Study Abroad in China: Chinese Studies & Service Learning in Beijing – Academics

Chinese Studies Curriculum: How the Academics Fit Together

This study abroad program is about depth, not breadth. It’s not about visiting 15 cities in 15 days. Instead, it is about spending 15 weeks really getting to know, and love, Beijing.

Students take Chinese language. Language classes are challenging. Students have to work hard to stay afloat in a sea of new characters and sentence patterns. But before long, they are swimming on their own outside the classroom, using their newly minted language skills on the streets of Beijing.

Chinese studies courses draw students out into the city, too. Faculty use their expertise to show students the real Beijing. An environmental studies course introduces students to a local nature preserve. A history course brings students to the Confucian Temple. A core course takes students to a TV station for the taping of a popular show.

And as students learn from Beijing, they give back to it. The program arranges service-learning projects where students volunteer their time and energy for the good of their local hosts. Students assist at the Beijing LGBT center. They teach English at a community center for the elderly. They conduct research at Women’s Watch China.

Local staff and roommates, many of whom are native or long-term Beijng’ers, help students chart their own course during their time in this unforgettably distinctive city: Beijing.

Chinese Studies Fall & Spring Academic Requirements

Students select their preferred track—Service-Learning or Chinese Studies. Each track requires that students take a core course, Chinese language classes, and one elective.

Students in the Service-Learning track enroll in the core course—Social Problems and Service-Learning. This course examines specific social issues in China, like the education of migrant children or the spread of HIV/AIDS. Outside of class, students visit local organizations that work on these issues. They conduct individual service placements and/or group service-learning projects. Projects are based on the needs of the host. The course is taught in English. Most projects require some Chinese. Course: 28 total hours. Projects: 30 to 40 total hours. 3 recommended credits for course and projects combined.

Possible service-learning projects and activities include:

• Providing fundraising assistance at an NGO that works to protect the hutong (traditional alleys) and architecture in Beijing. Volunteers might also help get the word out by editing English versions of promotional materials.
• Assisting researchers at an NGO that promotes the rights of the mentally and physically disabled. The NGO’s slogan is, “Nothing About Us Without Us!” Volunteers might assist with materials preparation or video editing. They might also help with assessing public spaces for accessibility.
• Doing handicrafts or playing music with children at a school for youth with developmental disabilities. Many of the children are autistic and simply need a lot of social interaction.
• Teaching English at a school for migrant children. Volunteers create their own curriculum and class activities.
• Working at a grassroots NGO that aims to rescue trafficked and exploited women. The tasks might range from providing training to the women (business, medical, English) to simply getting to know who they are.

Students in the Chinese Studies track enroll in the core course—21st Century Beijing. This course explores the problems and promises of modern China through the lens of Beijing. Outside of class, students attend faculty-led excursions to sites around the city. They might tour a television studio, visit with some modern Chinese artists at the 798 Art District, or spend the night at a Zen temple outside of Beijing. This course is taught in English. 45 total hours. 3 recommended credits.

All students enroll in Chinese language classes. Classes are clustered according to level and include group and one-on-one practice. Topics covered in language classes correspond with area studies course themes, with service-learning projects, and with language practica around Beijing. 154 total hours. 10 recommended credits.

All students select one elective. Academic disciplines include Chinese history, political science, environmental studies and others. All electives are taught in English. Chinese language classes cover vocabulary relevant to course topics. 45 total hours. 3 recommended credits.

View all course options and download syllabi.

Chinese Studies Summer Academic Requirements

All students enroll in Chinese language classes. Classes are clustered according to level and include group and one-on-one practice. Topics in language classes correspond with area studies course themes, with service-learning projects, and with language practica around Beijing. 88 total hours. 5 recommended credits.

Students take one Chinese studies elective. Academic disciplines include history, political science, environmental studies and others. The semester core course, 21st Century Beijing, is offered as an elective in the summer. All electives are taught in English. Chinese language classes cover vocabulary relevant to course topics. 45 total hours. 3 recommended credits.

