Illinois Institute of Technology's (IIT) Rice Campus Extension Program offers an International Training and Internship Program. The program has three main components:

1. Students take 3 courses in Information Technology and Management (ITM) or Business. All students are required to take Introduction to Business as part of the 3 courses.
2. Students take English and Cultural courses at least 6 contact hours* per week.
3. There is an internship class available, which students may select for participation. In the class students will work on a real project for a business. The internship will be directed by an IIT faculty member.

Students who successfully complete this program will receive a Master Certificate in e-business from the Center for Professional Development (CPD) of IIT. Courses taken in the International program which are equivalent to Information Technology and Management Program courses may be used toward a degree in Information Technology and Management at the CPD.

* All CPD Professional Learning Programs award Continuing Education Units (CEU). This will be recorded as a part of the participant’s permanent record with IIT. IIT defines a CEU as 10 contact hours of participation and follows internationally accepted criteria and guidelines established by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). All participants in the Professional Learning Programs will be required to conform to IIT policies in regard to Visas, immunization and insurance. Students may not register for classes until they have checked in with the IIT International Office.

Courses are offered in the day and evening at our Rice Campus in Wheaton, Illinois. Many IT courses are offered in a lab environment so that students are given the opportunity to work on lab-based assignments in the classroom. Working in lab allows international students the chance to be comfortable with the technology. In addition, the instructor is on hand to answer questions. In some courses there will be IIT students who are pursuing a degree or certificate so International students will study side by side with American students who are familiar with the American teaching philosophy and would be able to coach their international classmates. International students will also have the chance to make friends with American students - friends that could last a lifetime with connections in future business relations.

During their first semester students are required to declare a major. The two options are Information Technology or Business. All students are required to take Introduction to Business. Students in IT will take the following 3 courses:

1. Introduction to Databases with Access
2. Web Design
3. Introduction to Business

Students in Business will take:

1. Introduction to Marketing
2. Web Design
3. Introduction to Business

An optional Internship project-based course may be chosen to replace courses 1 or 2 in either the IT or Business major. This Internship course will be scheduled when minimum enrollment requirements are met.

Some students may qualify for other courses or may choose from the following courses in their second semester, examples of courses students might consider would include: Embedded Systems, Multimedia, Wireless Applications, Oracle, UNIX, .NET, Network Security, Project Management, Marketing, Advertising, Introduction to American Government Economics and more.

Classes will meet for 16 weeks, Fall semester begins in late August; Spring courses start in mid-January and will also be 16 weeks. Summer starts are not permitted. For detailed schedule information, please visit www.iit.edu or contact one of our international offices. Visit www.iit.edu/departments/oia/staff/index.html

Students in the International Master Certificate in e-business will take at least 6 contact hours of English conversation per week, and will have optional cultural field trips each month to festivals, museums and other cultural destinations. Students will make 2 visits to Chicago with IIT staff. One visit will include going to the IIT Main Campus in Chicago.

Students may participate in an optional internship project-based class. The internship will be a real life project for a business in the Chicago area. A professor will lead the internship project and the class will have visits from a representative of the company who is sponsoring the internship. The internship project gives students a good understanding of the work process and requirements with deadlines.

Past companies who have provided internship projects include the following: Motorola, Lucent Technologies, Teleprime Inc., TLC Animation Company, NuVant Systems Inc., CreateASoft Inc., Calamos Investments among and many more. Our staff continues to seek project opportunities with new companies.

Tuition is $5,200.00 for one semester, which includes all 3 courses, English classes (and internship project course, if applicable) and all lab fees. Also included is a 10-ride train/bus pass for transportation within the Chicago and Wheaton areas. Airport to Wheaton transportation can be arranged for $50. Books, additional transportation, health insurance ($850/year), and UPass ($82 per semester) are not included. Twelve (12) month program cost is $12,400. (12 months includes summer)

Other requirements may be found at Policies

Students will be given the option of finding housing on their own or working with a local company to provide home-stay or a shared apartment with other certificate program students. For housing information and assistance, e-mail ricehousing@iit.edu.