University of Houston Language and Culture Center

The Language and Culture Center (LCC) is the intensive English programme of the University of Houston, located on the university's main campus in the Roy G. Cullen Building in Houston, Texas. Since 1975 it has taught English to international students who want to study at a US university or improve their English for personal or professional reasons, and the LCC states that more than 27,000 students have studied there.

The Intensive English Program offers 20 hours of classroom instruction per week in six levels, from Lower Beginning to Upper Advanced. Students take an online placement test before arrival, classes average 12 to 15 students, and all instructors hold at least a master's degree. There are three full semester sessions of 14 weeks (Fall, Spring and Summer) and three half-semester sessions of 7 weeks; new students may start in a half semester and then continue with full semesters. Each semester begins with a mandatory Welcome Week.

Level 6 students can sit in on University of Houston classes, and those who complete Level 6 receive a Certificate of Graduation. Completing Level 6 replaces the TOEFL or IELTS score for admission to all UH undergraduate programmes and a growing number of graduate programmes, although it does not guarantee admission. The LCC can be contacted at [email protected].