early academic advising and writing testing, and staff support
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Campus-Based Fee: $360.14
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Covers campus facilities and services
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- Equitable Access Fee: $75
- Covers course books and other materials, students may opt out
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Summer Tuition: $279/unit
- All students, resident and non-resident, pay the same tuition rate during Summer
- Students must take a minimum of 6 units of coursework
- Students will take at most 10 units of coursework
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Housing Cost: $2728
- Estimated cost based on double occupancy rooms for 44 nights on campus housing
- Includes 2 meals per day
- TOTAL FOR 6 UNITS: $6025.19 TOTAL FOR 10 UNITS: $7141.19
Refund Policy: $1175 Summer Start program fee is non-refundable. The last day to drop Summer II courses with a refund is August 7th.
Funding Resources
MyBill
Use this UC Davis site to pay Summer Sessions tuition and campus-based fees. The recommended date to schedule payment for your Summer Start tuition and fees is July 1. Payments must be received July 15.
Deferred Payment Plan (DPP)
The UC Davis Deferred Payment Plan (DPP) allows for eligible tuition and fees to be paid in monthly installments by the 15th of each month. Break up large quarterly fees into more affordable monthly payments. Summer Sessions tuition and campus-based fees are eligible for DPP. The Summer Start program fee ($375) is not.
Program Dates and Timeline
SUMMER START 2023 |
DATES |
Summer Start application opens |
May 13 |
Deadline to submit Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) |
May TBA |
Deadline to submit Summer Start application |
June TBA |
Summer Start course registration begins |
June TBA |
Recommended date to remit payment for Summer Sessions tuition and campus-based fee |
July 8 |
Deadline for Summer Sessions tuition and campus-based fee |
July 15 |
First day of Summer Start classes |
August 7 |
Summer Final Exams |
September TBA |
Last day of Summer Start |
September TBA |
Interim period between Summer and Fall |
September TBA |
Fall quarter begins | September 25 |
Fall quarter instruction begins | September 27 |
More Information

Dawn Takaoglu
Director, International and Academic English
Global Affairs
dmtakaoglu@ucdavis.edu
Visit the Global Affairs People Directory to find the full International and Academic English staff listings. The main offices for International and Academic English are located on the first floor of the UC Davis International Center in Davis.
- Email: iae@ucdavis.edu