The ACC Field Studies Program for advanced students of Chinese combines field experiences in rural China with advanced language courses for a 7-week total immersion. Admitted students will receive full scholarshps.

The program is based in Nankai University, which is located in Tianjin, in the heart of Mandarin-speaking China. Other sites will also be included for our studies and activities. One of China’s most prestigious universities, Nankai has more than 20,000 students in 20 colleges. The University offers over 70 undergraduate majors, 200 master’s degrees, and 100 PhD programs. Set in a quiet and beautiful environment, the University is an ideal setting for study and scholarly research. Nankai University has a historical commitment to language study and the College of Chinese Language and Culture specializes in the training of students from many countries. Other institutions of higher education may be selected due to possible changing conditions at our base university.

The Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) was founded in 1962. It was first called the Preparatory School for Foreign Students. It is the only university whose main function is to teach Chinese language and culture to foreign students. Over the last 30 years, more than 20,000 foreign students have graduated from BLCU. Every year, about 3000 students from many countries, and more than 1000 Chinese students study here.

This semester or summer program provides students with a general foundation in Chinese language and modern Chinese history, while targeting the specific areas of economics, politics and international relations through specialized classes, internships, activities and field trips. The program's capstone course, History of Shanghai in the Modern Era, grounds students in their environment and gives them the tools to research and understand their new surroundings. Electives in economics, international relations and political science further students' learning about China's role in globalization. Courses are taught in Chinese and English. Students of any language ability level are welcome to apply to the program's Internship Track, where they will intern at an organization or company that specializes in an area of particular interest to them. CET's well-known Chinese language classes and innovative activities round out this exciting new program!

The goals of CET's Beijing Chinese Language program are twofold: rapid improvement of language skills and a solid understanding of contemporary Chinese society. Weekly themes integrate the intensive curriculum--a lecture class might introduce the "Chinese family"; family planning policies are debated during drill class; students interview a Chinese family for language practicum. A full-time language pledge and dorm rooms shared with local Chinese students round out this rigorous program.

Students abide by a full-time language pledge and explore Harbin, a location chosen for its standard Mandarin, with Chinese roommates. The curriculum, perfect for students with research interests, includes one-on-two drill classes, small group electives and student-designed independent study classes--a student favorite. Students who have completed at least four terms of college-level Chinese or the equivalent are eligible for the program, while those students who have completed four years or the equivalent of college-level Chinese may elect Harbin's "research track". Designed for advanced learners of Chinese, particularly those who are enrolled, or are planning to enroll, in a graduate program, the research track allows students to conduct guided thesis research under the direction of a Chinese faculty member. Research track students also take Classical Chinese, an area of study that prepares them for further research in their chosen field of study. Finally, a composition or pronunciation class rounds out the research track curriculum.

Make huge strides in your Chinese language skills during a specialized and intensive summer term. Outside of class, the city of Kunming boasts a mild summer climate and a unique panoply of ethnic minority cultures, making CET Kunming a perfect complement to a spring semester in Beijing or Shanghai. The program requires a minimum of three semesters of previous Chinese language study. Intensive language classes are flanked by Chinese roommates and a full-time Chinese language pledge.

The program at Peking University is designed for students who have studied one to three years of college-level Mandarin Chinese and who wish to further develop their language skills and cross-cultural training within a beautiful university campus in Beijing. Students are divided into four levels for intensive Mandarin language training: intermediate, high intermediate, advanced I, and advanced II. CIEE students are partnered with a Peking University student upon arrival to facilitate cross-cultural discussion and individual tutoring of the Chinese language. The program supplements the language training with weekly excursions to various areas in Beijing and has an experienced on-site director to support each student.

The Summer Language Program in Beijing is an intensive nine week Chinese language program for students with at least one semester of Chinese. Based at the Central University for Nationalities (CUN), students can explore the rich cultural resources of Beijing.

Duke Study in China (DSIC) was inaugurated in 1982. It is one of the longest-running credit-granting programs in China administered by an American university. The program offers an intensive summer language program based in Beijing. The program is based at the prestigious University of International Business and Economics in Beijing (UIBE). UIBE is located in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, which is convenient to downtown, and has a modern, well-designed, picturesque campus.

Beijing is a city of contrasts - a modern Asian boom-town that strives to preserve the cultural landscape of its glorious past while all around the glass and steel emblems of its dynamic present flourish. As the political and cultural capital of China, Beijing attracts people from all over the country, and IES Abroad Beijing students are directly exposed to the numerous challenges being addressed in both the personal and political realms of modern China. While its new high-rises and financial institutions testify to its booming economy, remnants of Old Beijing remain. Streets lined with dumpling and noodle stands, beautiful parks bedecked with pagodas, and 19th century homes with graceful four-walled courtyards still charm visitors from around the world. Students can experience Beijing's energy first-hand through three distinct IES Abroad program options.

he C.V. Starr-Middlebury School in China, in cooperation with CET Academic Programs, offers immersion opportunities in the language and culture in three distinct locations: Beijing, Hangzhou, and Kunming. Intended for students with an intermediate to advanced level of Chinese language, the program structure, including housing with Chinese roommates, is designed to expose students to an environment that will build upon their foundation of Chinese while rapidly increasing their knowledge of the language and culture.

Examine China's extraordinary cultural complexity in Yunnan Province, one of the world's most anthropologically and ecologically diverse locations. Through direct engagement with multiple sources of knowledge, students explore traditional cultures and beliefs, the impact of tourism on minority cultures, and the growing gap between urban and rural life in China. Intensive Chinese language instruction and homestays with host families in both urban and rural settings allow students to examine critical issues surrounding China's rich diversity from unique perspectives and in varied environments. Carefully-designed field excursions expose students to the environmental, cultural, and economic realities that characterize the region's different ethnic minorities. Visits to Dali, Lijiang, and Zhongdian bring students into direct engagement with local scholars, medical and development professionals, and Daoist, Buddhist, Islamic, and Christian religious leaders.

From barefoot doctors to traditional remedies, the Chinese public health system has drawn increasing attention in the West. In the SIT Community Health and Traditional Chinese Medicine program, students examine Traditional Chinese Medicine and public health issues by working with professionals in the field in both urban and rural settings. Students learn and practice an array of traditional techniques alongside professionally experienced medical doctors, usually trained in both Western and traditional Chinese medicine. Students observe traditional practitioners of herbal medicine, acupuncture, and massage therapy, and, in some cases, receive practical training. Additionally, students receive acupressure charts, sterile acupuncture needles, and models to practice on, as well as tuina massage practice bags, moxibustion sticks, and cups for cupping. The program’s books, among the best available on Chinese Traditional Medicine, are bilingual and cover theory, diagnosis, tuina massage, acupuncture, and moxibustion.

This program offers students 12 class hours per week of Chinese language during the fall and spring semesters and 15 hours per week during the summer as well as the opportunity to examine modern China through courses in English in several disciplines including economics, film studies, women’s studies, and cultural studies. Students may enroll for a semester, summer, or academic year, or a combination of a semester and summer term. Students are encouraged to consider spending their second term in China in a different Alliance program to deepen their knowledge of China’s regional diversity. Click here to view a full listing of textbooks and lessons by Alliance program and Chinese language level.