Students may take the service-learning course—Social Problems and Service-Learning. This course examines specific social issues in China, like the education of migrant children or the spread of HIV/AIDS. Outside of class, students visit local organizations that work on these issues. They conduct individual service placements and/or group service-learning projects. Projects are based on the needs of the host. The course is taught in English. Most projects require some Chinese. Course: 16 total hours. Projects: 20 to 25 total hours. 1 recommended credit for course and projects combined.

Possible service-learning projects and activities include:

• Providing fundraising assistance at an NGO that works to protect the hutong (traditional alleys) and architecture in Beijing. Volunteers might also help get the word out by editing English versions of promotional materials.
• Assisting researchers at an NGO that promotes the rights of the mentally and physically disabled. The NGO’s slogan is, “Nothing About Us Without Us!” Volunteers might assist with materials preparation or video editing. They might also help with assessing public spaces for accessibility.
• Doing handicrafts or playing music with children at a school for youth with developmental disabilities. Many of the children are autistic and simply need a lot of social interaction.
• Teaching English at a school for migrant children. Volunteers create their own curriculum and class activities.
• Working at a grassroots NGO that aims to rescue trafficked and exploited women. The tasks might range from providing training to the women (business, medical, English) to simply getting to know who they are.

View all course options and download syllabi.

Classroom Matters

Prerequisites

There is no language prerequisite for this program. Students of all Chinese language levels are welcome, including beginners and heritage learners.

Language Class Placement

Chinese language class placement is determined by:

• The results of a placement exam taken upon arrival in Beijing.
• The student’s transcripts.
• The student’s Chinese language ability as demonstrated in the application.

Adjustments to placements are made during the first week of classes.

Academic Rigor

CET Chinese Studies is a study abroad program for serious students. Classes and academic excursions are scheduled Mondays through Fridays. Students can expect at least one hour of prep time for every one hour of class time. Participation in classes and all excursions is mandatory.

Heritage Learners

Every term, this program welcomes students who have acquired some Chinese language (usually speaking skills) from their home environment. CET has many ways to accommodate these students. In the past, we have arranged one-on-one character-writing tutorials, or special group classes for learners with similar needs. Bottom line: CET’s language curriculum is flexible and can be tailored to meet the needs of every student.

Outside the Classroom

Faculty-Led Academic Excursions

You can’t get a thorough picture of China by peering out of a classroom window. For this reason, each area studies course includes out-of-classroom excursions. Depending on the electives they choose, students might:

• Stay overnight at a Zen monastery and practice meditation activities.
• Do hiking trail beautification with local environmental NGO.
• View the taping of a live television show.

Service-Learning & Community Service

This program is about giving back. CET Chinese Studies students can take a service-learning course taught by a faculty, or volunteer at local organizations on their own. Volunteer projects are determined by the needs of the host organizations. Previous students have:

• Found homes for animals living in a shelter.
• Taught English at an AIDS education initiative.
• Taught basketball and performing arts to children.

Overnight Excursion

Each term, students depart Beijing and venture on an overnight excursion together. One past group of students went to Kaifeng and hiked to a remote village in the mountains. Another group of past students went to Datong and viewed the Yungang Grottoes containing massive Buddhist carvings—the earliest examples of such carvings in China.

Weekly One-Day Excursions

The program tries to show students a side of Beijing that they might miss on their own. Through weekly excursions around the city, past students have:

• Participated in a round-table discussion about media censorship and internet control with editors of the China Youth Daily.
• Perused a modern art gallery with a local artist as guide.
• Attended lectures by prominent journalists in Beijing.
• Toured the Summer Palace with a local historian.

Extracurricular Classes

Extracurricular classes are arranged according to student interest. Recent classes have included Chinese painting, music and chess.

Have an idea for an extracurricular? The residence staff is all ears!