Why
Semester
Snapshot
- Recommended Credits: 16
- 16 hours/week of Chinese learning
- One-on-one tutorial
- Full-time language pledge
- Out-of-class learning & assignments
- Host University: Yunnan University
Kunming Impressions
Your main course will focus on the city you call home for a semester. Some assignments have you reading about the city, and others get you out the door exploring it. Visit a tea house and learn to make the perfect cup of pu’er tea. Bargain for flowers at the Dounan Flower Market. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of the culture, history, and current affairs in Kunming and see an incredible boost in the depth and breadth of your Chinese language skills.
One-on-One Tutorial
Your one-on-one tutorial allows you to focus your language learning on a topic that interests you. Get creative! This is your chance to learn not just about the topic itself, but about the technical language you need to turn your knowledge into a senior thesis or graduate school application when you’re back home.
Past One-on-One Topics:
- Impact of China’s Unequal Economic Development
- Music of Ethnic Minorities in China
- Challenges on the Road to China’s Urbanization
Two Electives
When you’ve studied Chinese for a few years, you need specialized attention to take your skills to the next level. You’ll choose two electives that allow you to apply your language skills to broader subjects. Options vary from semester to semester, and not all classes are available to all levels of Chinese learners, but previous courses have included:
- Environment and Development
- Classical Chinese
- Yunnan Studies
- Yunnan Ethnic Minorities
- Environment & Development
- Business Chinese
- Contemporary Issues in China
- Chinese International News
- China’s Rural Floating Population
Traveling Seminar in Yunnan Province
Each semester, your program will take you on an extended excursion into rural Yunnan to pursue independent research topics and experience hands-on learning. The destination varies from one semester to the next, and is announced at orientation.
One previous excursion was to Dali, a Bai minority autonomous prefecture. Students have stayed in Xizhou, an historic Bai village, and spent five days getting to know the area by exploring temples, cooking local dishes, transcribing wall propaganda, and learning with their classmates and Chinese roommates.
"My language skills improved more than I ever dreamed of. I would not be as advanced in my Chinese had I not gone to Kunming. Plus my one-on-one class topic (the Chinese judicial system) is something I would never have learned about in the US."
& Meals
- Dormitory
- Housing close to campus
- Live with a Chinese student
- 2 people/room
- En suite bathroom, communal kitchen, on-site washing machine
- Free wifi access, A/C, linens, simple furnishing
You and a local roommate live in one of two buildings at the YNU Hotel. You share a furnished room and en suite bathroom. The same building also houses the activity room, with TV, wifi, and some cooking equipment you can use to make simple meals. Two study spaces are available to help you keep up with your homework. Your classrooms and the CET offices are either in your building or just next door.
Local Roommates
Your roommate is a CET-selected student from Yunnan University. Want to learn where to get the best guoqiaomixian (the original “cross bridge noodles”)? What mobile apps make life in Kunming easier? The best places to study? Where to go for kite-making and kite-flying? Sharing a room with a local roommate gives you instant insider’s access to the city. But more importantly, it gives you someone to share the city with.
Eating in Kunming
For meals, take your pick of breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes at the budget-friendly campus cafeteria. Invite your roommate to eat out at your favorite neighborhood restaurant or ask them to show you where to get amazing pineapple rice. Don’t forget to eat as much pan-fried goat cheese as you can stand—you’re living in Yunnan after all.
And if you feel like a quiet night in? Use the simple cooking facilities in your dorm’s activity room to make a simple meal.
