Welcome International Students!​​

International Student Guide

College of the Desert (COD) is a thriving community college located in exciting Southern California. Surrounded by majestic mountains, covered in lush palm trees, and bathed in sunshine for more than 300 days a year, the campus is truly an inspiring place to study. Pursuing an associate’s degree at COD gives international students the opportunity to save money, to fully develop their academic and career goals, and to benefit from the high regard many universities have for COD transfer students. That’s because transfer success is a passion at COD! Our faculty, counselors, and staff are focused on helping students transfer to the best-fit public and private universities throughout the United States, such as UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford University and many more. In fact, many prestigious universities offer guaranteed transfer admission to COD’s international students without requiring TOEFL/IELTS or SAT scores!

COD's International Education Program

COD's International Education Program (IEP) welcomes students from over 30 countries! Our mission is to assist international students with achieving their educational goals by providing a program of comprehensive support services. The IEP actively supports initiatives that increase multicultural awareness for students, faculty, and staff. This includes assisting COD's students with participation in study abroad opportunities available through the Southern California Foothills Study Abroad Consortium!

The IEP’s mission aligns closely with the mission, vision, and values of COD.

Our Programming:

  • Serves COD's mission by contributing to the success, learning, and achievement of our diverse students.

  • Contributes to our district's vision of being a center of collaborations and innovations for educational enrichment.

  • Promotes the district's values of student success, diversity, and inclusion.

Location:

Cravens Student Services Center, 2nd floor

Contact:

Office: 760-776-7270, fax at 760-862-1361 or email

International Education Program Office Hours:

Office Hours

• Monday to Thursday – 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Fridays – 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 

Please visit COD's homepage for information about holiday campus closures.

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