All Ph.D students at SUT are required to pass the English Proficiency Test (EPT) or to successfully complete the Graduate English Program before they are allowed to graduate. Those students who fail the EPT are assigned to GE I, GE II or GE III depending on their performance in the test.
The main purpose of the GE courses is to develop students’ academic reading skills, but students are also required to practice basic conversational skills (GE I), find the main points of a text (GE II) and hone spoken and written presentation skills (GE III).
All students in GE II and GE III are also required to make a short presentation on a topic of general technical interest and to use the appropriate language for making presentations.
The GE courses consist of 3 hours’ teaching for 12 weeks plus a homework assignment each week. Students must obtain an overall score of a minimum of 60% for all their examinations and assignments.
Those who obtain 60% or over receive a grade of ‘Satisfactory’ (S) while those who obtain less than 60% receive a grade of ‘Unsatisfactory’(U). All GE courses are offered each term.